After years of increases bigger than the price of World Series ticket, the cost of buying apartments in New York City has suddenly started to slip, a new study has reported.
The average price of a Manhattan pad fell 7.7 percent in the third quarter to $789,225, according to the Douglas Elliman Manhattan Market Overview. Prices peaked last quarter at an all-time high average of $854,704.
“We’re going to see some stabilization over the next few quarters,” said Paul Purcell, managing director of Douglas Elliman, a residential brokerage firm.
The real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel conducts the survey for Douglas Elliman each quarter based on sales of condos and co-ops in Manhattan only.
Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, noted that while prices have come down a bit, they remain 34 percent higher than they were this time last year, when the average was $590,957.
Furious demand drove prices up in the first half of 2000, Miller said.
But “demand has eased a bit over the last quarter because of a number of factors. One would be the Nasdaq market correction in the spring, which I think made everyone do a gut check.”
The average price of condominiums fell 8.5 percent in the third quarter to $954,925, still 45 percent higher than last year, while the average co-op price rose 1.5 percent in the third quarter, to $678,450.
“There’s a little more negotiability,” said Suzanne Stern of Flatiron Real Estate. “But at the same time, there are other properties that I’ve had that are going for asking price.”
While Manhattan prices have come down a bit, sales have also slowed as fewer people are putting their places on the market.
“We’re seeing a reduction in volume, the number of transactions. And that’s primarily due to the lack of inventory, not lack of interest,” Miller said.