Manhattan median sales prices (source: MNS, click image to enlarge and see more charts)

Though new development sales slowed severely in Manhattan and Brooklyn in recent months, prices are mostly on the upswing, according to third quarter Manhattan and Brooklyn new development sales reports released today by residential brokerage MNS.

In Manhattan, the number of sponsor sales recorded in public records declined 18 percent from the second quarter, while in Brooklyn that figure fell off a cliff, to the tune of a 34 percent drop. However, the median sales price per square foot in that same period rose 4 percent in Manhattan to $1,243, and 3 percent in Brooklyn to $594. As for overall sales figures, in Manhattan the median price gained 10 percent since the third quarter of 2010 to about $1.5 million, and in Brooklyn it rose 7 percent to about $600,000. – Adam Fusfeld [more]

The Metal Shutter Houses at 524 West 19th Street

The first closing on famed architect Shigeru Ban’s Metal Shutter Houses at 524 West 19th Street between 10th and 11th avenues has posted, but it may be too soon to celebrate. Curbed reports that the buyer listed is Dean Maltz, purportedly the same Dean Maltz who works as a partner at the architect’s U.S. division. Additionally, Maltz saw the price of his new, four-bedroom, four-bathroom, 2,754-square-foot home knocked down to $3.42 million, a full 24 percent below the unit’s asking price. While Maltz reportedly closed on the apartment in late October, it remains to be seen if any other units have been snatched up since then. [more]