In Manhattan, listing prices of new development units rise 10 percent

The median listing price for new development apartments in Manhattan is up 10 percent year-over-year to $1.486 million in May, according to Streeteasy.com’s new development May market report. Contract activity and median sales prices for new homes in Manhattan and Brooklyn have increased significantly year-over-year. Meanwhile inventory has declined, most significantly in Brooklyn, where it was 33 percent lower than it was a year ago, and 19 percent lower than six months ago.

Brooklyn new development units saw median listing prices climb by 25.2 percent last month, to $795,000; in May 2011, it was $635,000. The number of units in contract was up 25 percent, the report shows.

In Manhattan, the number of new contracts was up 80.3 percent year-over-year, while inventory was down 10.2 percent.

The priciest neighborhood across all boroughs was the Upper West Side, where the median listing price was $3.38 million, up 3.5 percent year-over-year on a price-per-square-foot basis.

The most popular buildings on the Upper West Side — based on saved listings, searches and page views on Streeteasy.com — were the Aldyn and the Rushmore, both on Riverside Boulevard, 846 West End Avenue and the Laureate, on Broadway, same as in other recent new development reports.

The total number of existing listings at new developments in Manhattan was up 12 percent, as was the amount of new listings. In May 2012, there were 165 new listings; a year earlier, there were 120. However, in Brooklyn, there was a dramatic drop, with 86 new listings in May 2012, down from 125 the previous year.

Williamsburg was Brooklyn’s most expensive neighborhood, with a median listing price of $1.23 million, a 74 percent increase from last year at the same time, when the median was $708,495, the report says.

In Queens, median prices in Long Island City were up to $590,000, from $552,000 last year. Contract activity skyrocketed 725 percent, to 33 from 4 in May of 2011. — Guelda Voien