2018 sales of townhouses and small buildings were characterized by a decline in sales volume and increases in overall pricing. Sales dollar volume was down 6%, and the total number of transactions is down 11%, while the average sales price was up 5% and average price per square foot (PPSF) was up just over 1%. Most neighborhoods also saw marginal changes from last year. The Upper East Side, for example, had a slight increase in every category except average PPSF, which decreased by less than 1%. The strongest performing neighborhood this year was the West Village, which was up in all categories from 2017 including a 24% increase in total dollar volume.

The Upper East Side continued to lead the way with the three highest priced sales of 2018, including the highest townhouse sale on record at 19 East 64th Street for $90M and $4,772/ft. In Midtown East, 124 East 55th Street, an off-market transaction brokered by Leslie J. Garfield & Co. sold for $22.9M and $3,011/ft. Downtown, the highest priced sale of the year was 37 West 10th Street, a single-family home that sold for $37.2M and $3,796/ft. The highest priced sale on the Upper West Side this year was Leslie J. Garfield's listing at 29 West 75th Street, which sold for $15.75M and $2,019/ft.

Looking forward to 2019, while interest rates are gradually rising, there seems to be little impact on the high end of the market to date. There is also some hope that the changes in the state and local (SALT) tax deductions have now been digested.The optimistic view is that these factors, in conjunction with the drop in asking prices that occurred throughout 2018, may result an increase in sales volume in the upcoming years.

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