Issue 112 - NYC Real Estate Recovery in a Post-Covid World

100 Barclay Street #11F

32 West 18th Street 11B

75 Grand Street 4W

641 Fifth Avenue #33/34EF

101 Leonard Street 5/D

500 Park Ave Penthouse-39

450 East 52nd St #10

1001 Fifth Avenue 110C

22 Central Park South Unit 3

508 Canal Street #TH3

115 Morton Street #5B

501 Third Avenue #6E

53 West 53rd Street 24D

53 West 53rd Street #38C

53 West 53rd Street #PH78

320 East 42nd St 2403

1593 Deerfield Road

136 East 56th Street 8H

51 Crosby Street 3

53 West 53rd Street #30B

53 West 53rd Street #66

53 West 53rd Street #72B

53 West 53rd Street #21A

53 West 53rd Street #53A

53 West 53rd Street #17B

53 W 53rd St #PH76

53 West 53rd Street #71

53 West 53rd Street #20B

53 West 53rd Street #16F

Issue 112 – NYC Real Estate Recovery in a Post-Covid World

August 1, 2025

It has been more than half a decade since we first heard of Covid-19. The ensuing pandemic quickly changed everything — including the real estate market. Thankfully, we have collectively shaken off our initial panic and confusion and are now armed with perspective. Oh, how far we have come, especially when it comes to housing.

According to many top-tier press predictions, big-city real estate — including in New York City —wouldn’t recover until well into 2025. Happily, several recent articles, particularly one by Matthews, a real estate investment firm, state that we are “far ahead of schedule, the city has seen jobs rebound, population recovery, and an increase in demand for quality assets.”

To see this progression, here’s a quick recap: Starting in the spring of 2020, pandemic restrictions instituted in NYC led to many rapid changes — namely, job loss, doing anything and everything we could remotely, and changing the way we ate, slept, worked, and played. They changed how we connected with people and, most of all, reframed our priorities. All these factors played into forcing many people out of large urban centers and into more rural areas.

Without the need to commute, many people longed for living spaces in less populated areas where they could enjoy fresh air and exercise, and more importantly, connect with family. As a mother of two under the age of 11, it was a very formative time for me in terms of human connection and cultivating familial intimacy. Having eye contact and being fully present with family members in close proximity was so valuable.

Those who stayed in NYC wanted homes set up for comfort and functionality, with larger spaces, in-unit offices, more functional kitchens — Who wasn’t learning how to bake sourdough bread? — and private outdoor access.

As an agent selling in such an unknown time, I initially had no surefire idea how to advise clients. I was receiving calls from owners of truly beautiful homes who were frightened and longing for safety, security, good air quality, a sense of community… They were relocating to places that offered those things: the Hamptons, Westchester, Connecticut, Telluride, and Florida. There was such a mass exodus that we initially saw NYC become somewhat of a ghost town.

We also saw an unprecedented boom in the secondary market, bringing those prices up exponentially. The vacancy rate was so tight, but people were willing to pay exorbitant amounts just to get out of cities and replant themselves next to trees, mountains, lakes, and oceans.

According to a recent article in Fast Company, “From summer 2020 to spring 2022, the number of active homes for sale in most housing markets plummeted as homebuyer demand quickly absorbed almost everything that came up for sale.”

However, NYC is ever resilient. We quickly adapted and made many changes to accommodate renters, buyers, and sellers in a state of flux. The industry pivoted. We became used to “the new normal.”

Enter: digitization. We all quickly became familiar with Zoom, using it when buying and selling apartments. In one particular instance, I sold a one-bedroom apartment on East 22nd Street for $2 million without the buyer ever setting foot in it! She had lived in the building before relocating to Europe and needed to return to Manhattan. The deal was literally finalized by just showing her each room via video — opening and closing all closets and drawers — because she couldn’t be there in person. It was the first time I’d ever seen someone buy something without actually walking through the property.

Who would have thought that this digitized trend would persist with such intensity into post-pandemic times? According to an article last month by luxury publication Haven, the digital revolution has become the industry standard. It has led to real estate’s rebound.

“The most visible transformation lies in the widespread digitization of real estate transactions and marketing. The Covid pandemic changed business culture in NYC permanently through a necessary integration of digital platforms to conduct commerce and make deals,” Haven notes.

