New York City Market Movin' On Up by Broderick Perkins
Start spreading the news. The Big Apple may not be the king of the hill when it comes to home price appreciation, but the city that never sleeps apparently has a real estate market that's wide awake too. By several measures, home price appreciation has remained in positive territory this year with increases ranging from 1 to 3 percent or more depending upon the location and type of housing. In Manhattan alone, the median sales price increased 1.7 percent to a record $895,000 in the second quarter this year, compared to $880,000 a year ago. However, the second quarter figure was 7.2 percent above the first quarter 2007's median of $835,000, according to Prudential Douglas Elliman Manhattan Market Overview for the second quarter this year. In the single-family home category the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said New York City prices appreciated 3.03 percent in the past year ending in the first quarter. Prices are up 63.89 percent in the past five years and 566.23 percent since 1980, OFHEO reported. In the first quarter this year, the greater New York City-Northern New Jersey-Long Island metro enjoyed a 1 percent increase in the price of single-family homes, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) quarterly Metro and State Price Report. Single-family home prices in the New York City-Wayne-White Plains area were up 2.1 percent during the same period. When it came to condos and co-ops the price jump was 3.4 percent for the New York-Wayne-White Plains area in the first quarter this year compared to the first quarter in 2006. "All of the stars are aligned in perfect position for the Manhattan real estate market," says Dottie Herman, President and CEO, Prudential Douglas Elliman. Sales in Manhattan were up a whopping 104 percent in the second quarter to 3,939 units as compared to the 1,934 units sold in the same quarter last year, according to the quarterly market overview. Some of the higher prices are due to a squeeze on the inventory side with listings down 31.5 percent from a year ago. Homes are selling, on average in 117 days, four weeks faster than last year, according to Prudential Douglas Elliman. "Price levels across the board were generally up this quarter with the greatest price gains seen in larger apartments, namely 3-bedroom and 4-bedroom units with a 17.6 percent and 36.2 percent gain over the same period last year," says Jonathan J. Miller, president and CEO of Manhattan residential real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel. Ficking & Company Real Estate, Inc.'s Camilla Chappell, who markets New York properties from her Macon, GA office, reported to RealtyTimes Market Conditions The City never felt the full brunt of the big bang from the last housing boom so it's now suffering much less than other markets that enjoyed skyrocketing appreciation. "We are unlikely to see big drops in price as we have not experienced the big increases, such as those seen in other areas of the country. I believe this makes us a great market, and is really good for those real estate investors looking for longer term investments," Chappell reported. "Not all sellers need to reduce their prices," she added. The Prudential quarterly report for Manhattan also found: - The median sales price of a co-op was $695,000 in the second quarter, down 3.7 percent from a year ago, but up 3 percent from the first quarter. The co-op supply fell 39.6 percent to 2,481 units, compared to 4,105 units a year ago.
- The median sales price of a condo was $1,040,000 in the second quarter, up 5.1 percent from last year and 5 percent from the prior quarter. Condo inventories slipped too, falling 22 percent since last year.
- The uniqueness of loft apartments is partially responsible for the median price rising 10 percent from last year, up to a record $1.65 million in the second quarter this year.
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