Unlike the national market, sellers are returning to New York City real estate, where falling mortgage rates are improving affordability for buyers as well as sellers looking to finance their next place.

According to a new report from StreetEasy, 4,581 listings were added to the NYC market in September, an increase of 9.6 percent from a year ago. As sellers poured back into the market, nearly one in five (19.2 percent) of NYC properties sold above asking in September—an increase from 17.9 percent a year ago, but lower than the 20.3 percent share seen in 2021.

That’s when mortgage rates were much lower and pandemic lockdowns had just ended, boosting demand from buyers, said Kenny Lee, StreetEasy economist and author of the report.

Deals are happening faster as well: 1,721 NYC properties entered contract in September, the most for the month since 2021, and properties entering contract spent nine fewer days on market than a year ago, the report said.

“The sharp increase in fresh listings, together with eager buyers, will likely provide a jolt of activity in the fall buying season this year,” Lee wrote.

Brooklyn properties are more likely to sell above asking, Lee found. One in four (25 percent) Brooklyn properties sold above asking last month and six of the 10 neighborhoods with the highest shares of properties that sold above asking were in the borough.

In Prospect Heights, close to half of properties sold above asking. The median sales price there was $1,310,000 last month.

In the third quarter, the median sales price in Brooklyn topped $1 million for the first time. It rose 7.7 percent to $1,050,000 compared to the third quarter of 2024, according to the latest edition of the Elliman Report