Home sale prices across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens continued to rise this home shopping season, up 1.2%, 5.6% and 8.3% respectively since this time last year, according to the Q2 2017 StreetEasy® Market Reportsi.
Queens experienced the greatest price appreciation, with median home prices up more than 5% in nearly every submarket. Despite signs of a competitive market across all three boroughs, the share of homes with a price cut rose — particularly among homes within the luxury sector.
“Looking at this year’s home shopping season, we’re seeing a competitive landscape with rising home prices and falling inventory levels across the city,” said StreetEasy Senior Economist Grant Long. “Inventory is tightest and price growth strongest among the markets geared toward those on a budget, perhaps looking for their first home. But this quarter’s data shows signs that buyers may be regaining some leverage: The share of homes that offered a price cut were up since last year, signaling that there are limits to how fast prices can rise and that more sellers may be willing to negotiate.”
Among the report’s findings:
- Manhattan’s median resale price increased by 1.2% year-over-year to $1,173,119. Home prices at the bottom end of the market rose the most, at 4.7%, while luxury prices dropped by 3.5% since Q2 of last year.
- Strong price appreciation in Upper Manhattan finally slowed in Q2 2017, maintaining its stronghold as the most affordable submarket in the borough with a median home resale price less than half of the borough median, at $496,881.
- Median resale prices for homes in the Upper West Side increased 2.6% since Q2 of last year.
- The amount of homes listed for sale in Manhattan dropped by nearly a quarter (21.9%) since this time last year.
- The median rent price in Manhattan rose by just .3% since Q2 of last year to $2,971, and rose by 1.4% among the most affordable segment of the market.
- Brooklyn’s median resale price rose 5.6% over the past year. The median resale price was $757,507 in Q2 2017, with South Brooklyn neighborhoods reporting the greatest annual price growth, up 9.7% since Q2 2016.
- Prospect Park prices showed signs of relief. The median resale price of this popular Brooklyn submarket fell to $937,339, down 23.5 percent from peak levels in April.
- Sales inventory in Brooklyn dipped, mirroring the trend in Manhattan. Brooklyn home shoppers had 16.3% fewer homes to choose from than at the same period last year.
- An increasing share of homes had their prices cut in Brooklyn, with cuts made on 35% of the homes for sale in Q2 2017, compared to 31% in Q2 of last year.
- Brooklyn’s median rent price of $2,442 was 1.3 percent higher than its Q2 2016 levels and just one dollar below its all-time peak of $2,443 in Q3 2016.
- Prices rose the most in Queens among all three boroughs. The median resale price increased 8.3% year-over-year to $500,351. Median resale prices went up across the borough, increasing more than 5% in every Queens submarket except the Rockaways.
- Queens saw a sale-to-list price ratio of 98% in Q2 2017, meaning Queens sellers typically received just 2% less than their initial asking price.
- For-sale home inventory in Queens was just above 3,000; little changed from the levels of the past two years.
- Typical of the busy rental season, the share of rental listings offering a discount fell nearly 3% since last quarter. South Queens and the Rockaways were among the areas with the fewest discounts; only 13% of listings and 14% of listings in those submarkets were discounted while on StreetEasy, respectively, compared to 26% of listings across the borough.
- Median rent prices in Queens were up 1.3% year-over-year, reaching an all-time high of $1,989 per month.
