January 2026 Sales Market Update

It’s time for the NYC monthly sales market update! Here’s a look at some key numbers for January 2026 in Manhattan and Brooklyn. 

To view the full NYC sales market monthly update for January 2026, click here. And to view stats for the previous month, click here. 

Infographic showing sales stats for Manhattan for the month of January 2026
Infographic showing sales stats for Brooklyn for the month of January 2026

Key Points

Manhattan

Although Manhattan ended 2025 on a strong note, it started off the new year on a pretty muted one. Signed contracts were actually down year over year and month over month. 

Meanwhile, listings inventory was lower compared to the prior January and lower than December. This month over month decline was quite surprising given that we usually see a boost in listings coming out of the holiday season. 

Price per square foot saw a solid increase on both an annual and yearly basis. But this was primarily due to a boom in the luxury market. These price increases were not otherwise evenly distributed.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn likewise got the year off to a sluggish start. 

Signed contracts were down 12% compared to the prior month and down 34% compared to the prior year. This was very surprising considering that the year started off with interest rates at relatively good levels. So the bump in deal activity that we sometimes see this time of year simply did not materialize. 

However, other metrics were a bit more encouraging. Inventory was flat compared to the prior month – again, surprising because we usually see a post holiday bump. But they were up compared to the prior year – a bit of good news for buyers. 

Price per square foot was much improved compared to last year, up 15%. But again, like Manhattan, this was primarily due to luxury sales. 

What’s Next

So what’s in store for next month? February is usually when we start to see that gradual uptick in inventory in the lead up to the start of the spring sales season. So if that takes hold, then I think we’ll see things start to pick up in both boroughs. But if it doesn’t, then we could be in for some surprising year over year declines, especially in Manhattan which until recently had been pretty buoyant. 

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