Manhattan home sales lag: NYC data

Co-op and condominium transactions in Manhattan lagged in November, according to data from the New York City Department of Finance. The figures, compiled from deeds and co-op sales documents, show that sales in the first two months of the fourth quarter were more than 25 percent below the first two months of the prior quarter. So far this quarter, the average apartment price was nearly flat while the median price fell 3.9 percent. The median co-op price fell while the median condo price rose. But according to the Journal, brokers say the local housing market is still faring better than the market across the country, where prices have been sliding and mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates remain high. Despite the latest decline in closed sales following a surge earlier this year, prices were mostly stable in Manhattan, with average prices flat and median prices slipping, according to the data. Yet brokers say that they have been busy over the past few months, with an increasing number of new sales contracts signed but not yet closed, since much of this new activity won’t be reflected in sales statistics until early 2011. [WSJ]