The two ends of the Manhattan market seem to be moving in opposite directions.
While luxury apartments saw a strong second quarter with a record in sales of units that were $4 million or more, the lower-priced end of the market fell.
Apartments priced $1 million or less saw the biggest drop, with 10.5 percent, the Wall Street Journal reported. Sales of units for $4 million or more rose by a record-setting 18.7 percent. Overall, condo and co-op sales in Manhattan declined by 7 percent since the second quarter last year, according to the newspaper. Limited supply and high prices explain the decline.
“People can’t afford to trade up,” Olshan Realty’s Donna Olshan told the newspaper. “Many people who need an extra bedroom don’t have the cash to buy the next level of apartment, or the money to renovate it.”
The median price for an apartment was up by 4.7 percent to $950,000 compared to the second quarter of 2014, the newspaper reported. The average price was $1.8 million.
“We’re busy, it’s a healthy market,” Brown Harris Stevens broker John Burger told the newspaper. “Wall Street is strong, interest rates are low, and New York is still the capital of the world.” [WSJ] — Claire Moses