The industry’s annual spring clean is weel underway, according to a new report from Streeteasy,
February is typically a turning point between the declining slow season, and the busy spring season.
According to StreetEasy data scientist, Alan Lightfeldt, “Inventory fell to a record low as pending sales increased considerably after the slow winter months. This was a ‘spring cleaning’ for the condo market as the market readies for the spring boost in inventory that historically begins in March.”
Manhattan condo pending sales surged 27.5 percent from January to February. Fueled by pending sales activity, condo inventory fell 2.4 percent from January, continuing a 4-month decline and hitting a record low of just 3,175 units on the market. Condos spent a median of 62 days on the market in February, 20 days less than January.
With supply flying off the shelves, February has cleared the way for the anticipated influx of inventory and home shopping activity that typically begins in spring, according to the February 2015 StreetEasy Manhattan Condo Market Report.
Amid tight inventory, condo sales prices grew slightly in February, increasing 0.7 percent from January and marking the 27th consecutive month of monthly price growth, according to the StreetEasy® Condo Price Index[ii]. Sales prices remain 7.8 percent higher than this time last year.
Within the borough, the Midtown submarket had the greatest price growth in February, increasing 1.9 percent from January, more than double the Manhattan-wide rate. The Midtown submarket also outperformed the rest of the borough in inventory growth. While all other submarkets saw inventory declines in February, the number of condo units in Midtown increased by 10.5 percent compared to this same time last year.
As the spring season approaches, condo sales prices are expected to climb further, albeit at a slower rate than in 2014.
According to the StreetEasy Condo Price Forecast, prices are expected to grow by 3.9 percent in 2015, significantly less than the 2014 growth rate of 7.1 percent.
