Aerial view of the Hamptons

Home sales below $1 million boosted the volume while decreasing the median price on the East End of Long Island, according to fourth-quarter 2011 market reports from Prudential Douglas Elliman and Brown Harris Stevens released today.

Sales in the fourth quarter were higher than expected, holding steady year-over-year, despite the fact that changes in tax rules produced an artificial uptick in the fourth quarter of 2010, Elliman’s Hamptons/North Fork sales report indicates (see chart). [more]

Source: Prudential Douglas Elliman

A sharp drop in national mortgage rates coupled with a barrage of weak economic news in the fall drove down the overall average prices of property sales in both Brooklyn and Queens in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to reports from Prudential Douglas Elliman and Brown Harris Stevens, released today.

In Brooklyn, home prices overall declined largely due to a jump in the volume of sales of lower-priced co-ops. The average sales price dropped by 7.5 percent to $529,640 in the last quarter of 2011 from $572,892 in 2010, while the number of total sales increased by 6.1 percent to 1,558 from 1,468, according to Eliman’s report. Meanwhile listing inventory decreased 4.8 percent to 5,908 units from 6,203 the year-prior quarter. [more]

The third floor of 1107 Fifth Avenue, a 4,000-square-foot co-op with a 4,000-square-foot terrace, just hit the market for $29.5 million.

The 10-room apartment, at 92nd Street, is the top floor of what was originally the Marjorie Merriweather Post triplex, which was New York City’s largest apartment when it was built, in 1926, at 54 rooms, according to the listing. One of America’s earliest notable heiresses, Post was the first woman to sit on the board of a major corporation — General Foods. [more]

From left, Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Dottie Herman, Halstead Property’s Greg Heym and the Corcoran Group’s Pamela Liebman The volume of Manhattan home sales declined at least 12 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, although prices continued to hold steady, according to quarterly reports issued today by the city’s largest residential real estate brokerages. Experts proffered a host of explanations for the drop in sales activity, from global economic chaos to low inventory levels to financing issues for buyers in the middle of the market. [more]

An apartment formerly owned by composer George Gershwin and his lyricist brother Ira has hit the market for $2.5 million, Curbed reported. The Gershwins lived in the three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom co-op unit at 33 Riverside Drive and 75th Street around the time they wrote ‘Girl Crazy,” according the listing, which was in the 1930s. The duplex’s historic ties to the past could warrant a renovation and restoration by a motivated buyer, Curbed noted. The apartment, which has a master bedroom suite on the main floor and two bedrooms, a home office and a marble bath on the lower level, is listed with Lisa Lippman and Scott Moore of Brown Harris Stevens. [Curbed]

From left: 1280 Fifth Avenue, 4 East 102nd Street and 1212 Fifth Avenue

A trio of Upper East Side developments will test the traditional northern boundary for luxury buildings, the Financial Times reported.

The projects — 1280 Fifth Avenue, 4 East 102nd Street and 1212 Fifth Avenue — will test the East 96th Street line Manhattanites have long considered the separation between the Upper East Side and Harlem. But the new developments offer the amenities of buildings to the south and all three were designed by “brand-name” architects. While 1280 Fifth Avenue and 4 East 102nd Street are new developments, by Brickman and Durst Fetner Residential, respectively, 1212 Fifth Avenue is a conversion.

The Robert Stern-designed 1280 Fifth, the furthest north, at 109th Street, is anchored by the African Museum of Art. [more]

Andrew Heiberger has recruited 265 agents
and staff since launching Town a year ago.From the December issue: When Andrew Heiberger launched the residential brokerage Town, he prophesied that it would become the city’s biggest firm, vowing to hire the industry’s “best and the brightest.”

A year later, at least part of that prediction is on its way to coming true. With five offices and some 265 agents and staff, Town is undoubtedly the fastest-growing brokerage in Manhattan. By way of comparison, Rutenberg Realty — until now the city’s most rapidly expanding firm — didn’t top 200 agents until three years after its 2006 launch. (Rutenberg, in contrast to Town, has a low-overhead business model with just one small office.)

It’s still too soon to tell, however, whether Town’s agents will become the city’s best. At press time, Town said it had 152 exclusive listings worth approximately $405 million, with an average asking price of $2.67 million for sales and $7,500 per month for rentals.

[more]

From the December issue: As the year draws to a close, the future seems as opaque as a glass of eggnog. Some real estate professionals say pent-up demand in the residential market could foster a busy 2012, while others predict that a sluggish economy will keep prices and activity in check.

Citi Habitats vice president Jay Molishever said the high rents, relatively low sales prices and increasing activity he is seeing in the current market are good signs for the New Year.

“At some point,” he said, “the kindling is going to burst into flames again,” bringing high prices and high volume. [more]

Sandy Weill and his 15 CPW penthouse

Former Citigroup Chairman Sandy Weill has found a buyer for his 15 Central Park West penthouse that had an asking price of $88 million, the New York Post reported.

The prospective buyer has not yet signed a contract and his or her identity could not be revealed, but sources told the Post the buyer hails from outside the United States.

Weill bought the 6,744-square-foot penthouse with a 2,077-square-foot terrace in 2007 for $43.7 million. [more]

From left: 1280 Fifth Avenue and Tom Postillo, Natalie Rakowski and Parul Brahmbhatt, all of Core

East Harlem’s new 116-unit tower on Central Park, 1280 Fifth Avenue, will no longer be marketed through Nancy Packes and Brown Harris Stevens Project Marketing. The developer, Brickman, has opted instead for Core, The Real Deal has learned.

“We appreciate the initial involvement and contribution from Brown Harris Stevens on the pre-development and initial marketing of 1280 Fifth Avenue,” Brickman’s principal Bruce Brickman said, though he declined to give any specifics on why the company made the switch. Nancy Packes declined to comment, citing confidentiality arrangements. [more]