By Amy Zimmer
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — Despite a flailing housing market in other parts of the country, Manhattan's residential sales prices remain in their own orbit.
Sales prices increased 4 percent from a year ago, according to the second quarter market report released by Brown Harris Stevens on Friday, with the average Manhattan apartment price at $1.43 million.
The average price was pushed up by high-end co-op sales, particularly those over $10 million, the report said.
The median price, on the other hand — which measures the middle of the market — fell 1 percent over the past year to $835,000, according to the data.
"Although the report shows that prices are up, this is due to an unusual number of sales at the high-end of the market," Hall Willkie, president of Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales, said in a statement. "If we discount these high-end sales, I believe the average price in most categories would essentially remain stable."
On the Upper East Side, from 59th to 96th streets, the average prices for larger apartments — those with three bedrooms or more — rose 15 percent from a year ago, to $4,16 million.
The Upper West Side, from 59th to 110th streets, also saw a big gain in these large apartments, up 19 percent to just over $4 million.
Both neighborhoods saw the average sales price for two-bedrooms dip slightly, by 5 percent to $1.59 million on the East Side and by 8 percent to $1.32 million on the West Side.
In Northern Manhattan, which the report generally considers north of 96th Street on the East Side and above 110th Street on the West Side, average sales prices shot up a whopping 40 percent for three-bedrooms or larger to roughly $898,000 and 25 percent for two-bedrooms to nearly $599,000. Studio sales prices in this area dropped 9 percent to $199,000.
On the East Side, from 34th to 59th streets, prices rose for pre-war co-ops but fell for post-war co-ops. The average price per room for the older apartments rose 8 percent to $214,954 but dipped 8 percent for the new ones to $181,095 per room. Condo prices remained steady, averaging $1,227 per square foot, which was 1 percent higher than a year ago, the report said.
The West Side saw similar trends, and downtown prices rose for all homes except one-bedrooms.
"As economic growth in New York City continues to outpace the national average, we are cautiously optimistic for several reasons including the fact that a majority of Manhattan’s owned homes are cooperatives," Willkie said.
