Deals in New York City Overshadow Sales in the Suburbs

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Deals for Manhattan homes have had a bull run in 2021, while sales in the suburbs and vacation enclaves such as the Hamptons have slowed amid too few homes for sale. New signed contracts for Manhattan condos spiked 117.4% in August compared to the same time in 2020, while co-op transactions were up 38.8% year over year, according to a report Thursday from Douglas Elliman. Deals for one- to- three-family homes more than tripled, from six to 19, in the same time period. “The new signed contract volume for all three property types combined was nearly double the same period last year and is above the same period two years ago,” said Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of the appraisal company Miller Samuel and the author of the report. “In addition, all three property types saw new signed contract volume ahead of the same period one and two years ago, with one-to-three family volume nearly double the activity seen in August 2019.” Luxury condos in Manhattan, those priced for more than $4 million, “showed even larger gains in volume, as new signed contract volume for condos more than doubled,” Miller continued. Indeed, contracts for prime condos priced between $4 million and $4.99 million jumped 228.6% year over year in August, from seven to 23, the data showed. For residences priced between $5 million and $9.99 million, transactions rose nearly 243%, to 48 from 14, and there was a 175% increase for those priced between $10 million and $19.99 million, from 4 to 11. Brooklyn is still going strong, and “newly signed contracts for all three property types combined rose annually for 14 consecutive months and by more than triple compared to the same period two years ago,” Miller said. Last month, Brooklyn co-ops saw 15.2% more new signed contracts than a year ago, while deals for condos jumped 45%, the report found. There was also a 206.3% rise in deals for condos priced between $2 million and $3.99 million, from 16 to 49. Meanwhile, sales have dropped off significantly in the Hamptons, which saw sales spike last year as affluent New Yorkers fled the city during the Covid-19 pandemic. There, new signed contracts for single-family homes fell 59%, from 114 to 278, in August, compared to a year ago, the data showed. They were down across all price points, except the $10 million to $19.99 million range, which saw a 120% jump, from 5 to 11, last month. In addition, new listings were down 50.9% year over year in August. “The exaggerated declines reflect the year-ago post-lockdown sales surge. A lack of new inventory means fewer deals in suburban areas around New York City, as well. For example, last month in Greenwich, Connecticut, deals “fell year over year for the first time in at least 14 months, with growth weighed down by the drop in new listings in three of the past four months,” Miller said. “However, the new signed contract volume is more than double the level seen in the same period two years ago, even with the annual decline.” New signed contracts for single-family homes there were down 36% year over year, while new listings plummeted 56.5% compared to August 2020, the report found.