Buyers seeking opulent first and secondary homes fueled recovery among luxury sales after the pandemic hit in 2020, but demand in some of the top U.S. markets didn’t die down in 2021.
A new report by luxury brokerage Bespoke showed sales in the Hamptons, Manhattan and South Florida weren’t limited to a small recovery surge, but a widespread swell of deals.
Bespoke co-founder Cody Vichinsky called 2020 “a monster year, a banner year.”
“And 2021, it was just a freight train,” Vichinsky said.
All three luxury markets surpassed their pre-pandemic levels, suggesting low interest rates presented an ideal time to buy and a possible influx of customers in the $10 million and above market brought a rise in demand.
“The success of one market has not hampered the others, a remarkable development given the niche market size of $10 million+ homeowners,” said Bespoke Managing Director Joe De Sane.
In 2021, 279 homes above $10 million sold in Manhattan, with 111 more trades — 66 percent — from 2020, according to Bespoke. Of those, 212 were single-family homes and 67 were townhouses.
Some areas of the city fared better than others. Downtown West saw the most transactions — 112 — while Midtown East had the least, with just 19 deals.
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Among the markets covered in the report, South Florida may have seen the greatest bounceback. The number of trades in 2021 rose 118 percent from 2020 levels, reaching 384 transactions. That’s 208 more than 2020. Trade volume hit $7.8 billion.
Waterfront listings dominated the charts, with 235 transactions being on the water. Miami-Dade County inked 228 deals while another 156 were in Palm Beach County.
While other markets struggled in 2020, the Hamptons had a strong year and carried its streak into 2021. Transactions reached 127, 22 percent above 2020 levels with 23 more trades. Trade volume reached $2.6 billion.
Twenty-nine properties were new construction and 36 were for land or teardown. Most — 77 — were inland.
The three markets remain hot, but Vichinsky said he doesn’t expect it to last long as the gap between demand and supply grows tighter. Lower quality homes have hit the market at higher price points, forcing buyers to become more patient.
“The markets are going to get beat up a little bit relative to 2021,” Vichinsky said. “It’s inevitable and it’s inevitable because the supply pipeline, although, is on an average, it’s not in line with the true value.”