“Market-wide closed sales declined as potential buyers grappled with a confluence of factors that created uncertainty in the market,” said the study.  “Buyers’ concerns included rising mortgage interest rates, tax-law reform, volatility in the financial markets, foreign capital restrictions, and political distractions. As a consequence, many prospective buyers are choosing to wait on the sidelines until prices adjust to a more accessible level and other market factors calm.”

Buyer’s Market

The good news in the study is the condominium resale market. According to Corcoran’s report, the median price for Manhattan condo resales of $1.350 million remained unchanged over fourth quarter 2017, but strangely the median price per square-foot decreased from $1,443 to $1,428 – approximately 2 percent  year-over-year. This discrepancy is attributed to the fact that “a greater number of resale condo sales occurred within historically less expensive and older condominiums versus the same time period last year,” said the report.

The median price for Manhattan co-op resales showed similar results. A positive change of 2 percent over fourth quarter 2017 was indicated, but there was a drop in median price for co-op resales from $845,000 to $810,000, representing a 4 percent decline from third quarter 2018 to fourth quarter 2018, for reasons similar as explained above for condominium sales.  According to Corcoran, average co-op resale price mirrored the decline. Price figures responded to fewer sales in lower-cost neighborhoods as well as buyers returning to the resale co-op market in search of value.”