There was a sharp decrease in bid-ask spread at the beginning of the 3rd quarter, dropping from 28.4% in July to 17.8% in August. September was an all-time low point since we started tracking in 2017, with a spread of 15.2%. The graph below illustrates the steep drop this quarter.

The dramatic dip can be attributed to two key factors. The first was an 8-figure sale in the West 80s off Central Park West. Given that this was one of the few 8-figure sales of 2018, it handily increased the average sales price over the last 12 months. The second factor is the consistent dropping of on-market prices to keep up with market conditions. The average asking price when we started tracking the bid-ask spread in June 2017 was $10.2M. Now, the average asking price is $9.0M. Looking forward, we're expecting another 8-figure sale to close in the coming months, which would tighten the spread even further.

Since June of 2017, we've been tracking and recording the bid-ask spread for Upper West Side townhouses. The bid-ask spread represents the percentage difference between the current average list price and average sales price. To collect the data, we calculated the average sales price of townhouses over the last 12 months on the Upper West Side, as well as the average ask price for townhouses currently on the market on the Upper West Side. The percentage difference between the two averages represents the spread.