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NYC Home Surplus Builds as Overpriced Inventory Lingers on Market

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The sales market’s turbulent year ends with inventory close to peak levels citywide, according to the Q4 2018 StreetEasy Market Reports

New York, NY – Jan. 18, 2019 (PRNewswire) Last quarter, the number of homes for sale grew at double-digit rates in all five boroughs for the first time ever. In Manhattan, sales inventory rose 15.4 percent year over year, the fastest annual rate of growth in the fourth quarter since the financial crisis. As a result, fourth-quarter inventory was at its highest level since 2010, according to the Q4 StreetEasy Market Reports(i). Brooklyn and Queens also saw significant annual increases in inventory, up 22.0 percent and 30.8 percent, respectively.

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Although the listing of new for-sale homes slowed in the fourth quarter from the record highs reached earlier in the year, total inventory rose as overpriced homes lingered on the market. Homes that were fairly priced, however, sold in a similar timeframe as in 2017. Units that went into contract in Manhattan during the fourth quarter of 2018 spent a median of 86 days on the market, an increase of nine days from the previous year. In Brooklyn, homes took a median of 68 days to sell, down two days from the same period a year earlier. In Queens, homes spent 78 days on the market, just two days longer than in the fourth quarter of 2017.

“The glut of unrealistically priced homes in the city has been a main driver of the slow-moving market that ended 2018 – causing more and more homes to pile up before the new year and heightening competition among sellers,” said StreetEasy Senior Economist Grant Long. “Heading into 2019, sellers who are unwilling to budge on price are going to face an unforgiving market. Many sellers will have to make difficult pricing decisions in early 2019, particularly with another wave of inventory set to hit the market as the home-buying season heats up in the spring.”

See below for additional sales and rental market trends across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

Q4 2018 Key Findings — Manhattan

  • Prices dropped for the fourth consecutive quarter. The StreetEasy Manhattan Price Index(ii) dropped 3.0 percent to $1,132,214, its lowest level since 2015.
  • The Upper West Side saw the lowest number of recorded sales since the financial crisis. There were 405 recorded sales(iii) in the Upper West Side(iv) in the fourth quarter of 2018 – a 23.7 percent annual drop.
  • More than a quarter of homes had their price cut. The share of homes with a price cut in Manhattan increased by 4.9 percentage points year over year, reaching 26.8 percent. The median price cut amount remained unchanged, at 5.7 percent of the home’s total price.
  • Rents rose in all submarkets. The StreetEasy Manhattan Rent Index(v) increased 2.4 percent annually, reaching $3,207. Rents rose the most in Upper Manhattan(vi), up 2.4 percent to an all-time high of $2,380.
  • The share of units offering rental concessions dropped. In the fourth quarter of 2018, 14.9 percent of rentals in Manhattan offered a concession(vii), down 7.3 percentage points from last year — the largest annual drop since 2010.

Q4 2018 Key Findings — Brooklyn

  • Prices rose after dipping briefly in the third quarter. The StreetEasy Brooklyn Price Index increased 2.6 percent annually to $711,578. Prices in South Brooklyn(viii) rose the most, reaching $724,055, an increase of 5.5 percent year-over-year.
  • Recorded sales fell to 2012 levels. The number of recorded sales in Brooklyn dropped 18.8 percent annually, matching levels last seen in 2012.
  • Homes came off the market two days faster. The median number of days on market dipped to 68 in Brooklyn, down two days from last year. Brooklyn was the only borough where median days on market dipped.
  • Rents continued to climb. The StreetEasy Brooklyn Rent Index increased 1.5 percent to $2,584. Rents rose the most in Northwest Brooklyn, increasing 3.3 percent annually to $3,058.
  • Only 1 in 10 rentals offered concessions. Concessions were harder to find in Brooklyn, with the share of units offering concessions down 8.7 percentage points from a year prior.

Q4 2018 Key Findings — Queens

  • Prices continued to rise. The StreetEasy Queens Price Index increased 5.0 percent to $520,312. Home prices rose in every Queens submarket, led by growth in Central Queens(ix), where prices rose 6.9 percent to $539,006.
  • There were more than 1,000 more homes on the market than in the fourth quarter of 2017. Total sales inventory increased 30.8 percent in Queens. Sales inventory jumped the most in Long Island City, on the heels of the Amazon HQ2 announcement — up 45.2 percent annually.
  • More Queens sellers offered price cuts. The share of homes with a price cut rose 5.6 percentage points year-over-year to 19.3 percent in the borough. The median price cut amount remained unchanged at 4.5 percent.
  • Rents reached an all-time high. The StreetEasy Queens Rent Index increased 2.6 percent annually, reaching $2,164.
  • Landlords advertised concessions on fewer units. The share of rentals advertising concessions fell to 9.6 percent in Queens – down 5.6 percentage points annually.

