Here’s what happened during the Third Quarter 2020 in Manhattan: Below are the highlights. Find the entire report here.
Manhattan ended Q3 2020 on a positive note. Signed contracts were up 167% versus Q2 2020 when the market was on “pause” due to the Covid-19 stay-at-home restrictions. September saw sales turn an important corner: monthly signed contracts were up versus 2019 for the first time since February (pre-Covid).
The recent upturn in contracts signed has not affected closed sales yet. Closings largely reflect deals struck during the market “pause” so unsurprisingly they fell vs. last year. For Q3 overall, closings were down 44% and contracts signed dropped 15% year-over-year.
The city’s reopening significantly affected inventory this summer. Active listings in Q3 2020 rose 28% vs. last year and 57% versus Q2 - to 9,560 units.
After the announcement that reopening would begin in June, sellers rushed back into the market. Nearly 5,000 new listings hit the market in Q3 2020. New listings peaked at 2,200 in July—similar to the typical surge seen in April before the spring selling season.
Today’s actual price trends do not well align with Q3 2020 pricing statistics. In Q3, average and median closing prices surprisingly neared or hit record highs. Several factors skewed Q3 2020 pricing stats.