NY City's 2021 Q3 Housing Market

Joshua "Josh" Weisfeld is an asset manager with W. Brothers Realty, LLC, in New York City. As a property manager and commercial real estate professional, Joshua Weisfeld has gained an acute understanding of the city’s housing market.

A combination of factors resulted in 2021 being a challenging year for home buyers. Low rates encouraged many first-time buyers to search for a home, but a nationwide shortage of properties and high prices led to expensive bidding wars.

The housing market in New York City was no different. The city’s diminished housing supply could not meet the demand of interested buyers, and prices have recovered from the worst periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. During Q3 2021, 42,688 closings represented a 15.5 percent year-over-year increase, while inventory fell by 21.9 percent to 42,849 units. The median sales price hit $385,000, a 26.2 percent increase.

The competitive nature of the city’s housing landscape could be seen in how quickly houses came off the market. Properties spent an average of 46 days on the market, a 33.3 percent decrease from Q3 2020. Further data supporting New York City as a seller’s market can be seen in the Housing Affordability Index falling to 126, a 15.4 percent decrease, and sellers receiving 102 percent of listing prices. The latter is a 3.1 percent year-over-year improvement. These trends are positioned to continue into 2022 and beyond as prices stabilize.

Full-Service versus Discount

Based in New York City, Joshua Weisfeld has been the asset manager for W Brothers Realty LLC since 2015. Responsible for overseeing day-to-day management and operations of office, retail, and multi-family properties, Joshua Weisfeld offers prompt service to client requests.

W Brothers Realty is a full-service real estate company that handles development, property management, and sales. The company offers a full set of brokerage services that saves clients time and cost.

Full-service real estate brokerage firms are different from the discount type in that they offer a full suite of services, such as selling and buying of real estate property, handling listings, and marketing. In contrast, a discount real estate brokerage firm offers a smaller set of services and usually lower rates, typically between three and five percent. While discount brokerages can be effective, a full-service firm is generally preferred as they are highly efficient during the sales process, and with a focus on inclusive marketing, they can reach a larger group of potential buyers.

Real Estate Markets Continue to Recover

A property manager and commercial real estate professional, Joshua “Josh” Weisfeld joined W Brothers Realty, LLC, in New York City as an asset manager in 2015. Over the course of his career, Joshua Weisfeld has developed an in-depth understanding of the real estate market in New York City, which he utilizes to meet a diversity of client needs.

Looking ahead to 2022, the NYC real estate market forecast continues to predict far more demand than supply, according to Norada Real Estate Investments, with the statewide market not far behind. A diminished housing supply in NYC, coupled with a growing demand for residential property, allowed for a continuous stream of transactions during the first two quarters of 2021, a trend set to continue as the city recovers from COVID -19.

NYC represents one of the nation's hardest-hit metropolitan areas, particularly in terms of job losses. While the city’s economy recovers, home buyers can still find deals as home prices gradually return to 2019 levels. Rental property prices are also recovering, particularly throughout the Manhattan region. The city records more leases every month, following a high vacancy rate. Overall, listing inventory fell by more than 50 percent between January and September of 2021.

The NYC downtown region continues to thrive. It was the only region of the city not to see a decline in annual median rent. In fact, new lease signings in Brooklyn hit a 13-year high in August of 2021.

Three Trends to Note in Commercial

An experienced commercial real estate professional, Joshua Weisfeld oversees the day-to-day operations and management of W Brothers Realty, LLC. At W Brothers Realty, Joshua “Josh” Weisfeld specializes in the New York City commercial real estate sector.    

New York City remains the number one global investment capital. Yet, despite the changing face of the marketplace amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, investors should choose wisely where to invest. Here are three trends to note.

COVID-19 has reshaped life, causing many to abandon city living for the roomier suburban lifestyle. Since the onset of COVID-19, home sales for suburban New York have risen by 44 percent. Overall, compared to pre-pandemic numbers, demand for property is up 25 percent.

The allure of submarkets is on the rise. While Manhattan is still the most popular investment destination, more and more developers are moving into up-and-coming neighborhoods of South Bronx, Northwest Queens, and Downtown Brooklyn, drawn by convenient transit, lower rents, and easy walkability.

The second quarter of 2021 showed signs of improvement. For example, in Manhattan, leasing activity during the first half of 2021 outpaced activity during the first half of 2020 by 27.6 percent. Leases by the food and beverage sector dominated the commercial property landscape, accounting for 43 percent of leasing activity.

The Basics of Real Estate Brokerage

A New York City real estate executive, Joshua “Josh” Weisfeld has served as senior vice president of operations and property manager at W Brothers Realty since 2015. Under Joshua Weisfeld’s leadership, W Brothers not only develops and manages commercial and multi-family residential real estate in New York, but also operates as a real estate brokerage.

Both individuals and legal entities can function as real estate brokers. While brokers generally perform many of the same activities as real estate agents, they can also work autonomously, establish independent firms, and employ other real estate agents.

Real estate brokerages operate in both the commercial and residential property sectors, handling a broad spectrum of complicated transactional processes with the best interests of their clients in mind. In return for their services, brokers get a certain percentage of the final sales transaction as a commission. Full-service brokerages may offer services ranging from market and equity research to tax and investment advisement.

 

Property Management and Special Services

New York City real estate professional Joshua (Josh) Weisfeld has served as an asset manager and vice president of operations with W Brothers Realty since 2015. Joshua Weisfeld’s position with this comprehensive development and management firm places him in charge of daily operations of multiple retail, office, and multifamily residential properties in New York and New Jersey.

W Brothers assigns a designated property manager to each building in its portfolio to closely monitor all property activity and effectively respond to all issues and concerns. The firm addresses emergencies around the clock and answers all client inquiries promptly and with attention to detail.

Informed by its real estate development activities, W Brothers provides additional property management services that include general structural upgrades as well as upgrades to surrounding exterior sidewalks and internal vaults and elevator equipment. It can also facilitate improvements to heating and temperature control systems as well as building security and intercom systems. In addition, its service team counts with significant experience regarding local, state, and federal safety laws.

Manhattan Real Estate Prices Fall in 2020

Joshua “Josh” Weisfeld is an asset manager with W. Brothers Realty, LLC, in New York City. As a real estate professional, Joshua Weisfeld emphasizes the sale, purchase, and rental markets of commercial real estate in Manhattan.

Research indicates that the fall of real estate prices in Manhattan was greater than any other American market in 2020. While the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been minimal in many real estate markets, select regions and asset classes have been hit hard.

According to the Real Capital Analytics US National All Property Index, 2020 actually saw 7.8 percent growth in nationwide real estate transactions, despite a stagnant stretch during the middle of the year. Certain industries and assets enjoyed even more growth, such as industrial (8.8 percent) and multi-family (8.3 percent) properties. On the other hand, prices for office space rose only 1.5 percent, while retail prices dropped by 4.5 percent from 2019.

New York City is a prime example of the varied effects of the coronavirus throughout 2020. Numerous city suburbs enjoyed increased property values, while several boroughs saw minor declines. Manhattan, however, was hit hard, posting a 5.1 percent decline through Q3. The area hit a 10-year low in property liquidity, despite trailing only Paris and Berlin in that regard.

An effective vaccine roll out offers some hope for the market prices in 2021 and beyond, though financial pressures yielding a glut of distressed asset sales could spell more complex, long-term troubles for the market.