Manhattan home prices dipped at the end of 2018, according to multiple market reports, including one that put the median co-op and condo sales price below $1 million for the first time in three years.
In a report released Thursday, Douglas Elliman said the median sales price in the last quarter of 2018 hit $999,000, a 5.8 percent decline from $1.06 million during the same period in 2017. That decrease brought the median sales price below $1 million for the first time in three years, according to Elliman’s analyses.
Median prices fared slightly better in other market reports, including Halstead Real Estate’s, which said the median Manhattan co-op and condo price fell 5 percent over the past year, to $1.05 million, and Corcoran Group’s, which said the benchmark declined 2 percent over the past year, to $1.08 million.
All three firms reported that the number of executed sales had declined.
Elliman said its team counted 2,432 closings in the final quarter, 3.3 percent fewer than during the last three months of 2017. The real estate group added that the number of executed deals in Manhattan has fallen during eight of the nine previous quarters.
In their reports, Halstead and Corcoran both noted that closings in the final quarter fell 7 percent from the same period in 2017. Corcoran said several factors contributed to the decline in deals, including rising mortgage interest rates and volatility in the financial markets.
"Many prospective buyers are choosing to wait on the sidelines until prices adjust to a more accessible level and other market factors calm," the firm said in its report.
