Manhattan home deals jumped 52% last week

Six-week decline in contract signings ends, and listings also rise

For the first time in six weeks, the number of Manhattan homes that went into contract increased. (Credit: iStock)
For the first time in six weeks, the number of Manhattan homes that went into contract increased. (Credit: iStock)

The losing streak is over.

After dropping for six consecutive weeks, the number of Manhattan homes that went into contract finally went up, an UrbanDigs report shows.

The data firm found 47 contracts were signed last week to purchase Manhattan homes, up 52 percent from the previous week’s 31, which had been a new low during the lockdown.

The market has not nearly recovered, though: The 47 deals were still down 80 percent from the same period in 2019.

Another sign that the market is coming back is the number of new listings, which rose for the third consecutive week to 133, up from 96 the previous week. But that’s still down 73 percent year-over-year.

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The count of homes taken off the market dropped 17 percent last week to 106 compared with the first week of May. The number of removed listings was the same a year ago.

According to the report’s author, UrbanDigs CEO Noah Rosenblatt, the weekly increases in new listings and contract signings and the drop in delistings are typical for the spring selling season in Manhattan.

“This was the first week where this pattern took hold,” he wrote. “Time will tell if this data point becomes a trend.”

The pandemic’s effect on sale prices remains unclear. Rosenblatt noted that residential closings happening now are representative of deals that went into contract in late January or early February. He estimated that it will be another six to eight weeks before “true Covid transactions” begin closing and pricing can be analyzed.

Write to Erin Hudson at ekh@therealdeal.com