May 2023 NYC Market Report

May was a strong month for the residential sales market in Manhattan. Although the activity is down from the record-breaking years of 2021 and 2022, some normalcy has returned to the market this Spring as this May is in line with May's of 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Overall, contract activity was up almost 35% from April and down only 12% from 2022. Total supply has stayed about even and it is still a liquid and moving market.

Earlier in the Spring, we were unsure if the market would move towards favoring buyers or sellers. For now, although the market is somewhat neutral- the lack of new supply has titled the favor towards sellers as both negotiability and days on the market are trending downward.

If you are a seller who is sitting on the market, it is not for a lack of buyers- your price is simply too high.

It looks like this market has some staying power. Buyers continue to grapple with tight inventory as we finish out the Spring selling season.

Anything that is priced well in this market is still very competitive and moving quickly- often time resulting in over-ask bids.

Typically, we see a transaction slow-down in the summer months, and while that may still be the case this summer, I believe it will be because of a slowdown in supply and not demand.

The number of ready and willing buyers still outnumbers the limited listings that are available on the market and this problem should only be exacerbated as sellers usually wait until Fall to list if they haven't by now. This could be a good opportunity for savvy sellers to take advantage of the strong demand and have their listing stand out during the summer months with less competition than in the Fall.

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