New York City Homeowners’ Profits Show a Mixed Picture
In 2025, homeowners in New York City who sold their properties enjoyed a median profit of $70,000 after accounting for taxes and fees. However, this figure masks a more complex reality across different neighborhoods.
A recent report by PropertyShark reveals that while suburban sellers reaped significant gains, Manhattan sellers faced losses. The analysis included nearly 15,000 home sales from 2025, comparing them to original purchase prices from as far back as 2005. Notably, Manhattan emerged as the only borough where sellers incurred a median loss of $24,000.
What’s striking is that a substantial percentage of Manhattan properties changed hands at a loss—59% of condos and 54% of co-ops. This downturn is largely attributed to a surfeit of luxury condos, which have seen skyrocketing prices that the resale market couldn’t keep up with, especially after the construction boom that started around 2013. Eliza Tice, an analyst at PropertyShark, noted that this trend significantly impacted the market dynamics.
Meanwhile, sellers in other boroughs, including Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island, experienced far better fortunes. Profits in these areas ranged from around $95,000 in Queens to as high as $164,000 in Staten Island.
Interestingly, it seems timing played a crucial role in determining sellers’ experiences. Those who acquired properties during the recovery phase from the financial crisis (2009-2012) saw the highest returns, boasting a median profit of $206,000 last year. In stark contrast, buyers who purchased homes between 2020 and 2023, coinciding with skyrocketing prices during the pandemic, only realized a mere $9,000—inclusive of fees.
Another key insight was the performance of two- and three-family homes, particularly in Brooklyn, which recorded a substantial median resale profit of $439,000. Borough Park and Fresh Meadows claimed the top spots in median profit, indicating a robust market for these types of properties.
On Staten Island, the market showed resilience, even for those who bought during the pandemic, with a median profit of $93,000. This stability can be attributed to the area’s lack of co-ops and limited new development, helping to insulate it from the broader market fluctuations affecting other boroughs.
The Bronx presented some interesting findings, too. Here, buyers from the 2013-2019 luxury boom outperformed their pre-crisis counterparts, earning a median profit of $118,000, likely due to a smaller impact from the new developments that affected other regions.
Overall, the data suggest that while the city-wide figures look promising, the reality in specific neighborhoods can be quite different, with significant disparities between boroughs and types of properties.
