Manhattan sees price drop in fourth quarter apartment sales

Manhattan’s apartment market did not end the year on a high note.

The median price for apartments in the borough was at $1.08 million for the fourth quarter of 2017, a 4.6 percent increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2016 but a 9.8 percent decrease compared to the second quarter of the year, according to the Wall Street Journal. The borough’s ultraluxury market slowed down as well, with contract signings at apartments for $10 million or more dropping in October and November.

This year did see record-setting median prices for condos and co-ops, with condo prices hitting $1.7 million and co-ops hitting $800,000. But the price of new developments went down by 0.6 percent compared to last year, hitting a median price of $2.6 million, according to the Journal’s analysis.

The two main factors behind the drop were an oversaturation of pricey apartments in Manhattan and anxiety over what would end up being included in the new GOP tax law. The Manhattan real estate market could pick up next year as the implications of the new law become clearer.

Corcoran Group president Pamela Liebman told the Journal that the tax bill cost her firm several deals at the end of the year.

“We lost a lot of deals in the fourth quarter, while people waited to see the outcome of the tax bill, she said. “Now that the uncertainty is gone they will be able to make a decision.” [WSJ] – Eddie Small