The Manhattan real estate market has been on quite a ride for the last two years. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent recovery have made for some interesting marketing dynamics since 2020. However, what we’re seeing now are signs that we may be getting back to more traditional seasonal trends.
Let’s take a look at how Q1 shaped up for 2022 and what this means for the coming months.
The market is strengthening
If you look at the chart above, you see a wide spread between the number of pending sales vs. active supply on the market. This was the height of the pandemic and the beginning of the economic shutdown.
In Q1, we saw a significant narrowing of that gap, similar to numbers we saw back in 2013. This indicates that the market is strengthening as we’re heading out of recovery mode.
Further signs of a stronger Q1 is the number of active listings. Q1 saw a strong rise in active listings compared to Q4 of 2021. We’re not quite back to the spikes we saw when the market initially reopened in the summer of 2020, but heading in the right direction.
Pending sales are also on the rise. This, coupled with a 16% quarterly increase in inventory means sellers are likely to start facing more competition than they have the last two years. Though it’s not quite a “buyers market” yet.
A rise in pricing was another interesting trend in Q1, despite the rise in inventory and demand. This is largely due to a rise in demand for luxury homes and larger spaces. While these two points are elevating pricing data, they are not necessarily indicative of a larger trend or what’s happening on the ground.
What does this all mean?
Signs are good that we are finally headed out of recovery mode and back into normal seasonality of the market. Though there are still some anomalies that we need to keep an eye on, like elevated pricing. If you’re selling, you need to prepare for more competition in the coming months. If you’re a buyer, the market is a bit more friendly than it has been with rising inventory in your favor.
As always, if you have any questions feel free to reach out to us any time!
For the full Q1 market report, click here.
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