REBNY reports record Manhattan condo prices

Real Estate Weekly, April 19, 2000

Manhattan condominiums sold for record prices in 1999 as that market posted its fifth consecutive year of overall appreciation, according to the Real Estate Board of New York's (REBNY) 1999 Annual Manhattan Condominium and Townhouse Sales Report.

Median sales prices for apartments of all sizes and vintages reached five-year highs in 1999, said REBNY executive vice president Deborah Beck, observing that the pre- and post-war markets both experienced double-digit increases during the year. The median sales price for pre-war condominiums rose 17 percent, from $357 per square-foot in 1998 to $417, while prices in the post-war market climbed 15 percent from $369 to $426.

"Sustained, significant appreciation in these residences continues to be a key indicator of New York's economic growth and its prospects for leadership in emerging businesses," Beck commented.

The number of reported sales declined in 1999, but a limited supply of units was only one cause of the falloff. "Recorded sales dropped from 5,355 to 4,398, but these figures misrepresent variations in transaction activity and overstate the decline," advised Beck. A backlog of 1997 sales previously unrecorded by the City Register's office was finally recorded in 1998, inflating that year's sales total by about 25 percent, she explained.

Hall Willkie, executive vice president of Brown, Harris, Stevens and chairperson of REBNY's Residential Research Committee, noted that price gains were seen in every major geographic submarket.

East Side pre-war condominiums accounted for the fewest sales (139) but commanded the highest median price per square-foot, said Willkie; the median price of $543 per square-foot was a startling 49 percent higher than in 1998. Fueling the surge were transactions at 610 Park Avenue, where 27 sales with a median price of $1,135 per square-foot occurred. Most of these units were in the 2,001 to 2,500 square-foot category, helping propel the price for that category of East Side apartments from $591 to $1,154 per square-foot.

The median price in the East Side postwar market climbed nine percent to $426 per square-foot, largely because of sales at the Gotham condominium at 170 East 87th Street, where 101 transactions yielded a median price of $455 per square-foot.

On the West Side, the pre-war median price jumped 13 percent from 1998 to $410 per square-foot. A major factor in this appreciation was the transfer of units of 651 to 850 square feet; the median price for these units rose 16 percent to $393 per square-foot. Sales activity was particularly brisk at The Century at 25 Central Park West, where 34 transfers took place at a median price of $589 per square-foot.

In the post-war market, prices were up 16 percent to $462, mostly because of a 25 percent price gain for smaller units of 850 square feet or less. There were 99 sales at 200 Riverside Boulevard, which produced a median price of $509 per square-foot.

The Downtown market fared very well, with pre- and post-war units posting price increases of 19 and 16 percent respectively. "In this submarket as well, smaller units registered the most appreciation," said Willkie. Pre-war condos in the 650 square-feet-or-less range posted a 26 percent increase to $408 per square-foot, while postwar units between 851 and 1,000 square feet registered a 20 percent median price increase to of $413 per square-foot. The most reported pre-war sales consummated in a building Downtown (which REBNY now defines as anyplace in Manhattan south of 42nd Street) were at The Corinthian, 330 East 38th Street where 61 units were transferred for a median price of $425 per square-foot.

The median size of apartments sold in 1999 rose in every geographic market but the West Side, where the median size fell from 843 to 825 square feet. On the East Side, median unit size climbed from 880 to 929 square feet. Downtown, median size edged up from 812 to 824 square feet. In Northern Manhattan, the median size soared from 760 to 863 square feet during the year.

The geographical distribution of sales volume shifted marginally during 1999. The East Side accounted for 32 percent of the total sales volume in both 1998 and 1999 annual surveys. While the West Side's share rose three percent over the year representing 36 percent of 1999 sales activity, Downtown declined three percent during the same time period with 31 percent of the volume. Northern Manhattan remained unchanged, posting one percent of the total sales activity in both surveys.