04/15/09 Federal Market report about NY

"The number of sales transactions fell nearly 50 percent from a year earlier, while the inventory (number of units listed) jumped 34 percent."
I'm surprised people are still buying in this market.

sledgehammer....that's what i don't understand...why are people still paying almost asking price for apts. while the newspapers and blogs are screaming about the drop.in prices.

I'd like to understand as much as you do Julia. My guess is there must be a minority of buyers that want to take advantage of the low mortgage rates while it last and fear inflation is gonna change the rules...

The number of sales is NEVER going to fall to zero. People bought Manhattan RE during the Great Depression. And as a side note, many people signed contracts years ago and might be buying because they don't want to lose their deposits.

I understand Alpine, but what was the housing price/income ratio back then? In 2006, that ratio was at 1/7.7
Totally insane! How much do you think it is now? My understanding that this average ratio in NY has been 1/3.5 for almost 100 years except for the last 9 years when it skyrocketed.

"The number of sales is NEVER going to fall to zero."

Most of the time the number of sales is zero. 525,600 minutes, and only 5,000 sales a year = 1 sale every 1,051.2 minutes.

Nothing happens in between.

:)

For some people a manhattan apt is not a big part of their net worth; so they dont mind spending the money; especially when they compare the cost of a similar apt in other major cities of the world. Also, there are always some people who are making crazy money at any time. And then there are people who dont want to wait for the absolute bottom, for whom the price drop so far is good enough. There will be buyers at all price points. That is what makes a market.

"Manhattan's apartment sales market deteriorated markedly in the first quarter: the median sales price for condo re-sales was down 16 percent from a year earlier, while co-op prices fell 22 percent. The number of sales transactions fell nearly 50 percent from a year earlier, while the inventory (number of units listed) jumped 34 percent. Moreover, an industry contact maintains that there is a sizable 'shadow' inventory of apartments--new condo units that are unsold but not yet listed."

THAT is a more complete picture, and demolishes any shred of the argument that prices in MANHATTAN have not fallen.

Julia, what proof do you have that people are paying asking? Everything that I've seen, read and heard indicates the opposite. I know your particular market has been a bit more resilient recently due to ease in obtaining mortgages, but even there I'm seeing large studios and one bedrooms listed in the $650-700 psf range. And that's listing, not closing.