Lest anyone forget how expensive it is to live in New York City, new data shows that it’s never been more expensive to live in one of Manhattan’s condos.
According to a new report from StreetEasy, the New York City-based real estate marketplace owned by Zillow (Z), Manhattan condo prices rose 8.4% in 2014 to a record high, breaking the previous high set in 2007.
December also marked 24 consecutive months of price growth for Manhattan condos, StreetEasy said in its Q4 2014 Manhattan Real Estate Market Report.
Condo prices hit a new record high in the fourth quarter, and are currently 12.5% above their previous record set in 2007. But according to SteetEasy’s report, the fourth quarter marked the slowest rate of quarterly appreciation since the first quarter of 2013. The median sale price for all property types jumped nearly 11% year-over-year to $942,000.
On the positive side, StreetEasy expects a cool down of the market in 2015, due to stabilizing days on market, slowing price growth, and a slight increase in discounted inventory.
"For sidelined buyers wondering how much longer the market will continue to be constrained, relief may be on the horizon," said StreetEasy data scientist Alan Lightfeldt. "Manhattan's robust price growth amid anemic inventory is finally starting to come back down to Earth. The market will slow down for a much-needed breather in 2015 after last year's Olympic sprint."
Additionally, total Manhattan condo inventory in the fourth quarter fell 11.7% from 2013 and is down 39% from the Manhattan's inventory peak set in 2009, StreetEasy said.
“Looking ahead into 2015, condo prices are expected to grow a modest 0.4% in January, continuing the price appreciation streak.” StreetEasy said. “Over the course of 2015, condo price growth is predicted to slow to 4.9%, significantly less than the 7.5% growth rate experienced during 2014.”
StreetEasy’s report also touches on the performance of the co-op market in Manhattan as well.
“In the fourth quarter, 10,129 housing units of all types were available across Manhattan, a decline of 11.7% from the third quarter and 0.9% from one year ago, primarily due to a decline in co-op inventory,” StreetEasy said in its report. “Additionally, inventory at the end of 2014 was 39% below Manhattan's inventory peak set in the second quarter of 2009,” StreetEasy’s report continued.
“The driver of declining inventory was a drop in co-op listings, which fell 13.3% from the third quarter and were down 6.5% year-over-year. Condo listings increased 4.7% year-over-year.”
Additionally, housing units that went under contract in the fourth quarter spent a median time of 54 days on the market, unchanged from the third quarter and two days longer than the fourth quarter of 2013, StreetEasy said.
The number of homes that experienced a price reduction increased slightly in the fourth quarter, with 22.2% of all available units experiencing a price reduction, up from 21.3% from the same time last year.
