A hiccup, or signs of a slowdown? The median price for a Manhattan apartment that went in contract between July 1 and Sept. 21 was $950,000, 3 percent lower than the second quarter’s record-high median.
And in August, the number of contracts signed was 16.8 percent lower than in August 2014, the lowest level since August 2010, according to one analysis.
“The leverage has shifted a few notches toward the buy side,” said Noah Rosenblatt, CEO of UrbanDigs.com, which crunched the numbers. “We are in the midst of a slight adjustment down in price, but I don’t think it is anything sizable at the moment.”
The Corcoran Group found a more modest fall than UrbanDigs.com, according to the Wall Street Journal. In the same August-to-August comparison, which included proprietary data from new development sales, Corcoran found the number of contracts had dropped 6 percent, the lowest point since August since 2011.
Leonard Steinberg, president of Compass, who sold an $18.5 million apartment last week, believes the numbers represent a mere blip.
“This summer we have quite a number of distractions,” he said.
Steinberg also cited the slowdown in China and corrections in the U.S. stock market as reasons for the slowdown. “When everyone in New York keeps talking about Chinese buyers, when there is volatility, there is going to be a moment when people take a pause,” he said. [WSJ] – Ariel Stulberg