New York's Housing Market on Track for Robust Growth After 'Record-Breaking Year'

NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- New York's residential real estate market is poised for robust growth in 2022, following a strong regional performance last year on the heels of a Covid-fueled surge of activity in 2020. The Manhattan market is also heating up, with heavy volume and intense bidding wars expected in the first half of the new year, according to leading real estate and financial experts on a Jan. 13 virtual panel hosted by the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors, Inc. (HGAR) and OneKey® MLS.

"Getting the Deal Done – New Year, New York" featured Marissa S. Tracey, Global Private Banker, Citi Private Bank, NYC; Jonathan Miller, President and CEO of Miller Samuel Inc.; and Joe Rand, Chief Creative Officer of Howard Hanna-Rand Realty, and Executive Director of Broker Public Portal.

"We've all navigated another year of unprecedented events and are grappling with a pandemic that shows no signs of retreat. But, New York is resilient," said event host Richard Haggerty, CEO of HGAR and President and Chief Strategic Growth Officer of OneKey® MLS, the regional multiple listing service for New York. "We rounded out last year with record-breaking numbers. The post-Covid recovery continued well into 2021 and we continue to ride that crest. Will we maintain the torrid pace we had in 2020, 2021? I don't think so, but we're still going to be in a very strong position in 2022."

The discussion was moderated by Brian D. Tormey, NTP, President of TitleVest, a leading New York City-based provider of title insurance and related real estate services. The hour-long session centered on how New York is shaping up in the new year, with analysis of sales trends and rising interest rates, the return to physical offices, Manhattan's rebound and the impact on the regional market.

Miller pointed out the stark contrasts in housing inventory in New York City versus the Hudson Valley suburbs. "The problem the suburbs have, that the city doesn't have right now, is inventory," said Miller. "The city has more to sell. In the suburbs – and, arguably most of the country – inventory is not just low, it's insanely low. Even if inventory rises as interest rates rise, it's not going to be fully normalized."

The panel was asked if buyer demand will continue to outpace new inventory despite an increase in interest rates, and whether or not pricing will come down.

"We do think there's going to be an increase in interest rates, but we don't see residential mortgage rates going to 6, 7, 8 percent in the next two years," said Tracey. "When you're looking to make a purchase, look at your overall cost of owning that home. What is your monthly or annual mortgage payment going to be if you take out a mortgage now and lock in rates at historically low levels, and what does that enable you to have as far as purchasing power? That's something brokers should be talking to clients about, not just the cost of a home and the increase in pricing."

The panel also weighed in on how the housing market will be affected as more employees return to the workplace, particularly in New York City.

"We all overstate the joy of working from home," said Rand. "Working from home is not great –I have to get in my car to go to lunch. Working in the city, I had 500 amazing restaurants I could walk to. But, in terms of the impact on the residential market? If someone is living in the suburbs and now going back into the Manhattan office, they're not going to want to commute three or four days a week. They may want to get a second place in the city."

View the webinar here: 

"Getting the Deal Done" is part of the "Be Your Best" webinar series created by HGAR and OneKey® MLS, to help Realtors and agents navigate a changing landscape amid the pandemic. The event was sponsored by TitleVest.

About OneKey® MLS

OneKey® MLS has 44,000-plus subscribers and serves Manhattan, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Orange, Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. It was formed in 2018 by the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors and the Long Island Board of Realtors.

About Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors®

The Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors (www.hgar.com) is a not-for-profit trade association representing more than 13,000 real estate professionals in Manhattan, the Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Orange counties. It is the second-largest Realtor association in New York, and one of the largest in the U.S.

Media Contact: Caryn McBride
Co-Communications
[email protected]

SOURCE HGAR