Show me the listings!

January 2022 saw a robust return of buyers after the holiday break. And even though it seems like half of the city got the new variant, omicron didn’t slow buyers down in the least. Buyers consistently put property into the market at a pace of almost 300 units a week for the entire month of January, kicking off the year in record-breaking territory.
But the story of January wasn’t the buyers — it was the sellers! A shortage of listings caused many pundits and brokers to declare that we had an inventory “crisis” on our hands. There were even calls for brokers to list their properties early to “save this market.” I don’t know if it was all that dramatic, but it was (and still is) a frequent topic of conversation. The inventory shortage culminated on January 28 with a dismal 4,943 total listings for all of Manhattan.

Enter the off-market deals.

Off-market transactions became the talk of the water cooler as more and more brokers made deals between buyers and sellers for listings that never came to market. This trend is sure to continue if inventory doesn’t start to increase rapidly. Compass once again leads the pack in the off-market race with tools such as Compass Coming Soon and Compass Private Exclusive. Both services helped fuel off-market inventory and made it possible for buyers and sellers to trade property. While sellers might want to avoid foot traffic in their homes or keep a low profile in general, using the off-market portal as a marketing platform also caters to buyers who want to keep their transactions under the radar. In all, off-market deals were an interesting and vital part of total transactions in January.

While the off-market sector is showing a real opportunity for buyers and sellers to transact, many think the spring market will start much earlier this year, propelled by limited inventory and high buyer demand/volume sellers. I personally have seven listings that we were set to release in the first week of March, but we moved them up an entire month to feed the hungry buyer appetite.

There might not be as many transactions in 2022 as last year (frankly, that is yet to be determined), but many feel that this opening chapter gives a good indication that a strong market is afoot. If you’re looking to buy a property, please feel free to reach out or press your broker for off-market inventory. Just know that more listings are just around the corner — a lot more, potentially.

If you’re a seller, it’s never too early to list in our current environment, one that’s getting (somewhat) back to our historical “normal” with a strong desire for buyers to put property into contract. We need to feed that beast and deliver listings so the market can stay healthy and robust throughout the season.

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