NYC buyers score better deals amid declining new condo sales

With new condo sales on the decline, now’s one of best times to purchase a swanky apartment in New York City, an analysis of recent sales trends by the Wall Street Journal has revealed.

In the third quarter of 2018, condo sales in new buildings were down 30 percent, compared to the third quarters of the previous three years. What that statistic means for buyers is that developers of new buildings are more willing to offer discounts, and buyers in turn end up getting better deals on their new homes.

Not only are developers offering discounts, but they’re also willing to take on additional costs like the city and state transfer taxes that are paid by buyers to close a sale. In terms of discounts, the number of apartments that have at least five percent or more discount have risen dramatically since 2012. In Brooklyn, the number of new condos with a discount of at least five percent was at 12.3 percent this year, which is the highest figure since 2012.

Armed with these figures, buyers and their brokers are also pushing for better deals, and new building owners are usually willing to make an offer due to the competitive nature of the market. The real estate industry isn’t panicking however; a broker for Douglas Elliman told the WSJ that the slowdown was actually a healthy shift for the market.

• New Condo Sales Plummet [WSJ]