The city’s housing market rebounded in the fourth quarter of 2022 with a 5.8 percent home-sales increase over the past few years

The city came back from the worst of the P.H. in the year 2021, leading to a surge in apartment buying. But it nosedived at the end of 2022, with the market returning to its pre-pandemic trajectory as sales dropped and prices slipped. The inventory is still slow to show up.

Prices dropped 4.7% between the third and fourth quarters, as mortgage rates really surged, ultimately reaching as high as an average of 7.08% for a 30-year, fixed-rate loan in October and November, according to Freddie Mac.

The largest share of condos sold were one-bedrooms with a median price of $1,140,000. The price tag for a two-bedroom condo was $2,150,000. The median price was lower for a one-bedroom and two-bedroom co-ops.

Due to ultra-low mortgage rates over the past few years, would-be home sellers across the country are now locked in to their current apartments, despite the fact that they could potentially buy at a higher rate.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/04/homes/home-sales-manhattan-fourth-quarter-2022/index.html

Inventory of Manhattan Apartments in the Fourth Quarter of 2021 versus 2022, and Implications for Rental Property Prices in the United States

As a result, there were 6,523 listings in Manhattan at the end of the fourth quarter. That’s 5% higher than the fourth quarter of 2021, but 15.7% less than the third quarter of 2022.

The prices and sales are rising from their pre-pandemic levels, with prices going up 10% above current levels and sales going up six percent.

Miller said that the low inventory was the result of mortgage rates being cut to the floor. Normally, you would expect inventory to grow with increased rate of growth.

Miller calls it the year of disappointment for those searching for housing because there is not a meaningful increase in affordability, barring a recession.

Even as rents are cooling in some parts of the country, it has never cost more to rent a Manhattan apartment during the month of January as it did last month.

“Rents are within a whisker of the summer high, and it is only January, which is typically a weaker rental time,” said Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of Miller Samuel. The price indicator is very close to all-time records. It seems to confirm that rents aren’t going to go down.”

“Despite expectations, January rents certainly make the case that as long as interest rates remain as high as they are, rents could go farther up,” said Miller. The lower rent environment will be created by significant job loss.

Affordability continues to be a challenge across the housing market, with higher mortgage rates pushing homeownership out of reach for many people who are continuing to rent — and propelling strong demand for rentals.