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Navigating a Volatile Market Douglas Elliman brokers and other experts weigh in with advice for buyers and sellers. by Bernadette Starzee
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FALL / WINTER 2021
Real estate agents have been keeping up on trends and removing whatever uncertainties they can to help clients navigate a most unusual market.
SURPRISING RESILIENCY
“Despite the unknowns, housing markets have shown resilience,” says Jonathan Miller, president/CEO of Miller Samuel Inc. Real Estate Appraisers & Consultants. In Manhattan, the year started with a busy first quarter, when sales activity jumped 13.5 percent compared to the first quarter of 2019. “People were anticipating a strong year,” says Manhattan-based associate broker Steven Cohen. But when COVID-19 hit, those who could leave the city did, at least temporarily.
Gapstow Bridge in Central Park, awash in colorful fall foliage
FROM LEFT: THROUGH THE LENS/MOMENT/GETTY; SILVAIN SONNET/THE IMAGE BANK/GETTY
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HIS YEAR’S real estate market has been a roller-coaster ride. After starting strong in a humming economy, sales ground to a halt during the COVID-19 lockdown. A lost spring gave way to a busy summer as pent-up supply and demand were unleashed, spurring new listings and contracts. But as 2020 cedes to a new year, no one is quite sure where this coaster is headed. COVID-19 first took aim at New York City, pushing people to the suburbs and beyond. Second-home owners in places like Florida and Aspen stayed for months longer than usual, feeling safer in less populated areas. And Zoom caught on like wildfire, spurring many people to envision living thousands of miles from the office.