Liquidity is declining in most of the top markets in the world, indicating a decrease in active buyers and transaction volume, and Manhattan is among the markets to see a significant decline. A report from Real Capital Analytics analyzed the liquidity in the top 155 global real estate markets in the third quarter, and found that it fell in 118 of the markets, surpassing declines in the second quarter.

Manhattan was among the markets to see a significant decrease in buying activity. Real Capital Analytics ranked the East Coast city as the third most liquid market in the world, a decade-low score. Manhattan's liquidity score has been declining since the market had hit its peak in mid-2019, but the pandemic accelerated the downward trend.

Typically a low interest-rate environment helps to spur investment activity, but in this particular downturn, which is wrought with uncertainty, the low interest rate environment has done little to drive activity. According to earlier data from RC Analytics, national sales activity fell 68% year-over-year in August and transactions are down 36% year to date. In the third quarter, interest rates were significantly lower than they were the same time last year, at 3.8% compared to 4.7% in the third quarter of 2019.