Prices and sales volume up at new developments in Manhattan, Brooklyn

Median listing prices for units in new developments in Manhattan and Brooklyn have increased year-over-year, and contract activity in both boroughs has increased by more than 40 percent, according to Streeteasy.com’s February new development market report covering Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

The median listing price for Manhattan new development units was up 6.8 percent last month to $1.44 million from February 2011, the report says. In Brooklyn, where supply is more constrained, the median price was also up, 16.8 percent year-over-year to $697,000.

The priciest neighborhood across all boroughs, was the Upper West Side, where the median listing price was $3.25 million, up 7.4 percent on a price-per-square-foot basis year-over-year.

The most popular buildings on the Upper West Side — based on saved listings, searches and page views on Streeteasy.com — were the Aldyn, the Rushmore, 846 West End Avenue and the Laureate, same as in last month’s inaugural new development report, the report shows.

The Manhattan neighborhood that saw the biggest jump in prices, however, was the Upper East Side. There, the median listing price for new development units was $2.29 million, up 13.8 percent year-over-year. The number of price cuts remained relatively flat.

The total number of listings at new developments in Manhattan held steady between February 2011 and February 2012, whereas in Brooklyn there were 8 percent fewer listings, down to 538. New contracts were up in both boroughs year-over-year, 14.3 percent to 88 in Manhattan, and 40 percent to 63 in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn fared extremely well when it came to price increases and price cuts last month, with 130 percent more price increases and 48.5 percent fewer price cuts compared to February 2011.

Williamsburg was Brooklyn’s most expensive area, with a median listing price of $897,000, a 30 percent increase from last year at the same time, when the median was $685,000, the reports says.

In Queens, activity and supply were up, and median prices in Long Island City inched up towards those in popular Brooklyn neighborhoods.

Inventory in Queens increased in February by 29 percent compared to the same month a year ago. The borough also saw another nearly 300 percent jump in new contracts, same as in January, to 13 from 3 year-over-year. The most popular new development buildings in Long Island City the most popular Queens neighborhood, were, like last month, the Murano, the L Haus, the View at East Coast and 1 Vernon Jackson, the report says. — Guelda Voien