A rise in apartment sales in Manhattan during the spring selling season, especially among expensive co-ops, led to an upward bump in average prices, according to an analysis of April And May Transactions By The Wall Street Journal. Preliminary figures compiled by the Journal showed that the median price of a Manhattan co-op hit $685,000 last month, up 9.5 percent from April and 14 percent from May 2009, when co-op prices bottomed. The median condominium price was $1.2 million, 4.6 percent more than in April and 13.8 percent more than in May 2009. However, the gains in median prices don’t necessarily mean that prices overall are appreciating; the Journal’s analysis found that sales picked up the most for higher-end properties, which pushed up the average. [WSJ]