With a contract signed and closed for over $100 Million dollars at One57, people ask is there and end in site?  In 2014, over 13,000 contracts were signed in Manhattan, this is well above the average of the past five years.  The strong demand for this market is driven by New York’s reputation as a safe haven for capital, low interest rates, national economic conditions and the fact that we are currently the most reasonable major international city.

With that being said, market wide inventory is at a historic low.  However, in the next year we will see more new development inventory come to the market since banks are finally opening up their purse strings to lend to developers.  A new building tends to sell faster in the beginning and then the pace slows with price increases until they are ready to start closing.

The average condo in 2014 was priced at roughly $1,900 per square foot, which is an increase of about 6% from 2013 (up 20% from 2012).  On top of that, buyers are willing to pay about 20% more for a new development since the average price per square foot is almost $2,300. 

Would you be willing to pay a premium to purchase something fresh and new from a developer as opposed to another person’s leftovers?