Midtown West, Tribeca, Chelsea rank as Manhattan ‘hoods with steepest inventory plunge

From the May issue: The stock market is soaring. Unemployment is falling. And consumers seem newly confident. But at least one major obstacle is preventing a surge in residential sales in New York City: Even if buyers want to purchase homes, there aren’t many to choose from. In fact, the current inventory crunch, the worst in recent memory, has become the defining feature of New York’s residential market.

At the end of the first quarter, there were just 4,960 co-ops and condos in Manhattan for sale — a stunning 34 percent decrease from 7,560 in the same period of last year, according to data from Douglas Elliman. [more]