New NYC Condo Sales Rose in May to Pre-Pandemic Levels

Sales of newly built condos in Manhattan and Brooklyn ticked up in May, bringing the new development market sitting at or above pre-pandemic levels.

Overall, sales averaged 10 percent higher than a pre-pandemic average from 2015 to 2019, according to a Marketproof report.

“There are still buyers despite the elevated mortgage rates,” said Marketproof CEO Kael Goodman.

Developers signed nine percent more contracts in May than in April, notching 140 sales in Manhattan, and revenue from expected closings grew 28 percent, to $670 million. Median price per square foot climbed 6 percent, to $2,257.

The three priciest condos to enter into contract asked $25 million each, at SL Green and Giorgio Armani’s 760 Madison Avenue, Ceruzzi Properties’ 138 East 50th Street and Extell Development’s 50 West 66th Street.

Luxury proved to be in demand, with sales of $4 million and above climbing 18 percent in May to account for more than 70 percent of Manhattan’s total new development revenue, and pushing the median price sale price to $3.5 million

The busiest buildings for Manhattan sales were the Monogram, a 190-unit condo tower in Turtle Bay by Navigation Capital Group and Hopson Development Holdings, and Sutton Tower, a 120-unit supertall in Sutton Place developed by Gamma Real Estate and JVP Management.

Each building reported six new contracts.

Brooklyn reported only one luxury contract closed, but a three percent bump to 93 new signed contracts. However, total dollar volume fell 10 percent, to $135 million. Median sticker price fell $1.2 million, a 19 percent decline; price per square foot fell 9 percent to $1,230.

The borough’s hottest buildings were in Downtown Brooklyn, with Tankhouse’s 9 Chapel Street notching four new contracts and Extell’s Brooklyn Point reporting three.

“With buildings like 11 Hoyt nearly sold out, there are opportunities opening for other buildings,” said Goodman, who expects inventory to continue to dwindle in New York City due to a paltry pipeline of new projects, which should also help support pricing.

Chris Jiashu Xu’s Skyline Tower sold the three priciest units in Queens, at $2 million each.

The higher sales data followed a softening in interest rates in May. This week, federal policymakers could revise the number of interest rate cuts they expect this year, possibly dealing a setback to the home sales market if fewer cuts are forecast.