NYC Home Prices Up 2% in 2014, Luxury Market Thriving

In New York City, the real estate market is as hot as it has ever been. Whether it’s local or international buyers, everybody wants a piece of the Big Apple.

This huge demand for urban living has driven property prices up over the past 5 years, with the median price for a NYC home peaking at $505,000 in the third quarter of 2014, according to our latest NYC residential sales report.

2014 Home Sales Highlights

Overall, the NYC residential sales market recorded rising prices but weakening sales volume.

• The median sale price of a NYC home increased 2% year-over-year, from $488,000 in 2013 to $499,655 in 2014.
• In the fourth quarter of 2014, the median sale price fell 1% to $499,700 as compared to the third quarter but increased 7% from the fourth quarter of 2013.
• The number of sales decreased 5% year-over year, from 41,546 in 2013 to 39,518 in 2014.
• Not surprisingly, the biggest price gains were in the Manhattan submarket, where the median sale price hit $941,882 in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Luxury Market Thriving in NYC

NYC’s luxury residential market has eyes set in one direction only: up. The number of sales over $5M completed in 2014 climbed 26% from 2013.

The highest number of closed luxury sales was registered in Manhattan, where developers build for sky-high prices. There were a total of 757 home sales with prices above $5 million completed in Manhattan in 2014, up 25% from 2013.

One57, the stunning Midtown skyscraper at 157 West 57th Street, contributes heavily to the soaring median prices in the luxury segment. Condos in this ultra-high-end building sell for top dollar, with the latest sale breaking the $100 million barrier. According to The New York Times, a 10,923-square-foot duplex penthouse at the pinnacle of the tower sold for a whopping $100.5 million, making it the most expensive apartment ever sold in NYC.

Priciest Neighborhoods in 2014

SoHo and TriBeCa lead the pack as NYC’s most expensive places to buy a home, with the median prices reaching $2,717,500 and $2,573,041, respectively.

A pair of newly popular Brooklyn neighborhoods found their way into the top 10 priciest neighborhoods, while two perennial favorites – the Upper West Side and the Upper East Side – were pushed out of the top 10 list.

With a median price of $1,399,500 and an increase of 47% y-o-y, Brooklyn’s Dumbo came in fourth. The large median price increase in Dumbo is partly attributable to closings at 185 Plymouth Street where 10 sales with a median price of $3,016,020 were recorded in 2014.

Another unexpected presence in the top 10 list, Columbia Waterfront District, recorded a spectacular jump in home prices. The median price in the neighborhood was $1,195,000 in 2014, which is 83% higher than the $654,636 median price recorded in 2013. This huge increase was partly due to the high selling prices of units in a boutique condo building at 255 Columbia Street. The 12 units in this upscale development that were sold in 2014 went for a median price of $1,272,813.

Care to see which New York City properties sold the most units in 2014? Check out NYC’s Top 10 Best-Selling Buildings here.