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New York

Manhattan inventory hits record low in February: report

Only 3,175 apartments were on the market last month, according to StreetEasy

Rendering of 400 Park Avenue South in NoMad  (credit: Christian de Portzamparc)
Rendering of 400 Park Avenue South in NoMad  (credit: Christian de Portzamparc)

It’s hard to walk more than a block in Manhattan without stumbling across a residential condominium project in the works, but until all that spanking new product goes live, the market will continue to be defined by scarcity. The city’s condo inventory hit a record low last month with only 3,175 units on the market, according to StreetEasy’s latest Manhattan Condo Market Report.

Meanwhile, pending sales rebounded in February — as is the norm after slow winter months — jumping up 27.5 percent since January.

“February is typically a turning point between the declining slow season and the busy spring season,” Alan Lightfeld, a data scientist with StreetEasy, said. The condo market usually sees a boost in March, he added.

March is historically the best time to list apartments in Manhattan, according to another report StreetEasy released earlier this month.

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Condo prices, compared to January, stayed basically flat — prices increased 0.7 percent in February— but were still 7.8 percent higher year-over-year. The median sales price for condos in February was $1.2 million, according to the report.

The result, Lightfeld said, is that it’s going to be hard for condo owners to move to a different apartment at the same price point in Manhattan. “It’s a great time to sell,” he said, “but it’s difficult to buy in Manhattan.”

While condos have always taken longer to enter contract than co-ops, that gap is closing due to dwindling inventory, according to StreetEasy. Since February last year, the median time spent on the market for condos and co-ops have been within five days of each other.

In February, condos spent a median time of 62 days on the market, while co-ops saw a median of 60 days.

Despite the record cold, February still proved to be a record month for contracts signed for $4 million or more. A total of 116 contracts in that price range were signed in February, the highest level since at least 2007 and a 23 percent increase since 2014, according to the Olshan Luxury Market Report.

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