By: Hellen Zaboulani

The pandemic changed many things irreversibly. For many well-heeled New Yorkers, one thing they realized is they just need more living space.

As per a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, real-estate agents across New York City have described a surge of wealthy buyers looking to upgrade the size of their apartments in recent months. Many are working for home due to the pandemic, spending more time at home rather than leisure, and can’t stand being cooped up in small apartments. Some are also being propelled by the low interest rates. Others are eager to find deals in the city, where many have been fleeing since COVID-19 first hit over a year ago. Home offices and negotiable prices seem to be the keys to locking in new buyers.

Since November, New York’s residential real estate market has been picking up, thanks primarily to news of the vaccine rollout. In fact, in February 2021, over 140 contracts priced at or above $4 million were signed by Manhattan buyers, a strong pickup compared to most of 2020, and even an increase of more than 30 contracts over the number signed in February 2020, before the pandemic hit. An Olshan real estate Report showed there were 40 contracts signed at $4 million and above in the one week ended Feb. 28. That was the first time the weekly total reached 40 since August 2016.

Further, as per a report by Douglas Elliman, the median price for a Manhattan condominium hit $1.05 million in the fourth quarter, a 5 percent increase over the previous year. “Now that there’s a vaccine and a lot more certainly around the politics in our country, everyone is feeling a lot better about New York,” said Joel Breitkopf, a principal at real-estate development company Alchemy Properties.

As per the WSJ, similarly, in Brooklyn buyers are also looking to upsize before the market rebounds. In one instance, attorney Kathrin Rauschnabel and her husband, Markus, grabbed a property which was out of their budget before the pandemic, but fell in price to meet their budget. The townhouse near the Brooklyn Botanical Gardenwhich which they purchased for $1.26 million this month, had previously been listed for $1.7 million, as per their agent, Veena Prakash of R New York.. “If all of a sudden we live at work, I want to live at a workplace that’s a little bigger,” Mrs. Rauschnabel said.