Manhattan rewards mainland Chinese, Hong Kong investors as prices of luxury property rebound in busiest year since 2006

Covid-19 triggered a migration of property buyers from big cities to the suburbs, but the trend has reversed as affluent buyers returned to Manhattan

Manhattan’s luxury property market recorded the highest sales volume since at least 2006, according to a report published by Olshan Realty

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The lower Manhattan skyline is seen during a helicopter ride above the Financial District of New York. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 4:58pm, 28 Dec 2021Updated: 5:19pm, 28 Dec 2021

Investors who picked up Manhattan’s luxury properties during the Covid-19-induced slump have been rewarded as prices recovered in the market’s busiest year since at least 2006. That is music to the ears of mainland Chinese and Hongkongers, who are among the most active foreign buyers.

The average price for a luxury property rose to US$8.5 million from US$7.9 million in 2021, according to a report published by Olshan Realty. The city recorded 1,877 transactions worth US$15.9 billion for residences above the US$4 million threshold, the highest level since it began tracking the data 15 years ago.

While the pandemic triggered an exodus of many tenants from New York into suburban and rural markets, affluent buyers have since returned to Manhattan, the city’s most densely populated borough, underpinning the bullish outlook in 2022.

“We can see this trend of buyers from urban centres moving to the suburbs already reversing,” said Florian Loloum, Singapore-based managing director at One Global Private Office. “People want to live close to their place of work, close to where they can have access to cultural, entertainment and shopping experiences.”

The Central Park Tower in Manhattan, New York. Photo: Extell

Investors regained confidence in the city once vaccines were made widely available to the public. Several new developments by prominent architects, lower asking prices for homes, and near record-low interest rates all contributed to the buying spree, Olshan Realty said in its report published last week.