In Manhattan, Rising Transaction Costs and Industry Fragmentation Are Squeezing Buyers

Written by:

Date:

24 Jun 2026

The Manhattan residential market has long been defined by its complexity, but rising transaction costs, shifting buyer preferences, and an increasingly fragmented information landscape are creating pressures that go well beyond what headline sales figures capture. For practitioners working deals on the ground, the gap between media narrative and market reality has rarely felt wider.

Cameron Culver, co-founder and COO of Atlas, a New York-based real estate brokerage built around a transparent, technology-enabled model, has spent over a decade navigating this market through roles at Nest Seekers International and as Director of Development at Argo, a large Manhattan property owner. That experience, he says, is what ultimately pushed him to build something different.

Transaction Costs

With mortgage rates elevated and inventory tightening at certain price points, the cumulative weight of fees and taxes is pushing financed buyers out of new development entirely. Between a 6% broker fee, mansion tax, transfer tax, and pied-à-terre tax, closing costs can reach 10% of the purchase price. Culver says appreciation isn’t keeping pace with the combined burden of purchase price, carrying costs, and exit fees.

“You’ve completely lost buyers who are financing,” he explains. “Almost all of the transactions in new development are cash, because it wouldn’t make sense to finance a $4 million apartment and then have 10% closing costs on the other side of it.”

The result is a market that has effectively split in two: ultra-luxury transactions continue to set records, while the mid-market struggles with affordability constraints that have little to do with purchase price alone. Atlas was designed partly to address this gap. The platform operates at a fraction of traditional commission structures, which Culver says can reduce transaction costs by up to 5%, a difference that amounts to $100,000 or more at typical Manhattan prices.

Where the Market Is Moving

Despite the headline noise around mega-deals, a more nuanced geographic story is playing out across the borough. The Upper East Side is seeing renewed interest, particularly as buyers become more willing to look east of Lexington Avenue, a boundary that previously carried a price ceiling. “That’s changed now with a lot of these ultra-luxury buildings,” Culver notes.

On the west side, the stretch from roughly 14th to 20th Street along the Hudson is performing well. The northern Upper West Side, particularly between 85th and 100th Streets, is attracting buyers who previously drew hard lines at 86th. During his time overseeing the conversion at 360 Central Park West, Culver says the project achieved close to $4,000 per square foot at 96th Street, a number that would have seemed unreachable in that corridor not long ago.

The West Village, meanwhile, is largely built out. “There’s not much more that can be built there, so you’re seeing all of that migrate north.”

The Media Problem

The disconnect between reported new development sales and what’s actually happening on the ground is one of the market’s less visible distortions. Culver says that 98% of new development media coverage is paid for, and many reported contracts function as marketing tools designed to generate buzz around a project rather than reflect genuine market activity.

The practice of stacking early high-value sales to establish price benchmarks is a well-understood tool in new development. The goal is to set a comp, establish an expectation, and use that to anchor subsequent pricing. Buildings like 220 Central Park South and 15 Central Park West demonstrate that the strategy can succeed. But projects that launched with astronomical per-foot pricing have since struggled when new construction appeared nearby, or demand softened.

“There’s never any stronger marketing for any property than somebody else having paid more for the same thing,” Culver says.

The Portal War

Beyond pricing dynamics, the fragmentation of listing information across competing platforms, each with its own policies, fee structures, and incentive models, is creating confusion for buyers and sellers at the point when clarity matters most. Culver calls this the “portal war” and describes it as one of the most disruptive forces currently facing the industry.

During his new development work, he encountered situations where buyers attempting to reach the listing agent directly were instead routed through a portal to an unrelated agency that had paid for placement, arriving at showings already confused about who represented them.

The issue extends to how commission structures influence which properties get shown. When every inquiry from an agent begins with a question about how much the seller is paying the buyer’s agent, Culver argues, the buyer’s interests are no longer central. “People are getting really tired of the runaround,” he says. “What are the fees? Who’s working on my behalf? What is the actual value?”

Opportunity for Investors

For capital looking to enter the Manhattan market, Culver’s advice centers on timing, bedroom count, and developer track record. His preferred strategy: identify a project from an established developer, roughly a year from completion, with strong pre-sale momentum, and acquire a three- or four-bedroom unit early.

Larger units purchased off floor plans from proven developers can appreciate significantly by the time a building sells out. Culver says he has seen buyers spend $5 or $6 million on such units and sell for $7 million two years later, once demand concentrates among latecomers. Larger units also carry a natural hedge: if timing doesn’t align for a sale, three- and four-bedroom rentals in quality buildings can command $30,000 to $40,000 per month.

A Market That Rewards Patience

Culver is candid about the limits of short-term market predictions, shaped in part by watching New York cycle through the pandemic years. “I’ve learned instead of saying this is what I think it’s going to be, I know from living and working in New York that it’s just a constant yo-yo.” His advice to buyers and sellers is consistent: use time as an asset, and avoid positions that can’t be held or pivoted if conditions change.

On the broader question of the city’s direction, he pushes back against more pessimistic narratives, pointing to recent sales data and street-level activity as evidence of underlying strength. He argues that the foundation of New York’s real estate value isn’t built on headline transactions, but on the millions of residents who spend everything they have to live there. “That’s more important to try and save, and to try and cater to,” he says.

That perspective shapes what Atlas is trying to build: a platform oriented less toward the $80 million deal and more toward making the transaction process cleaner, cheaper, and more legible for the buyers and sellers who make up the bulk of the market. In a city where transaction costs alone can determine whether a deal makes financial sense, reducing friction at the middle of the market may matter more than chasing records at the top.

About the Expert: Cameron Culver is co-founder and COO of Atlas, a New York-based real estate brokerage built around a transparent, technology-enabled model. His background includes roles at Nest Seekers International and as Director of Development at Argo, a large Manhattan property owner.

This article is based on information provided by the expert source cited above. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions.

Market Insights

Proptech

Real Estate Brokerage

Real Estate Trends

Residential Real Estate