Upper Manhattan Resale Prices Surge in July, Fuel Another Record-Setting Month for Manhattan Prices

NEW YORK, Aug. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Key facts:

• The Manhattan Price Index grew 6.3 percent from last year to a record high of $983,207, though at a slower pace compared to 9.5 percent in July 2014.
• The Brooklyn Price Index increased 5.3 percent year-over-year to a record high of $524,171, less than half the July 2014 growth rate of 10.9 percent.
• The median resale price in the Upper Manhattan submarket surged 11.9 percent year-over-year, bucking the Manhattan- and Brooklyn-wide trend of slowing resale price growth.
• Manhattan inventory declined 5.1 percent from last year, driven principally by a 12.8 percent drop in co-op units.
• Brooklyn inventory increased 6.3 percent year-over-year, led by a 10.1 percent increase in townhouse inventory and 19.9 percent increase in condo inventory.

The median resale price of all Manhattan and Brooklyn homes rose to another record high in July, though the pace of growth is slowing. Manhattan resale prices of all home types rose 6.3 percent from last year to a record $983,207, as tracked by the Manhattan Price Index^[i]. The Brooklyn Price Index also reached an all-time high in July, increasing 5.3 percent year-over-year to $524,171. Last year, prices in Manhattan and Brooklyn grew by 9.5 and 10.9 percent, respectively, according to the July 2015 StreetEasy® Market Reports for Manhattan and Brooklyn^[ii].

While borough-wide trends point to easing prices in the resale market, the Upper Manhattan submarket, including neighborhoods such as Central, West and East Harlem, Hamilton Heights, and Inwood, bucked this trend entirely^[iii]. The median resale price in Upper Manhattan surged 11.9 percent year-over-year to $565,690, the largest annual increase of all Manhattan and Brooklyn submarkets tracked by the StreetEasy Price Indices. 

"Upper Manhattan has long been an enclave of lower-priced homes, providing affordable options for buyers that have smaller budgets, but still want to stay in Manhattan. Now, with home buyers being priced out of not only Manhattan, but many Brooklyn neighborhoods as well, these northern neighborhoods are attractive now more than ever," said StreetEasy data scientist Alan Lightfeldt. "Competition is already sharp around the edges. Most Upper Manhattan homes that sold in July sold for above asking price. Upper Manhattan is a new battleground for bidding wars."

In Upper Manhattan, homes typically sold for 1.4 percent more than their initial asking price. Inwood homes sold for nearly 5 percent above their asking price in July, second only to Manhattan's uber-luxurious SoHo neighborhood where homes sold for 8.2 percent above initial asking prices.

In Manhattan, a small increase (2 percent) in the number of condo units on the market in July was not enough to absorb the heavy loss of co-op units, which saw a 12.8 percent decline from last year. The decline in co-op units pushed total Manhattan inventory down 5.1 percent compared to last year's level. 

In Brooklyn, total inventory increased by 6.3 percent in July compared to last year, despite a 10.9 percent decline in co-op units. The growth of townhouse and condo inventory more than made up for the co-op decline in Brooklyn, increasing 10.1 percent and 19.9 percent year-over year, respectively.

As the summer comes to a close, Manhattan resale prices are expected to grow by 0.6 percent over the next month, according to the StreetEasy Manhattan Price Forecast^[iv]. In Brooklyn, prices will grow by 1.1 percent over the next month, according to the StreetEasy Brooklyn Price Forecast.  

Full reports and additional analysis for Manhattan and Brooklyn, including rental and neighborhood data, can be viewed at streeteasy.com/blog/market-reports.

About StreetEasy:
StreetEasy is New York City's leading local real estate marketplace on mobile and the Web, providing accurate and comprehensive for-sale and for-rent listings from hundreds of real estate brokerages throughout New York City and the major NYC metropolitan area. StreetEasy adds layers of proprietary data and useful search tools to help home shoppers and real estate professionals navigate the complex real estate markets within the five boroughs of New York City, as well as Northern New Jersey and the Hamptons.

Launched in 2006, StreetEasy is based in Manhattan's Flatiron neighborhood. StreetEasy is owned and operated by Zillow Group (NASDAQ: Z).

StreetEasy is a registered trademark of Zillow, Inc.

[i] The Manhattan Price Index (MPI) and Brooklyn Price Index (BPI) are monthly indices that track changes in resale prices of condo, co-op, and townhouse units. Each index uses a repeat-sales method of comparing the sales prices of the same properties since January 1995 in Manhattan and January 2004 in Brooklyn. Given this methodology, each Index accurately captures the change in home prices by controlling for the varying composition of homes sold in a given month. Data on arms-length sales of homes is sourced from the New York City Department of Finance.

[ii] The StreetEasy Market Report is a quarterly overview of the Manhattan and Brooklyn sales and rental markets. The report data is aggregated from public recorded sales and listings data from real estate brokerages that provide comprehensive coverage of Manhattan and Brooklyn, with most metrics dating back to 1995 in Manhattan and 2004 in Brooklyn. The reports are compiled by the StreetEasy Research team. For more information, visit http://streeteasy.com/blog/market-reports/. StreetEasy also tracks data for the five boroughs within New York City.

[iii] StreetEasy's Upper Manhattan submarket includes the following neighborhoods: Central Harlem, East Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Inwood, Manhattanville, Marble Hill, Washington Heights, and West Harlem.

[iv] The Manhattan Price Forecast and the Brooklyn Price Forecast predict the change in resale prices one month out from the current reported period. Each forecast incorporates the Price Index for each borough, StreetEasy's comprehensive database of listing prices and days on market - two leading indicators to future resale prices to accurately forecast what next month's resale prices will be before the release of publicly recorded sales data.

SOURCE StreetEasy

Related Links

http://www.streeteasy.com