In Manhattan there are signs of improvement for the sellers, as the sales volume, listing inventory, months of supply and other indicators got better from the prior quarter, although remaining lower compared to a year ago.

The market share of cash buyers fell to a new record low (40.4%) given the current low interest rates.

Talking by Numbers. Let’s try to put things in perspective.

The number of sales went up 38.8% to 1,909 from the preceding quarter, but it was 20.6% below the year ago level.

This is the most significant data because the previous two quarters (2nd and 3rd), I would dare to say, will go down in history as the most impacted during the Covid crisis. They had sales volumes that were 50% below the previous year level. So being at 20% below looks like a considerable improvement!

Listing inventory followed the surge of sales, falling 11.2% to 8,277 from 9,319 in from the prior quarter, which was nearly the highest on record (first quarter of 2009 at 10,445) but generally speaking we are still at very high levels of inventory (which of course favors buyers)… the 4th quarter total was still 24.6% above compared to the 4th quarter 2019.

At 13 months of supply, the pace of the market was 36% faster than the prior quarter which registered 20 months of supply. But it was 56.6% slower than the prior-year quarter when there were 8.3 months of supply.

The days on market was 122. 23 more days than the same period last year. 

Listing discount gained a nominal 0.2% from the year-ago quarter. So essentially flat. This means that successful sellers adjusted their prices with accuracy according to new market conditions. 

The overall price trend indicators showed mixed results, with median sales price showing an annual gain skewed by an increase in higher-end condo sales. 

Median sales price rose 5.1% YoY to $1,050,000 helped by a large number of luxury transactions.

While the average price per square foot slipped 2.8% to $1,536 from the same period last year. 

The market share of bidding wars was 4.4%, down from 6% in the year-ago quarter, the lowest share reached in nearly eight years.