The complete StreetEasy Market Reports for Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, with additional neighborhood data and graphics, can be viewed at streeteasy.com. Definitions of StreetEasy’s metrics and monthly data from each report can be downloaded at streeteasy.com/blog.

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 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.

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

StreetEasy is a registered trademark of Zillow, Inc.

i. The StreetEasy Market Reports are a monthly overview of the Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens sales and rental markets. Every three months, a quarterly analysis is published. The report data is aggregated from public recorded sales and listings data from real estate brokerages that provide comprehensive coverage of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, with more than a decade of history for most metrics. The reports are compiled by the StreetEasy Research team. For more information, visit https://streeteasy.com/blog/research/market-reports/. StreetEasy tracks data for all five boroughs within New York City, but currently only produces reports for Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
ii. The StreetEasy Price Indices 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 2007 in Brooklyn and Queens. 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. Levels of the StreetEasy Price Indices reflect average values of homes on the market. Data on the sale of homes is sourced from the New York City Department of Finance. Full methodology here.
iii. Recorded sales are projected for the period based upon 1) data received from the New York City Department of Finance through the final day of the period and 2) historical seasonal trends.
iv. The Upper West Side submarket includes Lincoln Square, Upper West Side, Manhattan Valley and Morningside Heights.
v. The StreetEasy Rent Indices are monthly indices that track changes in rent for all housing types and are currently available from January 2007 in Manhattan, January 2010 in Brooklyn and January 2012 in Queens. Each index uses a repeat-sales method similar that used to calculate the StreetEasy Price Indices. The repeat method evaluates rental price growth based on homes in a given geography that have listed for rent more than once. More details on methodology here.
vi. The Upper Manhattan submarket includes Hudson Heights, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Fort George, West Harlem, Central Harlem, East Harlem, Manhattanville, South Harlem and Marble Hill.
vii. Concessions are defined as advertised, temporary price reductions in the form of one or more months of free rent. StreetEasy does not include non-traditional concessions, such as Netflix packages and discounted amenities. We also do not include the waiving of broker’s fees as concessions.
viii. The South Brooklyn submarket includes Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Gravesend, Borough Park, Ocean Parkway, Kensington, Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Ditmas Park, Seagate, Flatbush, Midwood, Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, East Flatbush, Canarsie, Flatlands, Marine Park, Mill Basin, Bergen Beach, Old Mill Basin, Greenwood and Gerritsen Beach.
ix. The Central Queens submarket includes Woodside, Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, North Corona, Elmhurst, Corona, Maspeth, Middle Village, Ridgewood, Glendale, Rego Park and Forest Hills

Manhattan Homes Linger on Market, Forcing Sellers to Cut Prices

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One in 10 sellers cut prices as median time on market reached its highest level since 2012, according to the StreetEasy February Market Reports(i)

New York, NY – March 21, 2019 (PRNewswire) Many sellers across the city cut prices on their homes this February as winter brought a chill to the sales market. In Manhattan, more than one in ten homes had their prices cut, and inventory increased by 11.7 percent from last year. With the share of price cuts and inventory levels high across the borough, prices cooled, too. The StreetEasy Manhattan Price Indexii dropped 4.3 percent to $1,119,183, its lowest level since July 2015.

Even with prices down and an abundance of inventory buyers continued to hesitate to make deals. Manhattan homes spent a median of 117 days on the market — up 27 days year-over-year, and the highest level in seven years. This trend appeared in all areas and price points across the borough. Downtown Manhattaniii saw the largest increase in median days on market – up 31 from last year, to 117 days total.

“With a strong economy and home-shopping season right around the corner, plenty of New Yorkers are well-positioned to buy this spring. However, many are willing to walk away from deals that just aren’t financially attractive and continue renting instead— creating a market poised to punish sellers who don’t price their homes sensibly,” says StreetEasy Senior Economist Grant Long. “When the inevitable wave of new inventory hits the market this spring, interested buyers should expect to see an uptick in price cuts as the market forces ambitious sellers to accept reality.”

