New York picks up as Manhattan apartment sales hit three-decade high

In the latest sign that the New York real estate market is recovering rapidly, third quarter reports reveal that more Manhattan apartments have been sold than at any time in the past three decades.

Specifically, there were 4,523 closed co-op and condo sales in Manhattan in the third quarter, up from the record set in 2007 when 3,939 sales were recorded, according to the latest report from Douglas Elliman.

Corcoran brokerage revealed sales topped $ 9.5 billion in the third quarter, the highest of any quarter recorded so far.

And while that signals a healthier New York City, it also means a more competitive market for future homeowners looking to return to the city after a raging pandemic.

“While demand has remained strong in most of our market, a critical inventory shortage has remained,” said Frederick Warburg Peters, CEO of Warburg Realty, in a report.

“Week after week of summer, the number of contracts signed and listings ‘withdrawn from the market’ exceeded the listings put on the market. So, week after week, stocks fell. Buyers were eagerly awaiting a wave of new listings after Labor Day, but it never materialized in a major way, ”added Peters.

According to Bess Freedman, CEO of Brown Harris Stevens, this also means that the dramatic price drops seen over the past year are gone.

“Buyers can still find value, but the dramatic drop in time in the market and marketability makes it clear that the clearance sale is long over,” Freedman explained in BHS ‘latest report.

Despite a promising sales record, Gregory Heym, chief economist at BHS parent company, told The Post he didn’t expect it to last.

“This sales pace cannot continue indefinitely, as pent-up demand due to the pandemic will eventually disappear. We expect the spring market next year to return to more “normal” levels of activity, ”Heym said.

And while sales are at an all time high, that doesn’t quite mean Manhattan’s real estate market has fully recovered.

In the third quarter, there were 7,694 active registrations, about 17% more than the 10-year average.