Inhabit by Corcoran

Contract activity accelerates as days on market shorten.

Price per square foot softens as negotiability deepens.

Manhattan saw 861 contracts signed in December, up 5% year-over-year and 4% above the 10-year December average.

• Co-ops led the annual gain, rising 19% annually to a five-year December high. Condo contracts, however, declined 11% from a year ago.
• Sales were stable or higher than last December for all prices but the $5M+ segment, which saw a 17% decline. Limited inventory is negatively affecting luxury sales. The market under $1M had the greatest annual percentage gain, up 14% thanks to robust resale demand.
• Submarket performances were mixed: Downtown (+17%) and the Financial District (+45%) saw double-digit annual increases, fueled by contracts under $3M. Activity in Midtown, the Upper East Side and Upper Manhattan was level or slightly stronger than a year ago. Upper West Side contracts, however, fell 12% annually due to less new development activity.
• Average days on market fell 15% year-over-year and 8% below the 10-year December average, to 127 days.

Active listings totaled just over 6,100 units, up 4% year-over-year but down 3% from November.

• This was the fourth consecutive annual increase in inventory, something that last happened in early 2023.
• Despite this uptick, supply remains 10% below the 10-year December average.

Average price per square foot fell 13% annually to $1,836, reflecting the shift in activity towards co-ops and away from high-priced condo and new development contracts.

• This month’s co-op annual decline was skewed by last year’s high figure that included multiple resales on Fifth Avenue over $4,000 per square foot. Excluding those sales, the annual decline was 13%. (Note: Eighty Clarkson, launched in March 2025 with pricing above $5,000 per square foot, is excluded from this report as it does not disclose contract activity.)

Negotiability deepened in December. Based on Corcoran reported contracts during the month, the average discount off last asking price was -4.6%, deeper than both last year and November.

• Condos averaged -5.6%, while co-ops averaged -2.8%. Over 70% of contracts signed below their last asking price this December, compared to under 60% last year.