“What once seemed like temporary measures have become the industry’s new foundation, with virtual tours, digital staging, and online closings now representing standard practice rather than innovative alternatives. This digital transformation extends far beyond convenience, fundamentally altering how properties are marketed and experienced,” the article continues.

I believe our desire to reconnect with nature has carried forward into the demand for a sustainable and environmentally supportive lifestyle choice.

Simultaneously, there’s been a shift in focus to properties with quality-of-life amenities, such as infrared saunas, cryotherapy, pool rooms, and relaxation rooms featuring meditation, yoga, cold plunges, and hammams. They have all become the rage. Alongside this is the more advanced technology of AI, which seamlessly integrates home automation for various functions, from temperature control and audio/video systems to adjusting lights and window shades.

Old-school key elements such as natural light, open views, indoor air quality, and well-appointed rooms are still in demand, and will always remain so.

All in all, City Journal captured the rebound perfectly: “New York is surviving — if not thriving — defying the worst pandemic-era predictions. Few today would call the city ‘completely dead,’ as James Altucher infamously did in 2020.”

The article explains that the city’s economy appears to have bounced back, something unimaginable in spring 2020: “In December 2019, New York had a record 4.160 million private-sector jobs. By December 2024 (the most recent data available), that number had grown to 4.246 million—a nearly 2.1 percent increase. Considering that one in five jobs had vanished by May 2020, this is no small feat. More economic activity is also visible on the transit system, though work-from-home habits persist: subway ridership hovers by just above three-quarters of pre-Covid levels.”

So, it is no surprise that real estate is also slowly rallying once again. The most prominent comeback is the co-op market, which was decimated in Covid’s wake.

A mid-2024 Partnership for New York City survey of white-collar firms found that in-office employment had recovered to slightly below three-quarters of pre-Covid levels. While most workers are back in the office, including those in financial institutions and other large corporations, many companies are working on a hybrid schedule that includes in-office/work-from-home arrangements.

I think Covid — such a wakeup call! — reminded us that nothing is certain. It has given us perspective on what is truly important: family, community, and connections. The work-life balance has become a priority. The pandemic forced many people to look inward, to embrace and reorganize their internal landscape to survive such a confronting and confining time.

This shift is clearly reflected in the current market — which, according to Haven, “reflects a lasting evolution, not a temporary shift.” Digitalization, lifestyle amenities, and the focus on community are now vital elements in New York City real estate, driving up premium prices across all segments of the market.

I concur with Haven’s endnote, which prophesizes: “Looking ahead, the market’s success will likely depend on its ability to continue evolving in response to changing lifestyle preferences and technological capabilities and demand.”

It seems that based on these demands, people have gravitated towards quality-of-life neighborhoods — those that provide a healthy live-work balance. These areas have garnered pricing and property sales well above the anticipated. The new lifestyle choices have already been reflected in myriad ways. For example, theaters have moved up their ‘curtain’ times from 8:05 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and many restaurant kitchens are closing at 9 p.m. instead of midnight. It appears that a unified consensus about the desire to slow down has influenced a change in operational hours, as well as within living environments.

Here’s to continued hard work, while maintaining a bit more balance and recognizing that if NYC were ever going to fall, it would have been when it experienced a mass exodus. But in true New York City form, not only did it rally, but it also superseded every expectation, as it always does. Have a great summer!

Issue 126 – Who Owns the Listing?

October 1, 2026

New York real estate is quietly becoming a battle for access, and most consumers don’t even realize the rules are changing.

The most important battle may no longer be who gets the listing — it may be who gets to see it. For most of my career, a listing broker’s job has been straightforward: create demand, tell the property’s story, expose it to the right buyers, negotiate expertly, and ultimately get the best possible outcome for the seller. Now a fundamental element of that role is shifting — access itself.

That does not mean private listings are inherently problematic, or even new. I’ve sold properties quietly myself. Sometimes discretion is necessary—for privacy reasons, security concerns, divorce proceedings, an occupied home, or to test a pricing strategy.

But what was once the exception is becoming more the norm.

As of August 12, Marketproof identified 440 Manhattan properties being offered as ‘Participant Only’ listings, representing approximately $1.94 billion in asking volume. Of this total, 47 new Participant Only listings were added in June, 144 in July, and 153 in just the first 12 days of August.

