Manhattan Residential Market Overview
In the first half of 2025, the Manhattan residential market posted its strongest results since 2022, driven by robust activity in the $2M+ segment. Prices reached their highest level in three years, with sales volume sharply increasing 22%. Cash purchases surged to almost 70% of market activity, mostly in the higher priced segments of the market.
Townhouse Market Performance
The Manhattan townhouse sector delivered mixed results in the first half of the year. While prices fell slightly, sales indicators were strong for sellers. Closed sales rose 6.35% year-over-year to 67 transactions, and signed contracts increased 2.63% to 78. Market dynamics shifted in favor of sellers, with median days on market declining 7.69% to 180 days and negotiability – from the last asking price – narrowing significantly from 21.9% to 5.82%. Despite strong sales conditions, the median price dipped slightly by 1.32% to $7.5M
Downtown Market
The downtown townhouse market outperformed neighborhoods further uptown in pricing strength. Median price increased 13.1% to $8M, supported by faster absorption as median days on market fell 36.1% to 124 days. Negotiability also contracted sharply to 5.19% from 14.7% reflecting heightened buyer demand relative to supply.
Outlook
The townhouse market is showing clear signs of heightened buyer engagement, with faster sales and reduced negotiability pointing to stronger conditions for sellers. While the overall median price edged lower, Downtown demonstrated notable pricing strength, particularly in the West Village, Greenwich Village and Chelsea. Going forward, we can expect continued strength in sales activity as signed contracts in the first half of this year is on par with last year, in addition to the strength of the $2M+ market. However, performance is likely to diverge across neighborhoods depending on property quality and price tier.
