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While Manhattan home prices and sales sank over the last year, Brooklyn’s surged, driven by higher demand and dwindling inventory.
Now, those price trends appear to be slightly shifting, according to a report from UrbanDigs.
It analyzed the latest asking price of homes that went into contract in recent months. While accounting for discounts, UrbanDigs said asking price remained a reliable indicator of what sale price would be.
In March, the median latest asking price of a home in contract in Manhattan was $1.2 million, more than 14 percent higher than March 2020, when the pandemic started to upend the market. The March 2021 asking was about the same as it was the month before, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Brooklyn’s median latest asking price of homes in contract in March was $899,000, a 5.4 percent dip from March 2020. The March 2021 asking price was 5.3 percent below the previous month.
Overall, March 2021 was a solid one for signed contracts in both boroughs. In Manhattan, the number jumped to 1,497 up from 1,102 in February; and in Brooklyn, signed contracts rose to 949 from 710 in February.
Sellers have been slashing prices on Manhattan units amid the inventory glut, but the new data suggests an increasing number of higher-priced homes are trading in the borough. That may tap the brakes on discounts in the coming months as buyer demand rises.
Recent quarterly reports from Douglas Elliman suggested that Manhattan sales had finally started to increase year over year, while Brooklyn saw its median sales price reach an all-time high.