This isn’t just a trophy-market phenomenon. Marketproof found that nearly 30% of those listings were asking under $1 million. And The Real Deal’s recent analysis points in the same direction, reporting a 30% increase in off-market residential sales volume across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens in 2025.

Put those numbers together, and it becomes difficult to dismiss private real estate as merely the world of whisper listings and ultra-high-net-worth sellers. Private marketing is becoming mainstream, which deserves a closer look. We need to ascertain who benefits.

So, who owns the listing? Legally, the answer is obvious — the seller owns the property. In practice, the picture is more nuanced. Listings have become valuable currency: they attract buyers, who generate data and relationships. And those relationships lead to transactions that create market share and leverage.

Perhaps we should be asking a different question: When did exclusivity stop meaning the right to represent a property and start meaning the right to restrict who sees it?

The seller wants the best possible combination of price, privacy, certainty, and timing. The broker wants to represent the seller successfully, protect the relationship, and complete the transaction. The brokerage or platform has another economic interest: inventory. Listings attract consumers, engagement, data, and future business. None of these interests is inherently improper. But when they diverge, we need to be very clear about whose interest comes first.

For me, the seller has to be the North Star. That is where the debate becomes complicated.

StreetEasy has argued that the growth of private listings creates artificial scarcity and gatekeeping. Supporters of private marketing argue that sellers should have the right to decide how — and how publicly — their homes are marketed.

I understand both arguments. But I keep coming back to one question: Does restricting exposure actually create a better outcome for the seller? If it does, show me.

The early data is fascinating, partly because it doesn’t give us a definitive answer. Marketproof found that 78% of the Participant Only listings it analyzed had previously been publicly marketed. Of those Participant Only listings that came off the market without selling, roughly one-third subsequently returned to the public market. Additionally, those relistings came back at a median asking price 6.4% below their Participant Only asking price, according to Marketproof. While interesting, it doesn’t prove that private marketing is ineffective.

There aren’t enough matched transactions yet to determine whether comparable privately marketed properties ultimately sell for more or less than publicly marketed ones. That’s precisely why I think the industry should be careful about declaring victory on either side.

Real estate value is established through imperfect but important information: comparable transactions, current competition, buyer behavior, and ultimately what someone is willing to pay. Exposure is part of that price-discovery mechanism, but it doesn’t mean maximum exposure always produces maximum price.

Scarcity can create urgency. A sophisticated broker may know exactly which handful of buyers are right for a particular property. However, we need to be careful not to confuse controlled exposure with manufactured scarcity.

Another reason this conversation matters now: Consolidation is changing the brokerage business. Large firms can offer extraordinary advantages — technology, referral networks, data, marketing resources, and access to enormous numbers of agents and consumers. Scale itself isn’t the problem, But when scale is combined with proprietary inventory, the competitive equation changes.

For years, technology moved residential real estate toward greater transparency. Consumers gained access to listings, price histories, comparable sales, building information, and market data that once largely resided with brokers. That disrupted our industry, but I think it made good brokers more valuable — not less. A great broker shouldn’t be afraid of this transparency.

Our value is actually understanding the information. It’s knowing why one apartment deserves $2,000 per square foot while another in the same building doesn’t. It’s knowing when to walk away from a bidding war, how to position an unusual property, how to navigate a board, how to structure a complicated deal — and how to tell a seller something they may not want to hear.

None of this means every property should automatically be marketed publicly. But as a broker, my responsibility is making sure the seller understands the nuance.

Whenever an industry undergoes structural change, I find it useful to ask one simple question: Who benefits? And I always circle back to the ultimate one: What will produce the best outcome for my client?

Before New York embraces a fundamentally different marketplace, we should demand enough transparency to know, because the future of residential brokerage shouldn’t be decided solely by which company has the largest network or which website has the largest audience.

None of us should confuse access to the listing with ownership of the client’s interests.

So, if private marketing creates greater value for sellers, let’s prove it. If an open marketplace creates greater value, let’s prove that too. If the answer depends upon the particular seller and property, let’s have the sophistication to say so.

Because ultimately, the most important question isn’t whether a listing is public or private; it’s whether restricting access creates value for the seller — or just value for the company controlling the access. Those are not the same thing.

And right now, New York real estate needs to understand the difference.