The average condominium price in the Big Apple is now over $3 million for the first time in history, driven by sizable high-end Manhattan new development closings in the third quarter, according to a new report.

  • According to the Brown Harris Stevens Q3 report, Manhattan condos hit an average price of $3 million.
  • The average price within new development alone hit a record $4.39 million.
  • Resale average and median price grew 5 percent and 6 percent, respectively.

The average condominium price in the Big Apple is now over $3 million for the first time in history, driven by sizable high-end Manhattan new development closings in the third quarter, according to a new report.

Manhattan new development sales, primarily luxury, energized the overall condominium price pace in the third quarter, according to Brown Harris Stevens’ latest Manhattan market report. The average price within the new development category alone hit a record $4.39 million in Q3, factoring a single $88 million closing at 432 Park Ave. Meanwhile, median price among new developments jumped an impressive 40 percent year-over-year, to just under $2.52 million.

Apartment prices / Brown Harris Stevens

Apartment prices / Brown Harris Stevens

In the resale market, average price grew 5 percent year-over-year to over $1.54 million in Q3. The resale median price of $960,000 is 6 percent higher compared to last year.

Looking at all apartments, both co-ops and condominiums, average price reached over $2.04 million, which is up 18 percent year-over-year. Median price among all apartments rose 9 percent over the last year, to $1.085 million.

Despite strong price growth across Manhattan’s apartment market, total sales dropped year-over-year by 14 percent, the report shows.

Manhattan new development sales

New development sales by neighborhood / Brown Harris Stevens

At 31 percent of all Manhattan new development sales, Downtown – south of 14th Street – held the largest sales volume in the new development category this quarter. Last year, Downtown was no. 1, with a lesser 27.4 percent of all Manhattan new development sales in Q3 2015. Meanwhile, between 34th and 14th Street in Downtown, 14.7 percent of new development activity occurred — almost doubling last year’s 7.5 percent share.

Midtown was the second most popular neighborhood for new development sales, with a 16.1 percent share, down from last year’s 21.9 percent share.

Last year, the West Side held 19.4 percent of new development sales, the report shows. That dropped to 10.3 percent this year.

Resales grow tighter across Manhattan  

The East Side, with boundaries set between 59th Street to 96th Street and Fifth Avenue to the East River, held the highest percentage of resales in Q3, at 22.6 percent, followed closely by Downtown (south of 14th Street), at 21.1 percent.

The West Side was the no. 3 most popular in resales in Q3, with 18.5 percent of activity.

Manhattan resale price / Brown Harris Stevens

Manhattan resale price / Brown Harris Stevens

Resale co-ops reached an average of $1.27 million, up 2 percent year-over-year. Three-bedroom co-ops increased 9 percent in price, while studios jumped 5 percent annually.

Middle-to-lower market prices are growing stronger due to low inventory levels, Brown Harris Stevens explains in the report. However, buyers paid 98.4 percent of asking price – down from 99.5 percent last year.

Time on the market averaged 75 days, which is far less than the 87-day average seen last quarter but up from 70 days last year.

September absorption rates

Manhattan’s absorption rate, or how many months it would take to sell all active listings, dropped to 4.3 months in September. This was 18 percent higher compared to last year.

Within the condo market, the absorption rate rose 8 percent year-over-year to 5.5 months, while co-ops jumped 23 percent to 3.2 months in the same time frame. As of September, there were 2,893 condos and 1,879 co-ops on the market.

The tightest market was the West Side — replacing Upper Manhattan — with a 3.2 months supply across all apartments.

Email Jennifer Riner

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