It’s time for my NYC real estate review for 2024! Let’s take a look at whether or not my predictions for the year panned out.

Prediction: Lower Interest Rates Will Boost The Market, Slowly

Reality: This prediction came true, but not quite to the extent hoped. Starting in the second quarter, we began to see sales increase on an annual basis (albeit unevenly). But sales remained quite a bit below historical trends. 

Unexpected rises in rates in the spring put a damper on activity. And just as things were starting to perk up again in the fall, rising rates cooled things off again. 

Prediction: Lower Interest Rates May Equal More Listings

Reality: We saw this prediction play out as well, especially in Brooklyn, where inventory posted double digit annual gains in the second and third quarters. But it didn’t happen to the extent that buyers (and their brokers) wanted to see. 

Interest rates remained stubbornly high for most of 2024. And as a result, many sellers remained “locked in” to lower rate mortgages. Those who were interested in selling often found themselves constrained by a lack of inventory. Nonetheless, listings overall weren’t quite as tight as what we saw in 2023 in many areas. 

Prediction: Prices Will Stabilize 

Reality: This actually did come to fruition. While there was some bouncing around, prices for the most part didn’t really increase or decrease too much month after month and quarter after quarter. Take a look at my recent post about the overall cost of owning a 2 bedroom to see what I mean. 

This was mostly good news for buyers who got slammed with higher interest rates. But there was enough demand out there still to keep prices from falling meaningfully. 

Prediction: Renters Will Catch A Few Small Breaks

Reality: This one was kinda “meh” as well in terms of it becoming a reality. Price increases did seem to moderate a bit. In fact, the median rent stopped its seemingly unceasing climb between the months of April and October. But they started to creep back up in November. 

And inventory did actually increase in Manhattan and Brooklyn – especially in the latter which had been listings starved for quite some time. 

But the pipeline for new rental inventory was pretty light this year while demand remained strong. So renters likely didn’t feel like they got much of a break throughout the year, especially since rents hovered around (and even broke) historic highs at times. 

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