Why now is a good time time to buy property in New York City

• Now may be the time to consider New York City's housing market according to a third-quarter report.
• Sales in Manhattan are down over 30%, brokerage Douglas Elliman reports.

Buying a home in New York City may get a smidge easier this fall.

Specifically, Manhattan's co-op and condo market is starting to stabilize according to a third quarter report from real-estate brokerage Douglas Elliman.

The New York City market is correcting itself, Douglas Elliman agent Frances Katzen told Insider. "It's coming back to that normal adjustment period, which to people feels really negative because everything is short of sluggish," she said.

"I think people recognize a value proposition to get in," Katzen said. "It's the old adage, opportunity and location, location, location. And New York is that location, by the way."

Douglas Elliman reported a 4.5% drop in median sales price from the second quarter to the third quarter in Manhattan.

Meanwhile, the supply of homes on the market rose 5% from August to September, according to Rocket Homes. "New York is a buyer's housing market," it said according to the report.

Katzen told Insider that New York's market is unique enough to rebound, and what's happening now is surely a correction more than a slowdown. For buyers looking to find a steal, now might be the time to strike.

"The market was going to crash in New York after Covid and it didn't — and after that, we saw a rising performance unlike anything we've ever seen," Katzen said. "I don't think it's going to be a straight trajectory and I don't think it's gloom and doom. I think it's up and down."

"If you told someone that they could buy a townhouse in New York City for $3.9 million, they would basically say never," Katzen said. "It's now possible to buy a small townhouse in the West Village for $4 million. There's a lot of opportunity if one has the cash to do it," she added.

New York ranks first in most valuable metro areas in 2023, valued at over $4 billion, a recent Zillow report found. Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston ranked next. The four most valuable metro areas have remained largely the same over the past five years, the report said.

New York City has held the top spot for quite some time, and its residential housing market value has risen 31% since 2020, while cities in Florida like Tampa and Miami also are growing at a fast clip.

The New York City market had a quieter third quarter this year, with sales in Manhattan dropping 33.2%, from 11,111 to 7,421, in 2022.

Broadly, the fall might be the "sweet spot" for buyers this year. In a separate report, Zillow found 9.2% of home listings had a price cut in the week ending September 16.