Manhattan deals rose to highest level in nearly two years, defying national trends
- Median sales price for Manhattan increased for the third time, rising to $1,200,000, as per the Elliman Report
Manhattan sales rose to their highest level in nearly two years in the second quarter, an increase of 16.6 percent over the second quarter of 2024, according to the latest edition of the Elliman Report.
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The U.S. real estate market may be in the “absolute dumps,” but Manhattan deals are booming.
Manhattan sales rose to their highest level in nearly two years in the second quarter, an increase of 16.6 percent over the second quarter of 2024, according to the latest edition of the Elliman Report, which covers Manhattan co-op and condo sales.
“While housing demand appears to be cooling across the U.S., Manhattan’s second-quarter metrics remained relatively firm,” wrote Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel and author of the report.
The median sales price increased annually for the third time after four quarters of declines, rising 1.6 percent to $1,200,000, boosted by a jump in the median price for co-ops.
Cash deals surged to a record-high share as financing contingencies reached the second-highest level in a decade, Miller wrote. Listings were at the highest level in almost five years.
‘Generational wealth transfers’
Compass’s second quarter Manhattan sales market report said the borough’s strong sales were “a testament to the market’s resilience amid broader macroeconomic uncertainty.”
Cash buyers and investors, fueled in part by generational wealth transfers, are driving momentum at the high-end of the market, Compass’s report said.
High-end buyers will be “enormous beneficiaries of the revised tax laws, massive wealth creation over the past five years, [and] redistribution of generational wealth,” said Leonard Steinberg, chief evangelist at Compass. This group includes “many suburban empty nesters, and national buyers—especially from California—seeking large apartments with full services and amenities.”
Marketing times fell
Corcoran’s report noted that Manhattan’s second quarter median sales price was just shy of the second quarter 2019 spike.
Days on market, a measure of the pace of the market, fell to a three-year low, the report noted.
“Despite ongoing economic uncertainty and political noise, the results of the quarter highlight the enduring strength and resilience of the Manhattan market, which now enters the second half of the year with real momentum,” wrote Pamela Liebman, president and CEO of Corcoran.
A turbulent quarter
It’s hard to believe how much has happened geopolitically in the past three month. Brown Harris Stevens CEO Bess Freedman summed up some of the events in her firm’s report.
As President Donald Trump’s “new tariffs pushed stocks down sharply in the first week of April, contrary to prior expectations, mortgage rates started rising. While the stock market began to recover when most of the new tariffs were paused, mortgage rates continued to tick up,” she wrote.
And the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites by the U.S. “added uncertainty to the housing market.”
She pointed out that the second quarter reflected sales contracts signed at the beginning of January, “long before the trade war rattled markets around the world.”
“Manhattan apartments have a long track record of steady appreciation during volatile times, including continued uncertainty and the upcoming mayoral election,” Freedman said.
New condo sales surge
The second quarter report from SERHANT highlighted a surge in new development deals.
“This growth underscores the sustained demand for fresh, amenitized inventory, appealing to buyers who prioritize modern design, lifestyle-driven features, and long-term value,” wrote Coury Napier, director of research.
However, he added that “new development opportunities are finite, and that urgency is driving swift decision-making on quality product before supply tightens further.”
FARE Act’s impact on sales
BOND New York’s second quarter market report noted the FARE Act took effect in New York City on June 11th and is likely to play a role in the sales market. This new law shifts the burden of paying broker fees from renters to landlords when landlords hire the brokers.
“While this is strictly a rental law, since its implementation, rents increased by 15 percent and many listings were taken off the market. There is some speculation that the increase and lack of availability in an already tight rental market could finally push many studio and one-bedroom renters into the sales market where the benefits of homeownership will be a better option from a cost perspective than continually skyrocketing rents,” the report said.
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