Manhattan home sales rise, juiced up by lower mortgage rates

[NEW YORK] Manhattan home sales rose in the fourth quarter, driven primarily by an increase in co-op deals, a sign that falling borrowing costs lured some rate-sensitive buyers back to the market.

More than 2,600 condo and co-op purchases closed in the last three months of 2025, up 5 per cent from a year earlier, appraiser Miller Samuel and brokerage Douglas Elliman said in a report. Co-ops made up more than half of all sales and rose 7 per cent annually, outpacing the increase in condo transactions for the first time in more than a year.

The “delayed effect of mortgage rates dropping”, from more than 7 per cent to a low of 6.15 per cent at the end of the year, enticed some first-time buyers who’d been holding out, said Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel.

Co-ops are often more affordable for new buyers, and sales are closely linked to mortgage rates, he said. The median price of co-ops that traded hands in the fourth quarter was US$825,000, compared with US$1.7 million for a condo.

Still, buyers who could pay in all cash dominated the market. Deals without financing accounted for 65 per cent of all condo and co-op sales in the quarter, the second-highest share on record. The strong stock market and concerns over elevated share valuations prompted some affluent buyers to draw down their holdings and redirect money to home purchases, Miller said.

Contract signings, a more timely measure of buyer demand, also showed gains for co-ops. Last month, co-op deals in all price ranges jumped 16 per cent from a year earlier, Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman said in a separate report. Condo contracts, meanwhile, declined 15 per cent, because of a sharp drop in new listings of the units.

SEE ALSO

Manhattan rents hit record high as Mamdani won mayoral election

In the year ahead, Miller said that he expects lower mortgage rates will boost transactions and lead to a modest gain in prices. BLOOMBERG