Brokers see slow, steady progress for New York residential market

Over three-quarters of New York brokers believe that next quarter’s values and sales will be better than or the same as last quarter, according to a second-quarter survey conducted by the Real Estate Board of New York and released today. The survey found that 77 percent of respondents reported closing rental transactions at or above asking rent in the second quarter, up 16 percent from the quarter prior. Additionally, 13 percent more brokers reported closing rental transactions and 4 percent more reported closing sales compared to last quarter. Ten percent more brokers reported closing sales at or above asking price compared to what brokers reported in the second quarter of 2010.

According to the survey of REBNY members (it has 12,000 members), 59 percent of brokers reported using neighborhood names (i.e. Dumbo, Soho) when marketing their properties, and 40 percent reported finding clients more responsive to properties using neighborhood names than to those not including them. The survey inquired about neighborhood names as a result of pending legislation that could impact the use of neighborhood names in real estate listings.

“Our latest survey shows that residential brokers see slow but steady progress in the New York City residential sales market,” REBNY President Steven Spinola said in a statement. “The report demonstrates modest improvement in comparison to the first quarter of 2011, which is essential to continuing the market’s growth and keeping the industry optimistic through the second half of the year.” — Miranda Neubauer