The housing market is shifting gears as summer approaches. While inventory remains steady, contract activity is cooling off sooner than usual for this busy season. This, along with rising mortgage rates, has led to a near 10% decline in market prices compared to last spring. However, there's a bright spot: luxury property demand is 20% higher than the average for the past five years.
Here's a breakdown of the key trends:
- Overall market: Prices are down, contract activity is slowing.
- Luxury market: Demand is strong, exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
- Pricing & Staging Strategy: Accurate pricing and effective positioning are critical for sellers to avoid extended time on market and discounts.
Before we get into our market report we wanted to give a big thank you to YOU - our clients.
Karp Dagan Team Remains Top 1% Team in The Nation: Our team is proud to be ranked in this year’s Real Trends Verified list, highlighting the top 1% of agents in the nation! A huge thank you to the clients who helped us achieve this milestone for a third year in a row.
National Spring Slowdown: Across the US pending home sales in April fell to their slowest pace since April 2020. Sales were down in every region of the country, but they fell hardest in the Midwest and West. Higher mortgage rates had an effect: the average rate on the 30-year fixed ended March at around 6.9% and then took off, hitting 7.5% by the end of April. Jumbo mortgage rates are lower than this. Shorter term loans are even lower.
Co-Borrowing: The share of young home buyers relying on older mortgage co-signers is as high as it has been in at least 30 years, according to a Freddie Mac analysis of its home loans. In 1994, 1.6% of first-time home buyers under 35 had a co-borrower age 55 or older. By 2022, after a pandemic-era spike, that figure had more than doubled to 3.7%, matching a high set in 2015.
Luxury Market: 24 contracts were signed last week in Manhattan at $4 million and above, six fewer than the previous week. Condos outsold co-ops, 17-6, with 1 townhouses in the mix. The 24 contract total is exactly the same as the 10-year average for contracts in a shortened post-Memorial Day week.
Rental Market In April, asking rents in New York City rose 1.7% year-over-year to $3,700, though this growth is significantly slower than the 14% increase seen a year ago. The rising inventory across the city suggests a calmer rental market this year, although NYC still faces a severe housing shortage. Rents have soared in Brooklyn and Queens due to limited inventory and high demand, while the median asking rent in Manhattan is stabilizing as inventory increases and demand cools.
Is AI to Blame for Slowing Rent Prices? The borough’s rising inventory amid the slowdown in tech and finance hiring is likely keeping rent growth in check. An analysis by the Office of the New York City Comptroller shows tech employment across the city started declining in the summer of 2022 following strong growth in previous years. Employment in investment banking, securities and commodities, and other financial investment-related industries was down 1.4% year-over-year in March, NYS Department of Labor data shows.
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