The Real Deal New York

From the July issue: Apartment sales in Manhattan were either flat or down 34 percent in the first quarter of the year. Meanwhile, the average price of a studio was either $518,000 or $484,280. The average price per square foot of a co-op? Either $1,002 or $1,128. To homebuyers, Manhattan market reports can sound like multiple-choice tests. The reports, put out by some of the biggest firms in the city and by their collective trade association, the Real Estate Board of New York, often paint a muddled picture of the market. “The consumer looks at four reports and gets four stories,” said Paul Purcell, a founding partner at Charles Rutenberg Realty. “What kind of value is that? It’s a waste of paper.”