Manhattan residential sales in March hit their highest level in 14 years

Manhattan’s residential real estate market, dormant for months after many New Yorkers fled near the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, closed the first quarter with its strongest sales in years.

As of March, approximately 1,500 homes in Manhattan were under contract for sale. This marked the highest number of transactions for a month in 14 years, according to real estate analysis firm UrbanDigs.

The surge in sales reflects pent-up demand following a severe slowdown in the early months of the pandemic, when New York City stalled as the virus increased, said Noah Rosenblatt, co-founder of the pandemic. ‘UrbanDigs. Buyers are now returning to the market as vaccine deployment accelerates and confidence grows that New York City is safe after a pandemic that has killed more than 31,000 residents.

“We have an elastic effect going on in Manhattan,” Mr. Rosenblatt said. “We pulled the elastic one way, the wrong direction, in 2020, and now it’s kind of pulling the other way.”

Buyers took advantage of low mortgage rates and seized the opportunity to acquire prime Manhattan real estate at lower prices. The median selling price of Manhattan co-ops was $ 780,000 in the first quarter, down 3.8% year-over-year, according to broker Douglas Elliman. Condos, meanwhile, sold for a median price of $ 1.55 million, down 4.7%.