Last December the median price of a Manhattan apartment crossed the $1 million mark for the first time.
More recently the average sales price jumped 18.4 percent to $2.05 million during 2016’s first quarter. That’s up from $1.7 million at the same time in 2015, according to Miller Samuel latest quarterly market report.
Closings of new development units pushed up overall prices, but those deals represent contracts signed 12 to 18 months ago. Judging by the recent activity, it looks like buyers, sellers are in a spring market where demand and prices for new condos are softening and re-sales are gaining traction.
Nevertheless, new condo sales numbers are still impressive on paper.
The number of new development sales in Manhattan surged a massive 94 percent to 621 in the first quarter, double the 320 closings from a year earlier. Meanwhile, the median price of new development pads shot up more than 60 percent to $2.6 million during the first quarter (from $1.6 million in 2015’s first quarter).
The numbers tell a different story on the resale front. In that sector, there were 2,256 closings during the first quarter — a 3.6 percent drop that needs to be attributed to low inventory. The median price increased 7.3 percent to $950,000. While that jump is far lower than the price increase seen at new condos, it’s still a significant improvement from the same time in 2015.
In a sign that sellers are holding their ground despite a shift in the market, Miller also found that the listing discount — the spread between what sellers want and what buyers will pay — narrowed to 2.1 percent from nearly 5 percent a year ago.