Apartment sales pick up in Manhattan

Sales of Manhattan apartments picked up during the second quarter of 2010, to the fastest pace since the summer of 2008, a sign that the market has been recovering during the spring selling season, the Wall Street Journal reported. During the second quarter, which ends June 30, sales were running 80 percent above the pace reported a year ago, according to the Journal’s review of closed-sales filings with New York City’s Department of Finance. The market for Manhattan co-ops was particularly strong, with sales comprising about 54 percent reported so far during the second quarter, hitting the highest pace since the summer of 2007. Though analysts said there has likely been a modest recovery in prices, some brokers have cautioned that a further recovery would depend on the pace of recovery for the U.S. economy as a whole. The most recent figures are still more than 25 percent below the peak sales figures reported in mid-2007, when condo prices were rising quickly, and apartments in new condo developments were selling fast. The Journal also reported last week that buyers were favoring condos over co-ops, since they are easier to acquire, somewhat of a reversal from the typical recession buying trends. [WSJ]

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