New terrain forces brokers to adjust

From the May issue: As the national housing slowdown pervades even New York City — a previously unthinkable prospect — brokers are scrambling for tips on how to make the best of the downturn. Manhattan’s sales volume in the past quarter decreased by 34 percent year over year, according to a leading market report, and inventory edged up to its highest level in three years. The outer boroughs and suburbs have seen the worst of it, though, with double-digit price declines in some cases. And in the most extreme situations, the coping strategy of agents there has been to abandon the businessat least temporarily.