Manhattan home sales experience record decline

Sales volume tanked 54% as shelter-in-place order kept brokers and buyers on the sidelines

(iStock)
(iStock)

Manhattan home sales plunged by the sharpest decline in 30 years this spring as the coronavirus left brokers and buyers on the sidelines.

The number of closed condo and co-op sales during the second quarter of the year tanked more than 54 percent from the same time last year, according to a report from Douglas Elliman and appraiser Jonathan Miller. Just 1,357 sales closed, compared to 2,957 closed deals in the second quarter of 2019.

“As ‘shelter-in-place’ rules took effect in the final weeks of March, real estate brokers were not permitted to perform in-house showings and uncertainty loomed over the market,” Miller Samuel CEO Jonathan Miller said. “As a result, Manhattan was effectively shut down throughout the second quarter until the final week. The unprecedented shutdown skewed the results.”

The median sales price dropped 17.7 percent year over year to $1 million. Listing inventory fell 17.6 percent to 6,225 homes, and the days on the market climbed 8.8 percent to 124 days.

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The state only allowed brokers to resume in-person showings in the last week of June, as New York City started phase two of its reopening.

The number of signed contracts in Manhattan in June showed a slight increase from May, though were still far below last year’s figures.

Contact Rich Bockmann at rb@therealdeal.com or 908-415-5229