Manhattan Home Sales See Smallest Decline in Two Years

  • The fourth quarter’s 1.2% drop was the smallest since 2017
  • Sellers cutting prices to a level buyers are willing to pay
Photographer: Jin lee/Bloomberg
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Manhattan home sales slipped 1.2% in the fourth quarter -- and that’s the best news for the market in two years.

It was the smallest year-over-year decline in deals since buyers started retreating in 2017, according to a report Friday by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. While home-shoppers are still wary of overpaying in a market where prices had shot up more than 50% from the bottom in 2012, more sellers are acknowledging those concerns and marking their properties down.