Sales in the Financial District may be getting dragged down with the rest of the market, but rentals in the neighborhood saw a big boost.
In the fourth quarter, units rented in FiDi climbed 33 percent year over year to 527, according to Platinum Properties’ latest report. The uptick came as inventory climbed 4 percent and median rent dipped 4.4 percent.
“Units rented in the Financial District dropped considerably quarter-over-quarter, but this can be attributed to seasonality,” the report said. By size, the only market segment that saw fewer units rented were one-bedrooms, with a decline of 3.2 percent. On the high end, while units rented increased to 26 from 14 a year earlier, the median rent slid 51 percent to $8,250.
Meanwhile, sales in the neighborhood are facing the same challenges as the broader market. Units sold tumbled 39 percent compared with a year earlier — while the median price fell 42 percent to $952,250. Three-bedrooms saw the biggest price hit, according to the report. The median price slid 11.9 percent to $2.78 million.
The slowdown in FiDi has been more pronounced than in the overall Manhattan market. In the fourth quarter, Manhattan sales saw a 3.3 percent decrease, according to Douglas Elliman. The median sales price fell 5.8 percent to $999,000.
The FiDi sales market may continue to face headwinds as the area grapples with flood of condo inventory. According to The Real Deal’s analysis last June, the neighborhood had a pipeline of 1,928 new condo units — including both unsold units (minus in-contract properties) as well as units set to come online in the next few years.
The biggest project in the area is Harry Macklowe’s One Wall Street. Originally planned as a mix of condos and rentals, the developer later planned it as a 566-unit condo building. Last year, executives from Macklowe Properties and CORE’s Shaun Osher went on a sales roadshow to pitch the project to Asian buyers.