Inventory “unable to keep pace” in Brooklyn resi market

Manhattan’s residential market is moving sideways, but in Brooklyn, listings are struggling to stay on track. 

New signed contracts and new listings across co-ops, condos and homes stayed relatively consistent in Manhattan last month, according to Miller Samuel’s monthly report for Douglas Elliman. In Brooklyn, meanwhile, new signed contracts rose for all three property types, while new listings declined.

“Since December, it’s been an up and down story [in Manhattan],” report author Jonathan Miller said. “It’s been a little bit up and a little bit down every month.”

In Manhattan, new signed contracts dipped in May to 894, down from 907 in the same period last year. New listings ticked up slightly year-over-year from 1553 to 1571, marking the third increase in the last four months. 

Though the listing gains weren’t significant, “they’re continuing to rise,” Miller said. “All that does is raise the probability that there’ll be more sales in the coming months.”

For the borough’s condo market, it was a tale of two price points: Contract activity fell significantly for condos priced between $1 million and $5 million, however for those asking over $5 million, new signed contracts increased about 13 percent annually. 

“It’s really a mixed bag,” Miller said. He added that contract activity for co-ops was up annually last month, while one- to three-family homes remained flat. 

In Brooklyn, new signed contracts jumped 12 percent annually, from 549 to 615. Since January, contract activity in the borough has increased four times. 

Co-ops and one- to three-family homes logged the most significant annual upticks last month, with new signed contracts growing 32 percent and 35 percent, respectively. 

Despite the sales growth, “we’ve clearly seen inventory unable to keep pace,” Miller said. 

New listings have fallen annually for four out of the last five months. In May, new listings decreased 6 percent year-over-year, from 826 to 778. 

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