[NEW YORK] Manhattan home sales in the second quarter were stronger than they have been in almost two years, boosted by cash buyers undeterred by the economic uncertainty created by US President Donald Trump’s trade war.
A little more than 3,000 co-op and condo purchases closed during the quarter, a 17 per cent jump from a year earlier, according to appraiser Miller Samuel and brokerage Douglas Elliman. The median price of those transactions was US$1.2 million, up 1.6 per cent.
The quarter might have been even stronger if not for Trump’s tariff proposals, which “put a wet blanket” on the springtime deal bonanza many in the industry were expecting, said Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel. “It wasn’t the boom that many were anticipating before factoring in the trade wars.”
Jitters over the potential impact of Trump’s policies hit harder for buyers dependent on financing, according to Miller. Purchases made with mortgages rose 5.7 per cent year-over-year, while cash deals jumped 23 per cent, reaching a record-high share of 69 per cent of all transactions in the quarter.
Mortgage buyers, who tend to be less well-off than those paying cash, also treaded more cautiously than usual. Almost 81 per cent of mortgage deals in the quarter included a financing contingency, meaning buyers could back out without penalty if they were not able to secure a loan. That was the second-highest level in a decade in which the average was 64 per cent, according to Miller.
“More contingencies reflects the heightened uncertainty,” he said. “It’s the polar opposite of more cash sales.”
In another reflection of the relative wealth of the quarter’s buyers, the luxury segment – the top 10 per cent of transactions – drove much of the strength of the overall market, according to Miller. The median price of purchases in the category rose 8.8 per cent from a year earlier to just above US$6.5 million, while transactions were up 18 per cent.
The lengthy closing process means quarterly sales data reflect market dynamics going back several months, which would include April, when Trump rolled out his sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs. But contract signings – a more timely gauge of buyer demand – also have shown improvement.
In June, contracts to buy co-ops, condos and one-to-three family homes rose by a weighted average of 7.6 per cent from the same month in 2024, Miller’s data show, a 12th consecutive year-over-year increase. Luxury contracts climbed 32 per cent. BLOOMBERG
