James Whelan

New Yorkers are returning to the city as the pandemic winds down and, to Jim Whelan, that’s a good sign.

Home sales activity in Manhattan has inched upward from pandemic troughs. The first quarter of this year was actually 2 percent better than the previous year in terms of trades.

On the rental side, there were 6,255 leases signed in January in Manhattan, almost 60 percent more than the same time in 2020, according to brokerage Douglas Elliman. However, more than 5 percent of the units remain unoccupied, but that’s below a pandemic peak of more than 6 percent.

“Things are very much headed in the right direction,” Whelan said. “Different parts of the market have different timing than others, but if you get at the residential sales market, there’s not a week that goes by of activity picking up that we haven’t seen in a decade.”

But the commercial and retail sectors lag. Nearly 80 million square feet of Manhattan office space was available as of April, according to reports. 

Whelan is optimistic that the city is seeing “renewed strength” in commercial real estate, but getting people comfortable with going back to work regularly depends on improving the city’s quality of life. That includes curbing coronavirus infections, while ramping up vaccinations, as well as keeping streets and subways safe.

“I was on a call with real estate heads of the major tenancies, and the state of the subways and hate crimes were clear concerns,” Whelan said. “These are the issues that need to be addressed to ensure the fullest economic recovery possible.”

Despite a challenging economic environment, REBNY has secured victories legislatively and in the courts. The trade association snuffed out a proposed tax on second homes and one on mezzanine debt, and won a case ensuring that brokers could collect commissions on rentals.

Whelan is most looking forward to seeing his members in person again, although REBNY’s annual banquet will occur virtually this year on June 10.

“It’s a way to bring [the] industry together and recognize vital work,” he said. “I think we’ll have a very good showing.”—A.S.