Data compiled by the appraisal firm Miller Samuel shows that sales activity has been regaining momentum speedily over the first months of the year after the international economic uncertainties that affected the end of 2011. During the first 2012 quarter sales volume of Manhattan apartments (condo + coops) went up 14.9% compared to the previous quarter.
An interesting trend is that first time buyers are gradually becoming more numerous and therefore a higher number of small apartments (traditionally bought by first timers) are absorbed by the market. This affects the statistic of the overall average price for a Manhattan dwelling sold that went actually down in the last twelve months.
Negotiability on the seller’s side is ever shrinking and if your pad is priced right rest assured you will get the asking price.

pinterest
If you don’t know what Pinterest is, you may be living under a rock.
This is one of the latest and hottest social networks created. It is strongly focused on photos/images.
You can create your elegant and simple virtual board, fill it with images and comments of what you like, share it with your Facebook friends and so on…
Naturally the brokerage world is not waiting a moment to embrace a new tool that could enhance promotional efforts. Pinterest has already attracted 12 million monthly visitors, and its growth has been skyrocketing since the beginning of the year.
Some brokers have experimented with different kinds of visual boards with culinary/lifestyle and similar suggestions while most have been sticking to the good old practice of showcasing beautiful photos of their listings.

mapping manhattan rebirth
This is the City that comprises of many “cities”, which obviously are the different neighborhoods that make up Manhattan.
This month’s edition of The Real Deal features a well composed report on the sales market stats by neighborhood, the source is Miller Samuel.
To be noted is that neighborhoods that were more affected during the downturn of 2008-2009 bounced back to healthy levels faster than the others.
For example, the sales volume of apartments sold in East Village/Lower East Side has grown 99.3% between 2009 and 2011. In the same period, the sales volume went up 96.6% in the Harlem/Morningside Heights/Hamilton Heights area. These two neighborhoods saw the biggest increase in activity since the downturn.
For example Manhattan (considered in its entirety) sales volume went up 36.8% from 2009 to 2011.
Neighborhoods like Upper West Side as well as Upper East Side were more stable during the 2008-2009 downturn and therefore the subsequent bounce back was a more modest 27% over the 2009-2011 period.

rent prices hitting all-time high
We have officially broken through another ceiling. No pun intended.
Citi Habitats, the brokerage firm with the most extensive rental database in Manhattan, reports that the average rental price for an apartment in Manhattan reached the highest level ever, $3,418, last month of March; the previous record was set in May 2007 at $3,394.
Rental prices increased on average 6.5% in Manhattan over the last twelve months.
People say New York is a city for single people (I actually think it’s for everyone), and maybe as a result, the average price for a studio went up 10% reaching $2,497 over the last twelve months, according to Prudential Douglass Elliman. Think about it…if this is the city that never sleeps, why would you need a bedroom?

This is it for today, my dear friends.
I am always available to answer your questions and provide you with more information on New York City real estate.

Warmest Regards,
Riccardo Ravasini