Manhattan Apartment Prices Tumble

Financial crisis sends values down double digits in first quarter
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 2, 2009 6:27 AM CDT
Manhattan Apartment Prices Tumble
Bernard Madoff's luxury unit in this apartment building on New York City's Upper East Side may prove tough to sell if prosecutors seize it to compensate his victims.   (AP Photo/Brian McDermott)

Wall Street's problems have chucked a bucket of cold water over Manhattan's once overheated property market, Reuters reports. The median price of a Manhattan apartment dived 11% to $749,000 in the first quarter, according to a report released today by the Corcoran Group, New York's largest brokerage. Analysts expect prices to keep falling in coming months.

"We are in a period of price discovery," as the market corrects itself, one analyst said. Sales at the top end of the market have slowed to a crawl, although sales are starting to pick up at the lower end as prices drop. "Manhattan has become affordable again,” said the Corcoran Group's chief executive. “It is a lot more affordable than it was six months ago.” (More Manhattan stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X