Two key market dynamics are at play in the current marketplace: the anticipation of lower interest rates and a wave of summer price drops. The former is expected to stabilize the latter, and there are implications for both buyers and sellers.

Restaurant Week is upon us once more, as New York City's eateries unite for a culinary celebration. This winter for nearly three weeks beginning January 16th and ending February 4th, more than 550 restaurants are providing discounted rates and prix-fixe menus for breakfast, lunch or dinner. With prices starting at just $30, it's a carrot that's hard to resist. Explore some of this year's lineup.

Highlighting Last Quarter’s Prevailing Trends. If you have questions about your own property or local neighborhood, don't hesitate to reach out. Here’s a summary of key points along with some commentary:

New York City’s residential real estate market in 2023 was mostly about recalibration and resilience. Despite the year’s challenges posed by banking industry shakeups, spiking mortgage rates and uncertain global political and economic landscapes, the city's real estate sector remained stable. Near the start of the year in February, appraiser Jonathan Miller forecast that this year would be one of disappointment and predicted, “Sellers are not going to get the price[s] they wanted … and buyers aren't going to get meaningful discounts.” Following are a few noteworthy market dynamics.

As we transition into the second half of 2023, a seasonal summer slowdown is upon us. The definite lull is dramatically different from the robust activity of the post pandemic summers of 2021 and 2022. Today’s sellers are frustrated by fewer showings, silent open houses, and no offers, not even low, embarrassing bids.

In New York, we’re back to pre-pandemic levels, having regained the acknowledged 8-12% drop in property pricing from 3 years ago. This year, we’ve managed to avert disasters, but it was a helluva roller coaster ride!

ChatGPT, or Generative Pre-trained Transformer . . . is a powerful tool which pushes the boundaries of what AI can do and makes advanced AI technologies accessible to different audiences and industries. . . . The new technology is stunning, stupendous and slightly scary.

Goodbye 2022. We are ready for 2023! We’ve lived through considerable challenges these last three years with inflation in the forefront running at a 40-year high, and Covid hangovers splicing into a variety of flu and mystery viruses.

In January, following a record setting 2021 post Covid recovery, I wrote that Manhattan real estate was poised for a strong 2022. Sales volume last year totaled $30B—6% greater than the previous record set in 2007. During the first half of this year, sales volume reached $15.6B, the highest half year mark in a decade.

In the last 30 days in the residential resale market, there’s been a steady rise in the number of price reductions. Listing supply has increased slightly, but that may ebb as we move further into the summer months. Contract activity has been relatively steady, despite the spreading uncertainty and unease created by a confluence of unmitigated factors, namely rising interest rates (up .75% yesterday with more hikes to come), the ongoing war in the Ukraine, out of control inflation and stock market volatility.

Are anxiety and uncertainty creeping into our marketplace this quarter with the current macroeconomic and geopolitical concerns?

The burst of new listings we were expecting to begin mid-January never materialized. As a matter of fact, the continuing low supply of properties is pretty significant. Here’s what we are seeing.

Who would have thought that two years after Covid-19 emerged, the global pandemic would still be front and center in our lives? Along with virus mutations, uncertainty has returned as our status quo. Holiday parties have been scratched to minimize exposures; block-long lines surround test centers; a reopened Broadway is balancing frequent cancellations as actors or crew test positive; travelers fly double-masked.

Sometimes you need a velvet rope to foster demand and create buzz and exclusivity. Remember the red velvet barrier in front of Studio 54 in the late 70’s? How cool was it when the big burly bouncer out front nodded that you could enter and join the other disco party-goers? When applied to real estate sales, velvet rope marketing is about creating demand by limiting availability to achieve a premium price.

● As expected, after Labor Day and the Jewish holidays, a wave of new inventory appeared to the significant tune of 2,088 total new offerings across all product categories and price segments. Surprisingly however, supply dipped in the weeks following, and resale stock has become short again, frustrating buyers who were looking for more options and prompting multiple offers. New listings were down nearly 30% YOY in Q3, forcing buyers to act quickly and helping to drive sales.

With Labor Day and Rosh Hashanah coinciding on this year's calendar, it’s no surprise that the number of new offerings dropped last week, making 8 consecutive weeks of shrinking new inventory. What’s eye-popping is that 27 contracts over $4M were signed last week, with condos outselling co-ops by nearly 4:1. Even more surprising, the previous week from August 23-29 saw 23 luxury contracts inked with 5:1 condos to co-ops and 9 townhouses, the largest number of TH contracts since Donna Olshan began tracking this $4M+ market segment in 2006 and the strongest pre-Labor Day week since 2014. It was the sixth month in a row for record high contract activity.