Harlem condos “in deep doo-doo”

Any New Yorker not living under a heavy rock in Central Park knows the condo and townhouse market is in rough shape. But for Harlem, the situation is a particularly severe brand of awful this year. “Condos are in deep doo-doo,” Willie Suggs, an independent broker and more than 20-year veteran of Harlem real estate, said. The first two quarters of 2009 saw just 83 apartment sales in east and west Harlem combined, a grim number when held in comparison to 2008, which saw 229 deals in the last two quarters, according to appraisal firm Miller Samuel. Prices are faring no better; in 2008’s second quarter, the average price per square foot for a one-bedroom apartment in Harlem was $900. In the second quarter of 2009, that figure was down at $572.