I'm pleased to share Compass' September 2023 NYC Market Snapshots, highlighting the prevailing trends shaping the market.
September is a funny month for NYC real estate as we wrap up the doldrums of Summer and try to hit the proverbial Fall Market ground running. But with back to school shenanigans in full swing along with the back to back High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the harvest festival, Sukkot, buyer action tends to flag a bit in September.
So, though we typically see a surge in inventory with sellers trying to take advantage of the short 80 day window of the Fall market, Contracts signed generally won’t see a surge until October. But, bear in mind, interest rates remaining stubbornly high will likely have downward pressure on buyer action for the remainder of the year since a 1% increase in rates correlates with a 10% decrease in buyer affordability.
So, let's dig into these numbers.
In Manhattan, we saw a 5.7% increase in new inventory since August but a decline of 8.7% since this time last year. Contracts signed are down 27.4% month over month and 20.5% since September of 2022.
Brooklyn made modest gains in inventory since August of just 3.5% but again, with a deficit of 8% since 2022. And Contracts signed are down roughly 20% both since this time last month and this time last year.
And finally, Queens inventory has remained relatively flat since August with an annual decline of 7.4% which has been the overarching Queens theme all year. Contracts signed was down 26.2% since August but surprisingly up almost 1% since September of last year thanks to a bit of a surge in Coop and Condo sales.
So, if you’re a buyer looking for the most negotiability, your best bet will be Manhattan over Brooklyn and Queens. And if you’re a seller, stay savvy and keep an eye on interest rates because your buyers are.