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Welcome to The Data Drop by TRD Data, a weekly look at the numbers shaping real estate.
This week, TRD Data dove into the Big Apple’s broker workforce. After the pandemic, home sales fell in New York City — but its roster of real estate agents remained relatively unchanged, leaving more agents chasing fewer deals.
That imbalance peaked in 2023 and 2024, when there were more than 900 agents per $1 billion in sales volume, according to TRD Data. The ratio fell to 745 last year as more brokers finally exited the business.
“Affordability is a driver of a lot of decision making,” said Compass broker Jason Haber. “You may have agents who just aren’t able to earn enough based on what they’re making now, and what would have cut it a few years ago.”
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Here’s what else TRD Data covered this week:
Investors pull back from housing market as political, economic pressures mount
This week Congress passed a landmark, bipartisan bill aimed at making housing more affordable. One provision restricts institutional investors from buying existing homes.
But how many do they really own?
Spoiler alert: not a lot, according to a report from CJ Patrick Company. And in fact, institutional homeowners have been selling more than buying over the past nine quarters as they put funds into other investments and shift toward building rental homes.
Do they really compete with the average Joe? Depends who you ask. Republicans say big-money buyers are crowding out the typical homebuyer. But the report also notes that investors tend to focus on buying older, lower-priced homes in need of repair. The average price of their purchases in the first quarter was $431,282, well below the U.S. average of $514,600.
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🏠 Starter home prices hit $1 million in record number of cities
As if first-time homebuyers needed another hurdle, there are now a record number of markets where an entry-level home is at least $1 million.
A starter or entry-level home is one valued in the lowest-third of a region, according to Zillow. The listings platform says that a record 242 cities have $1 million entry-level homes, three times as many since February 2020.
New York and New Jersey had the greatest increase, while California had the highest number of $1 million, entry-level markets.
Why it matters: The traditional first rung of the housing ladder is becoming a luxury purchase in a growing share of the country.
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🧊 ICE plans to sell off, reassign most of newly acquired portfolio
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security dropped nearly $1 billion on industrial properties around the country. Its goal was to turn these properties into super-sized detention centers for migrants.
But now, the agency, which has seen local pushback and has been criticized for inhumane conditions at its centers, plans to sell off or reassign seven of those buildings worth about $700 million, the New York Times reported.
TRD Data whipped up a map to show all the properties the DHS purchased, which ones it tried — but failed to buy — and which ones are going to be offloaded.
What we’re watching next: Whether the government can unload these properties — and at what price. The next buyers will reveal whether this becomes a costly detour or a lucrative flip.
🗣️ ICYMI
Real estate in NYC’s outer boroughs are seeing a big rise in off-market home sales. TRD Data found that last year, private home sales surged throughout the Big Apple, stretching past the city’s typical luxury Manhattan enclaves into Brooklyn and Queens. Explore TRD Data’s interactive map to see where off-market deals climbed the most.
💸Big Deals
The top NYC sales of the week
🏆 Commercial: The most expensive commercial transaction recorded over the past week was for One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza at 885 Second Avenue in Kips Bay. Rockpoint sold the 805,467-square-foot, 48-story office building to First Point Partners for $265.3 million. Rockpoint had purchased the property for $565.8 million in 2019.
🏆 Residential: The top residential sale was for a duplex penthouse at 875 Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side that sold for $33.5 million. The seller was a trust tied to late talk-show host Phil Donahue and his wife, Marlo Thomas. The buyer was a trust.
🧠 Stat of the Week: $400 per square foot
That’s how much Stefan Soloviev wants to get for office space at 9 West 57th Street. If he does, the rent would be a record, which is currently held by the same building and set earlier this year, at $327 per square foot.
Thoughts? Questions? What would you like to see us cover? Send us a message at mary.diduch@therealdeal.com.