Median sales price for Manhattan co-ops and condos jumps to $1,165,000
- High rents and record bonuses helped fuel a 29 percent rise in deals in the first quarter
Manhattan's real estate market is continuing to normalize, said Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuel.
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One of the nuttier aspects of the New York City real estate market is that extremely high rents can make buying more appealing—even though apartment prices are also astronomical. That was the case for new buyers like Gaia, Rachel, Yulia, and Meir, who felt they were in essence “wasting money on rent.”
NYC’s record-setting rents helped fuel Manhattan’s first quarter sales market, which sent all price indicators sharply higher, according to the latest edition of the Elliman Report.
Manhattan rents have been marching higher for five months, hitting an unusual-for-winter all-time high of $4,500 in March, as per the Elliman Report.
First quarter transactions surged 28.8 percent for Manhattan co-ops and condos combined, and the median sales price increased 11 percent to $1,165,000 compared to the year-ago quarter.
It’s a sign that the sales market is continuing to normalize, said Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel and author of the report.
However, one of the reasons deals appear elevated: They are being compared to the first quarter of 2024, when sellers largely put buying on pause in anticipation of a sharp drop in mortgage rates—which never materialized, Miller wrote in his report.
The listing discount in the first quarter of 2025 was 6.6 percent, unchanged from the same period the previous year and significantly above the fourth quarter decade average of 5.4 percent, a trend seen in the last few quarters, which indicates sellers are pricing more in line with market conditions, Miller wrote.
‘Like a lion’
In his first quarter report for Coldwell Banker Warburg, Frederick Warburg Peters, president emeritus, wrote that the NYC market’s first quarter “came in like a lion and mostly just kept on roaring.”
The Manhattan and Brooklyn markets are stronger than they have been in several years, despite uncertainties about the political and economic landscape.
“Overall, the first quarter showed a real estate market in gradual recovery despite the uncertainty and economic headwinds created by the unpredictable new federal administration,” he said.
All signs point up
Corcoran also released a first quarter Manhattan market report, and for the fourth time in two decades, all key demand indicators grew in the first quarter, including the number of closings, transactions, and signed contracts, said Pamela Liebman, president and CEO of Corcoran.
Despite hesitations around demand and the economy, Corcoran’s report noted, Manhattan experienced stronger sales, lower supply, and shorter marketing times than last year.
Considerable obstacles
Manhattan’s first quarter growth in deals and prices was also notable considering the economic headwinds faced by the U.S., pointed out Coury Napier, director of research for SERHANT, in his report for the firm.
“The market faced uncertainty throughout the quarter,” Napier wrote. “Tariff speculation, fluctuating mortgage rates, and ongoing affordability concerns kept buyers cautious, even as interest rates trended down from highs in January.”
Record Wall Street bonuses
In her first quarter sales market report for Brown Harris Stevens, Bess Freedman, CEO, reiterated that the Manhattan sales market was in a very different place in early 2024, so by comparison the first quarter of this year looks more robust.
“The stock market may be going through a very volatile period now, but that was not the case last year… These gains, combined with a record $47.5 billion in Wall Street bonuses, led to a big pickup in luxury sales compared to the first quarter of 2024,” Freedman wrote.
The bonus pool for NYC’s securities employees reached a record $47.5 billion, its first major increase since highs of the pandemic highs, according to an annual estimate from New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, who found that Wall Street’s profits rose 90 percent in 2024.
Accepting RTO mandates
In its first quarter Manhattan residential market, Compass cited return-to-office mandates and Wall Street bonuses, which are typically paid out in the first quarter.
Leonard Steinberg, chief evangelist at Compass, said that New Yorkers have reached the “fifth stage of grief” in regard to being back in the office: “Acceptance.”
The boost from bonuses doled out in the first quarter cannot be overlooked. “Manhattan markets love a strong bonus season,” Steinberg said.
The return-to-work trend means New Yorkers who decamped to other locations are returning.
“There’s a noticeable movement of people returning from Florida and relocating from Los Angeles, said Charlie Attias, an agent at Compass.
“With fewer people working remotely and more returning to office settings, the city’s efforts to enhance safety and the declining crime rate are also contributing to this momentum,” Attias said.
More demand than supply for new condos
New development demand in Manhattan and in Brooklyn is just below the 10-year average despite declining inventory and lack of new condos, according to a first quarter analysis from Brown Harris Stevens Development Marketing.
Both boroughs show new condo demand outpacing supply, with the number of contracts signed higher than new supply, the report said.
Record high rents and instability in the stock market makes real estate a more attractive investment, said Robin Schneiderman, managing director at Brown Harris Stevens Development Marketing.
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