(Bloomberg) -- With New York City apartments selling for less, urbanites pining for a suburban home in Greenwich might have to daydream a bit longer.
In the last three months of 2018, purchases of single-family houses in the Connecticut town slipped 2.2 percent from a year earlier, the first decline in three quarters, according to a Thursday report from appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. The homes that changed hands sold for a median of $1.5 million, a 17 percent drop, reflecting a larger share of smaller properties.
“The weakness in New York City has definitely played a role in some of the weakness that we've felt here,” said David Haffenreffer, brokerage manager of Houlihan Lawrence's Greenwich office. Sellers who got less than they wanted for their city apartments “are in turn then dialing down their budgets when they get here to look at homes. Or, it's just flat-out delaying their ability to buy here.”
New York City transplants make up from 16 percent to 19 percent of homebuyers in Greenwich, according to Haffenreffer. Many are coming from Manhattan, where the median price of homes that sold in the fourth quarter dropped below $1 million for the first time in three years, according to Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman.
“As New York City finds its footing, so too will our markets,” Haffenreffer said. “We're just waiting for those indications.”
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In a town known for its $10 million-plus estates, most purchases in all of 2018 were for less than $2 million, according to a report by Houlihan Lawrence. There were 335 single-family deals in that price tier, up 4 percent from 2017.
Condos continued to be an appealing option for buyers looking to keep city-style living and amenities even after moving to the tony suburb. Purchases jumped 23 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier to 48 deals, Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman said. The median price was $746,250, down 3.1 percent.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sydney Maki in New York at smaki8@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Debarati Roy at droy5@bloomberg.net, Christine Maurus
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