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

(Newser) – 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.”

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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)

The average number of days that Manhattan apartments stay on the market has increased to a record 170, according to one brokerage. (Shutter Stock)

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Prices still have downward pressure on them, and you'll see lower prices in the next quarter than you're
seeing now. - Pam Liebman, chief executive of the Corcoran Group

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Manhattan Apartment Prices Tumble