Third quarter real estate data for Manhattan showed that sales for condos and co-ops improved from the second quarter... but sales still trail 2008 third quarter numbers. So, is the glass half full or empty? more ›

New second quarter 2009 reports from the real estate firms indicate that the prices of Manhattan apartments has fallen about 25% since the same period last year. Sales were down, as much as 50% in one report and by 61% for new condos in another. Bloomberg News calls it the "Lehman effect" as "the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Bear Stearns Cos. caught up to property owners in the nation’s most expensive urban market." The NY Times reports, "The strongest activity was reported in smaller, less expensive apartments, often bought by renters buying their first homes" (who "benefited by low mortgage rates...and a federal tax credit available to many first-time home buyers") and that "sales of trophy apartments had shriveled during the downturn." The head of Corcoran, Pamela Liebman, says sellers shouldn't wait to sell, "Time does not necessarily equate to money here for the seller," while appraiser Jonathan Miller believes, "We will probably get a little worse before it is going to get better, because unemployment is likely to continue to rise after the recession ends this year." more ›

Somehow, in spite of the faltering economy, brokerage firms say second quarter apartment sale prices were about the same or maybe even slightly higher than in the first quarter--though sales were down 22% versus 2007's second quarter. The NY Times noticed, "Strong luxury sales and faltering studio sales had the perverse effect of catapulting the median price — the price of the apartment exactly in the middle of all sale prices — to a record. It was close to or slightly above $1 million..." Brokers are also cautiously optimistic that the NYC real estate market won't fall as they have in other parts of the country. more ›