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Hard data now confirms months of whispering about drastic declines in the post-Lehman Manhattan residential real estate market. Walloped by the credit crunch, housing downturn and recession trifecta,
the total number of Manhattan real estate sales plummeted by half in
the first quarter of this year from the same period last year,
according to quarterly Manhattan market reports released by the city’s
major brokerages and real estate data firms today. The number of closed sales in new developments fared even worse,
dropping 67 percent from the prior-year quarter, according to the
report released by the Corcoran Group and prepared by
Propertyshark.com. Contract signings, which provide a more accurate
picture of current market conditions, in the first quarter plunged 40
percent to 1,324, from 2,225 in the prior-year quarter, according
to a first-quarter report released by real estate listings Web site
Streeteasy.com. [more]
