From July 2024 to July 2025, 1 in 3 condos sold in Manhattan sold at a loss, according to luxury real estate firm Brown Harris Stevens. Experts say this dynamic is somewhat typical in a city with high selling fees and high tax rates.
What is unusual is the borough’s wavering property values over the past decade. In November 2015, 1 square foot of space in Manhattan cost $1,562; by fall 2025, prices had fallen to $1,108 per square foot, according to Redfin data.
Manhattan condo and co-op values took a large swing down amid the Fed’s tightening of the U.S. economy from 2022 to 2024. A dearth of foreign buyers further dampened demand. Experts point to shifts in foreign exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and currencies such as the euro.
“I think there’s probably more upside over the next 10 years than the last 10 years,” said Jonathan Miller, CEO and founder of Miller Samuel, a real estate appraisal and consulting firm.
Experts say many first-time buyers are shut out of this high-end market. “I’m seeing more people in their early 30s, and they’re getting a little bit of help from their parents,” said Bess Freedman, CEO of Brown Harris Stevens. “They’re New Yorkers who are going from uptown to downtown, empty nesters, ... younger families, ... not so much international,” she said in an interview with CNBC’s Robert Frank.
