IN 2022, A STUNNING COMEBACK MADE BY NEW YORK’S HOUSING MARKET

Almost a year before, when most of the country was experiencing record home prices and sales, with small mortgage rates and rambling office employees, New York was going through the opposite with rentals and sales crashing, and it was predicted that the city’s market was sabotaged. But it didn’t last long.

The city’s housing market took a sharp U-turn and the rental and sales markets are increasing and even exceeding the prices in pre pandemic in some cases. In almost mid of 2021, the number of apartments sold in Manhattan was greater than in the previous 32 years. Sales recorded in Queens and Brooklyn were even more. Some of the renters, who enjoyed discounts in the previous year, are now suffering the shock of rising in prices up to 30 to 40%. 

New York’s housing market has retained its normal position and along with it, the opportunity of a city with more affordable residence is fading. It is obvious that the sudden elevation of rents will bring the risk of possible eviction for a lot of renters. 

In 2022, further gains in the real estate market of the city are expected but with the appearance of remarkable contagious Omicron, the course to recovery may be winding.

National Trends of Bucks In Manhattan 

According to brokerage Douglas Elliman, 2021 has no precedent while talking about US housing markets. But after the year had a depressed market, Manhattan set a record where 4,523 apartments were sold with the sale price almost 9% more than in same time in 2019 prior the pandemic. The sudden turnaround in New York provoked those people who abandon the city when the pandemic began, wealthy buyers and renters with the means to move. 

It was said that political changes like local and property tax deductions, prospects of a higher cap on state along with rising in the conforming loan limits in expensive cities like New York, can also fuel up the prices. Already evidence are present that buyers are increasing the prices intentionally: 8.3% of sales in Manhattan lasted in bidding wars at the almost end of the year that is above 5 to 7% which is the usual range.

More Demand Of Queens And Brooklyn

Brooklyn and Queens are also achieving new heights along with Manhattan. An economist, Gregory J. Heym said that for apartments in Brooklyn, the median sale price was $828,351 in the third quarter of the year that was a record. The average sale price was $1.02 million, lifted by luxury sale, both are a record. He added that a number of individuals left Manhattan and escaped to Queens and Brooklyn due to relative affordability. 

In the third quarter in Brooklyn, 25.5% of sales lasted in bidding wars which was the highest value in the three years. An agent with Corcoran, Patrick W. Smith said that in Long Island City- Queens is the closest neighborhood to Manhattan, sales also attaining new levels. 

Fleeting Discounts For Renters

For a renter in New York, the Covid discounts were short-lived that cajole some tenants to rush for new housing. In the beginning of 2021in Manhattan, the median rent asked in Manhattan inclusive of discounts, dropped to the lowest amount during Covid that was $2,750 per month. This is more than twenty one percent fall from the same time in the last year. 

It was said that people got supper deals of 3- 4 months off for almost a year; however, a big number of those leases will be expired at the initiation of 2022.

A Looming Crisis

While it seems that the market is flourishing, but there is a risk that millions renters can lose their homes when a moratorium on eviction ends statewide. In the mid November, almost $2 billion Emergency Rental Assistance Program of NY state has aided about 166,000 households settle the overdue rent, $1 billion more is requested by the governor that will help additional 72,000 applicants. But there are a number of applications that are not approved yet.

The risk lies on the Black and Latino renters disproportionately in areas of the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island that is home for a lot of necessary workers who remain at risk during the pandemic.