Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

New York Home Sales Hit Highest Level Since Financial Crisis, Experts Say

By DNAinfo Staff on January 23, 2013 5:49pm

NEW YORK — The bubble isn't back, but there sure seems to be a boomlet.

Residential sales revenues didn't quite hit pre-financial crisis levels in 2012, but fourth quarter sales boosted the year's real estate transactions to the highest amount since 2008, according to the Real Estate Board of New York.

In 2012, total residential sales in the five boroughs soared to $30.3 billion — and experts attribute the upswing to "increasing confidence in the real estate market and improving economic conditions citywide," REBNY said.

"Based on the annual growth in total consideration and total sales since 2008, the New York City market continues to show clear signs of a recovery from the financial crisis,” Steven Spinola, REBNY president, said in a statement.

"The anxiety about the fiscal cliff crisis at the end of the year and impending changes in tax law that would have impacted sales appears to have a stimulating effect on sales activity in Manhattan, where prices and sellers are more likely to be affected by these changes."

And these mega-figures aren't all about the money: Statistics say that 2012 enjoyed the second-highest number of sales since 2009, with 39,381 homes sold, experts said. Though there were 41,039 sales in 2010, the market was aided by home-buyer tax breaks, they said.

The hot market in 2012 was also reflected in higher home prices, the board said.

An average home in New York hit $775,000 in the fourth quarter of 2012 — a 12 percent increase from the same period of 2011, REBNY said.

Broken down by borough, Manhattan's average home prices went up 8 percent to nearly $1.4 million.

Brooklyn's swelled 9 percent to $589,000. Staten Island reached a 4 percent increase at $422,000.

Queens saw a 6 percent increase, which brought average home prices there to $419,000.

The Bronx lagged behind other boroughs, with its average price decreasing 1 percent to $347,000.

And like statistics previously released in 2012, the Upper East Side continues to captivate buyers, topping the list of Manhattan transactions with 751 sales, followed directly by the Upper West Side's 574.

In Brooklyn, Bed-Stuy's 156 sales outpaced Park Slope's 135 and Williamsburg's 123.

For Queens, Flushing flourished with 333 sales followed closely by Rego Park/Forest Hills/Kew Gardens' 325.

Riverdale continued to be the most in-demand area of The Bronx with 85 deals, rivaled by the City Island region's 80.