Median sales price rises for luxury Manhattan condos

Housing Wire

2011-07-01

Kerri Panchuk

Prices in Manhattan’s luxury co-op and condo market grew 11.2% as larger residential units attracted buyers shopping for deals and upgrades in the Big Apple, real estate brokerage Prudential Douglas Elliman concluded in The Douglas Elliman Report on Manhattan condo and co-op sales.

Sellers who fared less favorably were those trying to offload smaller condos.

The median sales price in the condo market fell 2.7% to $1.07 million in the second quarter, down from 2.7% in the second quarter of last year, while the number of sales fell 17.3% to 1,284 units when compared to last year.

In the co-op market, the median sales price rose a slight 0.4% to $700,000 in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, the median sales price in Manhattan’s luxury co-op and condo market jumped 11.2% in the second quarter when compared to last year, hitting $4.5 million compared to $4.09 million during the same quarter of 2010, the Douglas Elliman report said.

Prudential Douglas Elliman, which ranks 16th nationwide in Realtor Magazine’s list of Top 100 national brokerages of 2010, releases the survey of condo and co-op sales quarterly.

“The luxury market, which represents the highest 10% of all sales, showed price gains over last year as Wall Street and foreign buyers continue to drive demand,” said Jonathan Miller, author of the report.

Radar Logic’s latest RPX Manhattan Condominium price report made a similar conclusion in early June, saying larger units in Manhattan are attracting more buyers. The sale of units in the 900- to 1,500-square-foot range grew year over year, while sales in the 450-to 900-square-foot market fell over last year in March, the data research firm said.

“I think the market is warming up,” said Damon Pazzaglini, chief operating officer at Durst Fetner Residential, a New York residential developer. “But I think there is a lack of supply for what people really want. It is a market where people are not going to buy something they don’t really want.” He added, “I’m hearing there is no supply of new three bedrooms.”

It’s in this area where Pazzaglini believes developments like Durst Fetner’s 1212 Fifth Avenue, an upscale condo development, can fill the void.

Hal Fetner, president and CEO of Durst, Fetner, added, “People are starting to see there may be good value out there. They may be living in a two bedroom and saying (in this market) I may be able to afford a three bedroom.”