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Manhattan Home Sales Drop Below Pre-Covid Normal as Rates Bite
This year’s rapid gain in borrowing costs is starting to pressure New York’s real estate market.
Manhattan home sales are under pressure as buyers feel the sting from higher mortgage rates.
Photographer: Amir Hamja/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Manhattan home sales under $1 million sagged well below their pre-pandemic levels this summer, as rising interest rates cut into buyers’ purchasing power and sidelined some potential consumers.
The number of properties for sale under $500,000 that entered contract in June, July and August was 29% less than the average number of transactions for that same period in the decade leading up to the pandemic, according an analysis by the brokerage Serhant. For properties priced from $500,000 to $1 million, activity was 15% less than the pre-Covid average.