Inman

Manhattan sales down, prices up in Q4

The sales volume of Manhattan co-ops and condos fell 9.4 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter while the median sales price rose 5.9 percent to $850,000, according to a quarterly industry report.

There were 2,282 Manhattan condo and co-op sales in the fourth quarter, compared with 2,518 in fourth-quarter 2007, according to the report, prepared by Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers for brokerage company Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

The median sales price, meanwhile, rose from $850,000 in fourth-quarter 2007 to $900,000 in fourth-quarter 2008, a 5.9 percent rise. And the average sales price reached $1.49 million in the fourth quarter, up 3.1 percent from $1.44 million in fourth-quarter 2007.

The average price per square foot increased 0.3 percent, from $1,180 in fourth-quarter 2007 to $1,183 in fourth-quarter 2008.

Days on market, from the last list date, jumped 21.3 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter and listing inventory rose 39.6 percent.

The median sales price of studios, one-bedroom and three-bedroom units dropped year-over-year in the fourth quarter while the median price of two-bedroom and four-plus-bedroom units rose, Miller Samuel reported.

And compared to third-quarter 2008, sales dropped 14 percent in the fourth quarter and the median sales price dipped 3 percent.

In a separate report prepared for the Brown Harris Stevens brokerage company, the average price of Manhattan condos and co-ops reached $1.45 million in the fourth quarter, up from $1.43 million in fourth-quarter 2007.

The average price per square foot dipped from $1,181 in fourth-quarter 2007 to $1,162 in fourth-quarter 2008, and the average price per room rose from $319,591 in fourth-quarter 2007 to $323,307 in fourth-quarter 2008.

***

What’s your opinion? Leave your comments below or send a letter to the editor.