Sell

New record set for the number of NYC apartment sellers cutting prices after Labor Day

By Donna M. Airoldi  | September 21, 2018 - 1:00PM

More sellers cut their asking prices on NYC apartments the week after Labor Day than over any other week in StreetEasy history, including the recession, according to a new report from the listing website.

Asking prices fell on 774 NYC apartment listings, exceeding the previous record of 713 for the week of March 22, 2009. The figure from the week ending September 9th represents 4.9 percent of all NYC apartments and houses listed for sale that week. The median price cut for the week was $50,000.

And the percentage of listings with price cuts for the week ending September 9th was just slightly below a record of 5.1 percent set in February 2009.

Brokers confirmed that their clients slashed prices.

“There were numerous price drops after Labor Day. I have four listings on the market and every single one dropped their prices,” says Lisa Chajet, associate broker for Warburg Realty. She didn't even have to do much arm twisting, either, she says.

Chajet says that you usually need a 10 percent price drop to make a difference. “To me, a drop shows you’re a serious seller,” she says.

A new flood of listings is one of the reasons behind the recent price cuts, according to the StreetEasy report, with the price adjustments coinciding with one of the largest weeks for new listings. In Manhattan, for the week ending September 9th, there were 662 new listings, a level only slightly below the record level set this past spring.

Brooklyn saw 411 new properties on the market the same week, the largest number for the borough since 2010.

 

Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.

topics: