Manhattan building sales show signs of stability

The Manhattan commercial real estate market is on the rise, according to Eastern Consolidated, which released its third-quarter market report today. Sales volume during the first three quarters of 2010 hit $9.4 billion, already surpassing activity during all of 2009, the report shows, when just $5.8 billion worth of transactions were completed. This is due in part to improving employment across the five boroughs — the report shows that 19,000 private sector jobs were added in the third quarter. Although the report said it’s too soon to be “sounding the trumpets,” Peter Hauspurg, Eastern’s chairman and CEO, said there’s reason to feel optimistic. “At this time last year, we could barely see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Hauspurg said. “But this quarter’s statistics confirm that we are now clearly out of the tunnel.” TRD