Manhattan, Kansas Housing Market

How much can you negotiate in Manhattan?

About as many homes are under contract as are sitting unsold. Neither side is desperate. Your room to negotiate depends on the listing, not the market. Few sellers are dropping their price. Asking prices are holding firm. Your discount will come from one stale listing, not from the whole market.

A typical Manhattan home takes 49 days to find a buyer. Half of them take even longer. That is 12% slower than a year ago. Those sellers are paying to own a house they want to sell. Search for homes listed 60+ days ago. There are 161 homes for sale in Manhattan. That is 2.3 times the tightest month on record, but below the peak of 384. Supply is growing against last year.

What to do about it

• Judge the listing, not the market.
• Homes listed 60+ days ago with a price cut are where your discount is.
• Fresh, well-priced homes will not move on price. Do not waste offers on them.

Is now a good time to buy in Manhattan?

Asking prices are 9.6% below their Mar 2023 peak. You are not buying at the top. Prices are rising again. Every month you wait costs money. The question is no longer when. It is which house. Manhattan prices have risen in 82 of the last 108 months. Drops here have been short and shallow. Buying in a slow month has rarely hurt a long hold.

This market is turning. Which way is not settled yet. Check the monthly numbers above before you commit.

What numbers should you underwrite a Manhattan deal with?

• Price growth to assume — +5.2%/yr. 1 year: +4.2% · 5 years: +9.1% · ten years: +5.2%. Manhattan has grown faster in the last five years than across the full ten. That momentum is recent. Do not assume it continues. Underwrite between the two. Measure growth per square foot. Manhattan median list price grew 3.9% a year, but price per square foot grew 5.2%. The gap is smaller homes, not weaker growth. The house you buy will not shrink. The one-year rate is a timing signal. It is not an underwriting input.
• Months of carrying cost — 2. A typical home takes 49 days to sell. Budget that long when you exit or refinance. It is 12% slower than a year ago.
• Odds you cut your price to sell — 1 in 6. About 16% of homes on the Manhattan market right now have already cut their asking price. Assume you are one of them when you sell. Do not underwrite an exit at your asking price.
• Comp on this, not median price — $157/sqft. The typical Manhattan listing shrank from 2,657 to 2,246 sqft since Jul 2016. So median price hides real growth: 66% per sqft versus 47% on the median. Comp on median price and you will overpay for small homes.
• Competition when you exit — +21%. That is how much the number of homes for sale grew in a year. Your resale will face a bigger crowd than today's comps did.

Is Manhattan a buyer's or seller's market in 2026?

Only on the right house. Neither side has the upper hand in Manhattan right now. 0.93 out of every 100 homes for sale have a buyer, 16% of sellers have cut their price, and a typical home takes 49 days to sell.

Are Manhattan home prices going up or down?

Asking prices are 9.6% below their Mar 2023 peak. You are not buying at the top. Prices are rising again. Every month you wait costs money. The question is no longer when. It is which house.

What price growth should I assume for Manhattan?

+5.2%/yr. 1 year: +4.2% · 5 years: +9.1% · ten years: +5.2%. Manhattan has grown faster in the last five years than across the full ten. That momentum is recent. Do not assume it continues. Underwrite between the two. Measure growth per square foot. Manhattan median list price grew 3.9% a year, but price per square foot grew 5.2%. The gap is smaller homes, not weaker growth. The house you buy will not shrink. The one-year rate is a timing signal. It is not an underwriting input.

How fast are homes selling in Manhattan?

A typical Manhattan home takes 49 days to find a buyer. Half of them take even longer. That is 12% slower than a year ago. Those sellers are paying to own a house they want to sell. Search for homes listed 60+ days ago.