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The NYC neighborhoods where buyers are getting the biggest deals now

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By Jennifer White Karp  |
November 13, 2020 - 2:00PM
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Since March 16th, nearly three quarters of buyers got a discount off the asking price, according to a new report from StreetEasy.

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The pandemic exacerbated a slow New York City sales market—and the buyers taking advantage of current conditions are scoring significant deals.

How deep? From March 16, when NYC went into shutdown mode and September 30th, buyers closed on 6,738 properties listed on StreetEasy, and nearly three quarters (74 percent) nabbed a discount off the asking price, according to a new report from the listing site that looked at the neighborhoods where buyers are landing the biggest discounts. (During the same period in 2018, 64.5 percent sold below asking price.)

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Caption

Source: StreetEasy data from March 16th to September 30th, 2020.

Preferences have shifted dramatically when it comes to what buyers want. For example, being in Manhattan, or having a short commute is no longer a priority for many. Properties in Midtown Manhattan sold for the largest discount; the median difference between asking and closing price was 12.4 percent, with a median savings for buyers of $250,000 off.

The discounts were not just in the most expensive areas—three areas that offered major discounts, Jamaica, Elmhurst, and Sunset Park, had median sales prices at or below the citywide median recorded sales price.

In general, though, buyers are finding deals all over the city, the report says.

“There are very few areas experiencing bidding wars in New York City, and we don’t expect that to change anytime soon,” says Nancy Wu, and economist at StreetEasy. “The large gaps between asking and final closing prices show that prices are still elevated — especially in centrally located neighborhoods in Manhattan.”

 

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Jennifer White Karp

Managing Editor

Jennifer steers Brick Underground’s editorial coverage of New York City residential real estate and writes articles on market trends and strategies for buyers, sellers, and renters. Jennifer’s 15-year career in New York City real estate journalism includes stints as a writer and editor at The Real Deal and its spinoff publication, Luxury Listings NYC.

Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.

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