Manhattan, Brooklyn Residential Markets Boom In May

New York City’s residential market roared back to life in May after an April slump prompted by the impending failure of First Republic Bank.

New signed contracts rose significantly last month, with the growth in activity eclipsing new listings hitting the market, according to Miller Samuel’s monthly report for Douglas Elliman.

“The surging burned off supply,” report author Jonathan Miller said. “New supply hasn’t been able to keep up with new demand in May.”

May is typically the peak of the spring selling season, but Miller said. the growth in contract activity in Manhattan exceeded that of seasonal expectations.

In Manhattan, signed contracts jumped 22 percent compared to April, increasing for the third time in four months. New listings dipped for the first time this year, down 10 percent from April.

Brooklyn also reported notable growth in contract activity, with new signed contracts up from April by nearly 50 percent. New listings dropped for the first time in three months, down 4 percent month-over-month.

New signed contracts and new listings were lower last month than in May 2022, though annual comparison is skewed due to exceptionally high sales numbers in the first half of last year.

But the market is approaching the end of this “distortion period,” and Miller said he expects the data to normalize by July, when rising mortgage rates stabilized the market at the same time last year.

“The year-over-year comparison brings in the ‘rocket ship’ of the tail end of the pandemic housing boom,” Miller said.

New contract signings in Manhattan declined by 28 percent year-over-year last month, from 1254 to 907. New listings dropped from 1944 to 1553 over the same period, a 20 percent annual decrease.

In Brooklyn, new contract signings decreased by 14 percent year-over-year, dropping from 641 to 549. New listings declined 25 percent annually, down from 1107 in May 2022 to 826 last month.