Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Open Houses Fizzle for Manhattan Condos and Co-Ops


New listings, and listings with significant price cuts, brought out fewer buyers this spring than in the past and attendance at open houses for Manhattan co-ops and condominiums slowed this spring despite strong recent sales and record high prices, brokers said.

Showings declined, as did bidding wars with multiple bidders making offers on the same property.  “Buyers have been both scarcer and slower this spring than in past years,” noted in a market commentary on second-quarter activity. “Buyer velocity has slowed considerably.”  New listings, and listings with significant price cuts, brought out fewer buyers than in the past, especially among the priciest apartments.

In one case, agents put out a listing for an apartment identical to one that had sold quickly six months earlier, but it garnered little interest. “Week after week they have few showing requests and no offers”.  Buyers show less urgency than in the recent past, as contract negotiations stretch out many weeks and potential buyers delay making offers.

At the same time, the number of deals hasn’t declined dramatically because the buyers still in the game were serious about buying. Price cuts by sellers also spurred deals.

“In today’s world, with both political anxiety and global safety concerns at high levels, our market cannot support aspirational pricing by sellers waiting for that ‘one buyer’ who will overpay for their home “Buyers are as price conscious as I have ever seen them.”

The market has cooled, even in apartments priced below $1 million, though in that price range properties still attract multiple bids, especially among lower-price apartments in Brooklyn.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

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