Here’s Why You May Not See the NYC Real Estate Market Bottom Coming

A Buyer’s Market

Those are the magical words that potential purchasers have longed to hear in New York City, especially after years of breakneck growth.

And now it’s finally here!

For several quarters, prices have shown year over year declines, down to some of the lowest levels seen in years.

Could they drop even further? Sure! Maybe! Who the heck knows!

Lots of buyers may be tempted to stay on the sidelines to see if prices come down even further. Why not wait and see if you can get the best deal possible, right? But here’s the thing:

You probably won’t know that the bottom has happened until after the fact.

Let me explain why.

Many news outlets rely heavily on reports issued by various sources, such as brokerages and economists. But the problem is that these sources rarely use real time data. Instead, they’re usually reporting sales and contract signings from the previous quarter.

And even if they’re reporting numbers for very recently closed sales, those deals went into contract anywhere from 2 to 3 months ago since most deals in New York City take at least 60 to 90 days to close thanks to high numbers of co-op and condo inventory.

Current asking prices for active listings do provide some useful information, as you can keep tabs on the number and rate of price chops. Once those have slowed down, that’ll give you an indication that the market is starting to turn. But even so, you still won’t know what the final sale price is of any given listing until several months later.

This all means that by the time news outlets start reporting that prices are going up, the change in price trends will probably have been underway for several months.

This doesn’t mean you can’t still get a good deal. You can absolutely snag some fantastic prices while the market is on the upswing. But if you rely too heavily on market reports and news outlets to signal when the “bottom” is happening, you may inadvertently miss your chance.

Want tips on a better strategy to snag the apartment of your dreams? Then check out my post “Trying to Time the NYC Real Estate Market? Do This Instead…”

And if you’re thinking about buying a home, but you’re not sure what you could afford or what kind of properties you should be considering, then download my free guide to help you figure it out. CLICK HERE TO GET IT.