Manhattan Luxury Real Estate Market Report and Year End Review

There were only 11 contracts signed the week of December 18th perhaps sending early signals about buyers’ wait and see attitude about the implications of the new tax bill. This is a drop off from the number of signed contracts in the same week in 2016.

December Key Numbers and Stats for the $4M+ Manhattan Luxury Real Estate Market

• Weekly Sales Volume Total was $146,415,000 versus $174,235,000the prior week
• Average asking price was $13,310,455 versus $9,679,722 the prior week.
• The average number of days on the market was 490 versus 487 the prior week. 180 days is the normal range. Luxury real estate has been taking longer to sell.
• The average percentage of discount from original asking price was 8% the same as the prior week.
• The Number 1 signed contract was a new development condo at 432 Park Avenue # pH91A asking $40.25 million.
• The Number 2 signed contract at a new development 432 Park Avenue PH91B asking $39.75 Million.

Year End Review

The year end $4 million and over luxury market saw only a 6% increase in the number of signed contracts over 2016. There were 1172 contracts signed. The first and second quarter were strong. The third quarter was weak and the fourth quarter came back with a performance similar to the fourth quarter in 2016.

Looking at the numbers you will see a drop in number of signed contracts in 2016 and 2017 compared to the peak market years of 2014 and 2015 or even 2016. However prices didn’t swing much in the last four years. The big difference between now is the number of days that properties were on the market. It took around four months longer to sell an home in 2017 than in 2016. The big reason for the increased time on market was the resistance of sellers to travel further to meet the buyers in negotiations.

What is in store for the luxury market in 2018? The luxury market will continue to see some additional downward pressure on prices as buyers and sellers adapt to the changes in the tax laws and their implications. Experts from the real estate industry such as Jonathan Miller are predicting a stabile market similar to 2017 where the luxury market was strongest in the $4 million to $6 million range.

Key Year End Stats vs Prior Years

2017 – 1172 Contracts Signed

2016 – 1102 Contracts Signed

2015 – 1344 Contracts Signed – Peak Years

2014 – 1340 Contracts Signed – Peak Years