2020 is a Great Time to Buy in Manhattan and Brooklyn – Williamsburg Named #1 Neighborhood to Watch

Are you looking to buy a property in New York City? We have a good news for you: now is a great time to invest in the Big Apple! All real estate specialists agree that this is currently a buyer’s market, meaning that the balance of power has definitely shifted to buyers. 

Let’s have a look at the Q4 2019, area per area:

 

Manhattan

It is a buyers market! Buyers have a strong ability to negotiate right now and buy properties that demonstrate clear value. In the past few years, prices in Manhattan have declined due to an overabundance of new and available apartments on the market. Inventory has kept on increasing, as the supply is now at a nine-year high.

“With so much new construction saturating the Manhattan real estate market, we were bound to see prices start to sink at record paces.” says Nancy Wu, economist from StreetEasy, NYC leading real estate portal, in a recent statement. “Market dynamics in 2020 will continue to favor the buyer across all price tiers”.
It is important to note that permits for new construction in NYC have decreased this year, and as such, it is predicted that inventory levels will be going down in the next few years. This will end the current buyer’s market, driving competition and prices up.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, we saw a 1% uptick in resale co-op and an 11% boost in new development sales. Right now over 25% of Manhattan’s newly built luxury condos currently remain unsold, and sales over 5 million dollars have dropped 41%. This makes 2020 a great time to get invest in Manhattan real estate and get great value on a luxury apartment.

 

Brooklyn



Brooklyn prices continued their upward climb through 2019. Brooklyn’s median sale price of $678K was 2% higher year-over-year. The last quarter in Brooklyn saw moderate activity compared to prior quarters, due to limited inventory and increased transfer taxes at the high end.

Interestingly, we saw that “the average price per square foot increased 11% to $943, reaching a near three-year high.” This dramatic increase in price per square foot reflects a desire for smaller more efficiently sized, quality homes.

Buyers have been favoring efficiently sized apartments, with studios and one bedroom sales combined representing 46 percent of sales, while residences with 3 bedrooms and more were at their lowest share of sales in over two years.

 



Williamsburg

It’s no surprise that the North Brooklyn neighborhood has been named the number one neighborhood to watch in 2020 by Street Easy. Street Easy used data from user searches, asking rental and sales prices and amount of new construction in the neighborhood to determine that Williamsburg is poised to even more popular in the coming year.

Prices in the neighborhood had slumped in advance of the ‘L Train Shutdown’ when the city was planning on shutting down the main subway. Particularly rental prices took a hit during this time with many residents moving out of the neighborhood in preparation for the shutdown in 2019. However, the city changed it plans at the very last second deciding to reduce, instead of turn off, subway service on the L Train line. As a result, the price slump is over. Median rents in Williamsburg increasing by 7 percent since last year and developers having built an impressive 41 new buildings.

Williamsburg is definitely primed for an astounding 2020. 

Looking to take advantage of this buyer’s market? Give us a call to discuss your needs: we are Brooklyn and Manhattan specialists, and are there to guide you through NYC’s competitive real estate market.