2018 Threw 'Wet Blanket' on Manhattan Real Estate

2018 was the worst year since 2009 for Manhattan's real estate market, with home sales dropping 14 percent for the year.

The sales decline was the fifth-straight quarterly decrease. According to a report from Manhattan-based real estate companies Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel, the median price for an apartment was less than $1 million in the fourth quarter, the first time in three years. "What we saw was a big wet blanket thrown over the market in 2018," Jonathan Miller, CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel, tells CNBC. Miller adds that even though the entry-level market was weaker in 2018, it is anticipated to withstand market changes better than the luxury market of homes priced $7 million or more.

Miller said 2019 is unlikely to improve, even though the drops may not be as severe as 2018. Manhattan real estate has been hurt by a convergence of economic forces. An oversupply of high-end apartments, especially new condo towers, hit the high end of the market. At the same time, demand from foreign buyers cooled as new rules aimed at money laundering took effect and overseas economies began to slow.

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