Manhattan homebuyers see more bidding wars in still-hot market

New York

MANHATTAN apartment sales continued their hot streak in the first quarter, with rising demand clashing up against an inventory crunch to stoke bidding wars in a growing share of deals.

Purchases completed above the asking price made up 9.3 per cent of all transactions, the highest portion in 4 years and up from 3 per cent in the first quarter of 2021, showed a report on Tuesday (Apr 5) by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

Competition was intense in the luxury market, which saw its second-highest rate of bidding wars in the 5 years the firms have been tracking the data. Luxury listings - representing the top 10 per cent - fell annually for a third straight quarter and stayed below pre-pandemic levels.

In all, purchases of Manhattan co-ops and condos totalled 3,585, the most for a first quarter in more than 3 decades of record-keeping by Miller Samuel. Deals jumped 46 per cent from a year earlier, when Covid-19 restrictions and remote-work policies made the city unattractive for some buyers.

Inventory was down 4.4 per cent from a year earlier to 6,906 apartments available at the end of the quarter. At the current pace of deals, it would take 5.8 months to sell all those homes. That's well below the 10-year average of about 8 months, said Miller.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Tuesday, 12 pm

Property Insights

Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond.

Sign Up

The median price of deals that closed in the quarter was US$1.19 million, up 11 per cent from a year earlier. About 47 per cent of purchases were made in cash - in line with the market's average and a sign that rising mortgage rates won't devastate demand, Miller said.

In its own report on Manhattan home sales, Coldwell Banker Warburg said it anticipates more apartments to hit the market in the spring, a time of the year when buyers also come out of hibernation. Demand may be especially high among shoppers looking to lock in rates before they climb further, the brokerage said. BLOOMBERG