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The Manhattan real estate market tend to have some of the most violent swings in pricing in the country. It will rise dramatically and then fall more than most when the market turns. That is why, for the moment, the tepid downturn of the real estate market has professionals optimistic. Many have been expecting much worse. 

The statistics released today show that inventory has leveled off. The number of sales increased more than 9% versus last quarter, to 2,113, and properties are staying on the market for an average of 150 days, according to Prudential Douglas Elliman’s report.
“It’s a buyer’s market,” Mr. Miller said, “but not all the way in that direction.”
Manhattan’s residential market posted record gains through the first half of 2005, before falling off in all significant categories in the third quarter. At the end of 2005 and beginning of 2006, sales dropped significantly, inventory began to pile up more rapidly, and properties showed more stable appreciation rates.

In the second quarter of 2006, the average sales price of condominiums dropped sharply, causing concerns that new condo development created a glut. This quarter, the price of co-ops, which make up about 75% of New York’s for sale housing stock, is taking a down turn.

An economist for Halstead, Gregory Heym, said that the statistics released today describe a more balanced, stable market than New York has experienced in recent years. “Coming off record prices from a year ago, and to be down 4% from there, is not such a dramatic decline,” Mr. Heym said. “The market is not growing at 30% anymore, but values are still holding.”

He said that the new developments tend to be smaller, pushing down the average sales price. The report released today by the Corcoran Group showed that price per square foot rose in the last quarter, while the average price fell via The New York Sun.

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