From My Desk to Yours
Inauguration Day 2021
A new president was sworn into office this noon, and as the Times aptly reported, his “To-Do List” is daunting. Primary among his tasks, President Biden has pledged to oversee the vaccination of 100 million Americans in his first 100 days. In New York, we’re looking forward to when most are inoculated, and we gain herd immunity and can look back on this dreadful nearly year-long Covid period. Perhaps the real turning point for real estate, commercial as well residential, will be when we feel comfortable to return to our offices, though some form of work from home will continue, and when we feel safe enough to resume restaurant dining and retail shopping. With Democratic Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer as the city’s ace in the hole, we’re hoping federal dollars will be allocated to New York City’s rebuilding efforts. Our expectations are high, and we’re turning the corner, Hallelujah.
Buyers, the moment is still yours. It’s time to resume your searches in earnest, kick up your efforts, evaluate the opportunities and hasten to the closing table. Fuhgeddabout 30% Covid discounts. That’s just not happening now, unless you’re buying that $7+ million unit from a new development sponsor. Pent up demand has led to more signed contracts and in many cases to multiple offers. More contracts are being signed than inventory coming to market. Supply peaked in November, but declined in December. That should change as we move towards spring 2021. Nonetheless, unless the virus spikes more, we’re at the market bottom or close to it.
In last year’s fourth quarter, we ended 2020 at the best level for the year. Thankfully, the groundswell of activity is spilling over into the first weeks of 2021. Barring the unforeseen, we’ll continue the momentum on more stable ground moving into February and a new spring.
In Brooklyn, residential recovery has been nothing short of astounding. The number of fourth quarter sales was the highest in 13 years and an 82% increase over the third quarter; a new Brooklyn record high of $875,000 was set for median sales price, a rise of 9.4% year over year, and days on the market decreased by 42% from 139 days in Q3 to 80 days in Q4.
We welcome 2021 with optimism and hope. To be sure, our challenges will continue, and our renewal won’t happen overnight. But with the stock market at continued record highs, individual assets have been boosted and personal pocketbooks expanded, and surely, they will make their way into Manhattan’s residential housing. Once Broadway is back, and travel restrictions are lifted, we could very well see a boomerang return of both foreigners, out of state relocating families, and New Yorkers who left. It’s an unusual market to be sure, but we will recover from the devastating effects of a once in a century public health crisis.
