[This week, chartman Jonathan Miller looks at the impact of the seasons on apartment sales by size. By all means, click on the image to exand.]
We already know that the seasons have an impact on the total number of sales and pricing, but does it impact the size and type of apartment sold? Do proportionally more 3-bedrooms sell in the spring than other types of apartments? Are the studios that sell in the winter months smaller than in the summer? Could this impact marketing strategies for properties?
This week I looked at the number of sales and the average square footage by bedroom type over the past 15 years to see if there was a pattern by season. The colors selected for each quarter in the charts are consistent, but admittedly, there's a lot of stuff to look at and it's not easy. I'm sure I'll hear about it. ;-)
Upper blue boxes (number of sales): 2, 3 and 4-bedroom units seem to see a growth in sales activity in the 1st and 2nd quarters (winter/spring) while the entry-level apartment seem to have more activity in the 2nd and 3rd quarters (spring/summer). The 4th quarter (winter) is a bust. I was thinking that the bonus money paid out in the first half of the year hits the upper end markets first, but I can't explain why the entry-level favors the middle of the year. Is it school related somehow?
Lower maroon boxes (average square footage): The chart on the left basically shows that all unit sizes are fairly consistent on a seasonal basis. In other words, larger or smaller units within each category are not favored at any particular time of the year. In the chart below, I exaggerated the scale to try to extract a pattern, but couldn't see one. So this half of the analysis is basically a bust.
· 15 Year Average Manhattan Coop/Condo Square Footage and Number of Sales, by Bedroom [Miller Samuel]