New development vs. resales: round one

From the December issue: During the unprecedented condo construction boom of the past decade, New Yorkers grew accustomed to new condos selling out in a flash at record-high prices, such as hedge fund manager Dan Loeb’s purchase of a 15 Central Park West penthouse for $45 million. But as the nationwide housing slump has begun to make its presence felt in New York, new development sales have begun to slip, and resales are being looked on more favorably by both buyers and lenders. New developments’ market share of sales activity in Manhattan dropped to 30.1 percent, with roughly 798 units sold in the third quarter of 2008, compared to 1,856 resale units sold, according to a third quarter market report by Prudential Douglas Elliman. The market share of new development is down from 32.5 percent in the same period last year.