Keeping Tabs on the NYC Real Estate Market

The current real estate market is understandably dynamic given the constantly developing COVID-19 situation—making it more important than ever for real estate professionals to consistently check up on the latest status updates. We’ve made it easy for you, read on for an overview of the latest developments in the New York real estate sector.

New York City remains one of the pricier and competitive housing markets on a national basis. Although the pandemic hit the NYC metropolitan area hard, aspiring homebuyers have made a swift return since the economy got back up and running that resulted in an active period during the late winter and early spring months of 2021.

While apartment leases took a nosedive in the early stages of the lockdown as vacancy rates soared, but this trend has reversed considerably. New tenant agreements are increasing steadily on a month-to-month basis and the rental prices are ramping up as an increased level of demand has returned to the market. A corresponding drop in inventory of available properties has created an upward pull on home values, resulting in the average listing price increasing 11.6% to $310,000 for 2020. Thus far in 2021, the following is a brief snapshot of some key market data for New York:

• Pending Sales (Statewide): Increased 31.9% to 35,855 since the start of the year
• Closed Transactions (Statewide): Increased 27.5% to 32,534
• Inventory (Statewide): Decreased 30.1% to 36,739 available properties
• Listing Price (Statewide): Increased 23.1% to $357,000
• Housing Affordability Index (Statewide): Fell 15.6% to 103 (the higher the number the more affordable)
• Months Supply of Inventory (Statewide): Fell 38.3% to 2.9 months

Nearly 110,000 New York City residents moved away from the city between February and July of 2020, but demand is steadily rising in all boroughs of NYC. Here’s a look at the market trends in each.

• Manhattan: Manhattan remains a buyer’s market, with 1,304 homes entering into contract in February 2021—the most active month in nearly eight years and a net increase of 70.7% from a year ago. The median listing price was $1,395,000 and the number of homes available on the market rose 23.9% from last year with the overall inventory levels peaking in October 2020 but remaining considerably higher than what experts initial predicted at the beginning of the year.
• Brooklyn: Overall buyer demand levels remain strong throughout Brooklyn, with the average listing price coming in at $900,000—which is lowest it has been in six years, a factor that has prompted a resurgence in buyer activity in recent weeks. The North Brooklyn area including Williamsburg and Greenpoint has a present median asking price of $1,397,000 and saw 80 properties sold in the last month alone, up 81.8% from last month.
• Queens: Home prices in Queens have stagnated to some extent; however, the number of homes proceeding to contract has jumped up 31.4% since last year. Northwest Queens has emerged as the most expensive submarket—comprised of Long Island City, Astoria, and Sunnyside—with the average market listing coming in at $845,000.

A significant majority of real estate analysts have forecasted a robust property appreciation rate across the state of New York over the course of 2021. Additionally, on May 4, 2021, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo approved an extension of the COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2020 and the COVID-19 Emergency Protect Our Small Businesses Act. These measures extended the moratorium on pandemic-related residential and commercial evictions and foreclosure proceedings for tenants that filed a hardship declaration until the end of August. This legislation helps protect vulnerable business and private citizen tenants that are threatened by eviction due to financial struggles related to the economic turbulence associated with the coronavirus. The eventual complete recovery of the New York real estate market is largely dependent on economic factors including future lockdowns and the effectiveness of the vaccine which will help businesses reopen with full capacity. Already, there is promising signs on this front, with unemployment insurance claims decreasing 86% since this time last year and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate similarly falling from 8.9% in February 2021 to 8.5% in March 2021.

Express Capital Financing is a New York based hard money lender who specializes in the New York market. If you are in need of a fast financing and would like to obtain a hard money loan in New York, let our team assist you today. Apply through our website or get in touch with a representative by calling our main office line:718-285-0806