Manhattan New York 4Q 2011 Market Report

Manhattan New York 4Q 2011 Market Report from Miller Samuel Appraisers just released.  My analysis and summary :

From 1997 to 2011, price per square foot (Condos and Coops) increased from $328 to $1,117.   This equates to about 9.2% appreciation per year.  Since most people buy property with mortgage financing, if we assume a 50% financing level, the 9.2% provides a Return on Investment of about 20%.  Now, that's a very good, stable return.


Condominium average price per square foot in 4Q 2011 was $1,295, an 8.1% increase over prior year.  Median price of a condominium was $1.165 million, a 16.7% increase over prior year.  Reason I compared to prior year (as opposed to prior quarter) was to remove the effects of seasonality.

When looking at the overall market of Condominiums and Cooperatives, price per square foot was $1,117, 5.6% higher than last year.  However, sales volume was 12% lower than last year.  4Q 2011 was the slowest fourth quarter in the past six years in terms of transaction volume.


Wei Min Tan is Founder of Castle Avenue Partners focusing on luxury residential condominium property in Manhattan, New York.  He serves both domestic and foreign clients looking for primary residence, vacation homes and investment property.  He was most recently interviewed by CNN on Foreign Buyers Scooping Up US Homes.