See below for additional sales and rental market trends across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

February 2019 Key Findings — Manhattan

  • Home prices dropped boroughwide. The StreetEasy Manhattan Price Index fell 4.3 percent to $1,119,183. Prices dropped in all five submarkets, with the Upper West Sideiv seeing the most significant decrease — down 4.4 percent to $1,106,947, its lowest level since June 2015.
  • Homes took a month longer to sell. Manhattan homes spent a median of 117 days on the market – — up 27 days year-over-year. In February, homes in the Upper East Side submarket spent the most time on market at 123 days – 25 days longer than last year.
  • Sales inventory remained high. The total number of homes for sale in Manhattan increased 11.7 percent year-over-year. Inventory grew across the borough, with Upper Manhattanv gaining the largest relative share of new inventory at 18.4 percent.
  • Recorded sales declined. There were 2.2 percent fewer home salesvi in February in the borough. Sales decreased in all five submarkets, led by Downtown Manhattan, where there were 7.9 percent fewer sales.
  • More than one in ten homes had their price cut. 11 percent of homes in Manhattan saw a price cut in February – a slight increase of 0.1 percentage points year-over-year. Upper Manhattan saw the most significant annual jump in the share of price cuts – up 1.3 percentage points to 10.3 percent.
  • Rents continued to rise. The StreetEasy Manhattan Rent Indexvii increased 2.5 percent annually, reaching $3,209. Downtown Manhattan rents reached their highest level ever — up 2.5 percent to $3,730.

February 2019 Key Findings — Brooklyn

  • Prices remained the same. The StreetEasy Brooklyn Price Index increased by just 0.6 percent to $713,513. Prices rose across the borough, except in East Brooklynviii, where they dropped 3.1 percent to $615,464.
  • Sales inventory increased significantly. Inventory in Brooklyn rose 21.9 percent from last year. There were some 150 more homes available for sale in Northwest Brooklynix this February than last year — a 27.9 percent increase.
  • Homes took two weeks longer to sell. The median days on market increased to 90 days in Brooklyn, up 15 days from last year. Homes in Prospect Parkx spent over two months longer on the market — up 70 days to 101 total days.
  • There were more price cuts. Borough-wide, the share of price cuts increased by 4.2 percentage points to 11.6 percent. East Brooklyn had the largest spike in price cuts compared to last year – up 5.7 percentage points to 11.8 percent.
  • Rents in North Brooklyn decreased slightly. Despite the cancellation of the L train shutdown, rents in North Brooklynxi remained relatively stagnant at $3,046 — a 0.9 percent decrease from last year. Boroughwide, the StreetEasy Brooklyn Rent Index was up 1.8 percent to $2,593.
  • 1 in 10 rentals advertised concessions. The share of rentals advertising concessions dropped by 7.1 percentage points year-over-year, down to 9.7 percent boroughwide.

February 2019 Key Findings — Queens

  • Price growth continued to slow. The StreetEasy Queens Price Index increased 4.0 percent annually, reaching $523,592. While prices are still increasing in the borough, growth has slowed compared to the high levels seen in 2018.
  • Sales inventory increased the most of any borough. Queens saw the most significant jump in sales inventory of the three boroughs tracked — up 26.5 percent year-over-year.
  • Homes sold the fastest. Of the three boroughs, homes in Queens moved off the market the fastest at a median of 67 days – one day faster than last year.
  • The share of price cuts increased. The share of homes with a price cut increased to 8.8 percent in the borough – up 3.1 percentage points year-over-year.
  • Rents increased steadily. The StreetEasy Queens Rent Index reached $2,163 — up 2.4 percent year-over-year. Northwest Queens had the largest increase in rents, up 2.3 percent to $2,254.

The complete StreetEasy Market Reports for Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, with additional neighborhood data and graphics, can be viewed at streeteasy.com/blog/research/market-reports/. Definitions of StreetEasy’s metrics and monthly data from each report can be downloaded at https://streeteasy.com/blog/data-dashboard/.

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 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.

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

StreetEasy is a registered trademark of Zillow, Inc.

i The StreetEasy Market Reports are a monthly overview of the Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens sales and rental markets. Every three months, a quarterly analysis is published. The report data is aggregated from public recorded sales and listings data from real estate brokerages that provide comprehensive coverage of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, with more than a decade of history for most metrics. The reports are compiled by the StreetEasy Research team. For more information, visit https://streeteasy.com/blog/research/market-reports/. StreetEasy tracks data for all five boroughs within New York City, but currently only produces reports for Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. 
ii The StreetEasy Price Indices 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 2007 in Brooklyn and Queens. 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. Levels of the StreetEasy Price Indices reflect average values of homes on the market. Data on the sale of homes is sourced from the New York City Department of Finance. Full methodology here. 
iii The Downtown Manhattan submarket includes Civic Center, Financial District, Tribeca, Stuyvesant Town/PCV, SoHo, Little Italy, Lower East Side, Chinatown, Battery Park City, Gramercy Park, Chelsea, Greenwich Village, East Village, West Village, Flatiron and Nolita. 
iv The Upper West Side submarket includes Lincoln Square, Upper West Side, Manhattan Valley and Morningside Heights. 
v The Upper Manhattan submarket includes Hudson Heights, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Fort George, West Harlem, Central Harlem, East Harlem, Manhattanville, South Harlem and Marble Hill. 
vi Recorded sales are projected for the period based upon 1) data received from the New York City Department of Finance through the final day of the period, and 2) historical seasonal trends. 
vii The StreetEasy Rent Indices are monthly indices that track changes in rent for all housing types and are currently available from January 2007 in Manhattan, January 2010 in Brooklyn, and January 2012 in Queens. Each index uses a repeat-sales method similar that used to calculate the StreetEasy Price Indices. The repeat method evaluates rental price growth based on homes in a given geography that have listed for rent more than once. More details on methodology here. 
viii The East Brooklyn submarket includes Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick, East New York, Crown Heights and Brownsville. 
ix The Northwest Brooklyn submarket includes Downtown Brooklyn, Fort Greene, Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, DUMBO, Red Hook, Gowanus, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Columbia St. Waterfront District and Clinton Hill. 
x The Prospect Park submarket includes Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Prospect Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens and Prospect Park South. 
xi The North Brooklyn submarket includes Greenpoint, Williamsburg and East Williamsburg.

