New York has long been known for its largely out-of-reach housing prices, but perhaps 2024 will bring locals a bit of luck.
According to a new study from StreetEasy, there are pockets across the city where buyers these days wield significant bargaining power — and some of them include enclaves that have long been considered pricey.
These areas, spanning all price brackets, display three key attributes: Substantial upticks in the duration properties sit on the market compared to a year prior, frequent instances of sellers slashing prices and significant gulfs between initial asking prices and eventual sale prices.
That said, Greenwich Village — long known for its stock of high-priced homes — takes the crown as the top place in town for buyers. Sure, this segment has a sky-high median asking price of $1.98 million, but homes in this area lingered on the market for a median of 125 days — a 40-day increase compared to the previous year. In turn, 12.3% of listings there lowered their asking prices to lure in eventual buyers, making it the neighborhood with the highest share of discounts.
There, houses typically fetched 95% of their initial asking price, slightly below the citywide median sale-to-list price ratio of 96.3%.
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Next in line is the East Village, celebrated for its vibrant nightlife, boasting a median asking price of $1.4 million. Yet again, the neighborhood’s market exhibits sluggishness, with homes there spending a median 122 days on the market.
StreetEasy found that 10.7% of listings in the area resorted to price reductions to grease the wheels of sale.
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Securing the third position on the list is the Upper East Side.
That neighborhood has a median asking price of $1.89 million. Despite the hefty tag, buyers have the edge in negotiations, with homes fetching 95% of their initial asking price. Houses here sit on the market for a median of 118 days — and 10% of listings received discounts to seal some deals.
This longer duration may entice sellers to strike more amenable deals with prospective buyers.
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Rounding out the top five are Dumbo and Bushwick across the East River in Brooklyn. Dumbo, in particular, has a lofty median asking price of $2.28 million — but 8.1% of homes there got a discount after 130 days for sale.
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But that’s for the homes priced above $1 million. The study also analyzed the top buyer neighborhoods with median asking prices below that sum, with the borough of Brooklyn being a particular hotbed.
On average, Brooklyn homes are fetching 97.4% of their initial asking prices, outperforming both Manhattan and Queens in this regard.
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Brighton Beach tops the list, offering a blend of condos, multifamily houses and charming bungalows. With a median asking price of $739,000, it’s 30% below Brooklyn’s average.
The study says 10% of listings there got discounts, indicating potential negotiation opportunities for buyers.
Bay Ridge, another waterfront locale, follows closely with a median asking price of $595,000. However, homes are spending 87 days for sale, up 15 days from last year. Sellers here have adjusted their prices with 12.6% of listings reducing asking prices.
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Midtown East, a Manhattan neighborhood, is the lone representative for properties below $1 million in the borough.
Offering homes at a median asking price of $999,000, it remains a popular choice. Even though listings are spending similar amounts of time on the market compared to last year, 9.6% of homes got discounts, indicating some room for negotiation.
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Finally, Flushing is the sole Queens neighborhood on the study’s lists. That neighborhood, famed for its bustling Chinatown, had a median asking price of $731,071 with a tally of 85 days for sale. There, 5% of homes were discounted.
