Analyzing Halstead’s fourth-quarter Manhattan home sales data

The fourth quarter of 2009 saw more closings than any other last year, which according to Gregory Heym, Halstead Property’s chief economist and the author of the firm’s market report, was an unusual surge in closings — the year’s end usually brings a sales slowdown. Heym said the comparatively slow start to the typically hot spring sales season, coupled with March’s stock market surge could account for the fourth-quarter surprise. Meanwhile, Manhattan’s average apartment prices were down 9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 from the year-ago period, according to a market report from Halstead. For more analysis of Halstead’s fourth-quarter Manhattan sales data, check out the video above.