New York City Rents Rising Fastest in Neighborhoods With Families

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Rents in family-dense NYC neighborhoods grew five percent faster over the past 10 years than rents in areas with fewer families, according to a new StreetEasy study

New York, NY – Aug. 27, 2018 (PRNewswire)

  • Rents in New York City have increased 31 percent since 2010, according to the StreetEasy Rent Index. Some neighborhoods saw rents rise as little as 15 percent, while rents in others rose as much as 45 percent.
  • Rents in neighborhoods where at least a quarter of residents were families with children grew 5 percent faster than neighborhoods in which less than a quarter of residents were families.
  • In neighborhoods with a median household income below New York City’s 2010 median, rents grew 6 percent more than in areas with a household income above the citywide median.
  • A household spending $2,000 per month on rent in 2010 would be paying an additional $620 per month or $7,440 more per year in 2018.

Since the end of the financial crisis(i), monthly rents for New York City apartments listed on StreetEasy increased 31 percent or $653(ii), according to StreetEasy’s annual rent affordability study. While the pace of rent growth has varied widely across neighborhoods — from 15 percent in Ridgewood, Queens, to 45 percent in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn — rents are growing fastest in areas with higher shares of low-income residents and renter households with children(iii).

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Rents in neighborhoods where families make up at least 25 percent of residents grew 32 percent on average, 5 percent faster than neighborhoods where less than one quarter of residents had children. Manhattan neighborhoods including Midtown, Gramercy Park, and the Financial District, where less than 10 percent of renters have children, were among the neighborhoods with the slowest-growing rents. Outer-borough areas such as Ditmas Park, Elmhurst, and University Heights, where more than a third of renters have children, were among the neighborhoods where rents rose the most.

Rent increases have also hit low-income households especially hard. In the neighborhoods with household incomes below the city’s 2010 median of $50,285, rents grew by 33 percent. Over the same 10-year period, rents in neighborhoods with an above-median income grew by just 27 percent — 6 percent slower. For a household spending $2,000 per month on rent in 2010, this 6 percent additional growth adds up to an additional $125 per month or $1,500 per year in 2018. In neighborhoods like Prospect Lefferts Gardens and Midwood, dozens of apartments now ask for rents more than 40 percent higher than at the beginning of the decade.

“Rents have risen in the city, but not all New Yorkers have felt the same effects,” says StreetEasy Senior Economist Grant Long. “Residents who already struggle to make ends meet and renters dealing with the high costs of childcare are predominantly living in areas that see the most dramatic rent growth. These are often residents who have little financial flexibility to begin with. As a greater share of their incomes goes towards rent, it’s increasingly difficult for families to save for a down payment on a home, their children’s college education, or emergencies.”

The StreetEasy study also reveals some of the impacts of zoning changes around the city. Seven of the top 10 neighborhoods with fastest rent growth were in part downzoned over the last two decades, limiting growth in the supply of housing. Meanwhile, three of the 10 neighborhoods with slowest rent growth — Long Island City, Dumbo, and the Upper West Side — were in part upzoned between 2007 and 2009. Taken together, these findings suggest that the zoning-related supply factors in some areas of the city may have played a role in mitigating or accelerating overall rent growth.

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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 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.

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

StreetEasy is a registered trademark of Zillow, Inc.

(i) For the purpose of this analysis, StreetEasy examined rent growth between January 2010 and January 2018.

(ii) Rent growth in New York City and the 88 neighborhoods in this analysis were estimated using the StreetEasy Rent Index. More on the methodology here: https://streeteasy.com/blog/methodology-price-and-rent-indices/

(iii) The share of renter families and median income for residents in each neighborhood were estimated using the U.S. Census American Community Survey, five-year estimates.

(iv) Median asking rent based on active StreetEasy rental listings in January 2018.