City's Apartments See Prices Increase in Third Quarter

Despite concerns among real estate brokers that the housing market is showing signs of softening, apartment prices across New York City increased by large margins in the third quarter.

A market report published yesterday by the Real Estate Board of New York showed that the average price of an apartment rose 23%, to $888,000. Manhattan prices jumped 16%, to $1.265 million, while Brooklyn showed the largest price increase of any borough, with a 19% hike, to $525,000.

"New York City continues to be the stronghold among the nation's housing markets," the president of the Real Estate Board, Steven Spinola, said in a statement. "The strength is not limited to Manhattan, with average prices rising in Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn."

The picture, however, may not be so clear.

"The third quarter is made up of deals that were negotiated during the second quarter, so it doesn't take into consideration any fallout from the credit crisis," the chief economist at Halstead Property, Gregory Heym, said. "You won't see the real impact until the fourth quarter and the first quarter of next year."

According to the report from REBNY, prices of cooperative apartments were relatively stable in the third quarter compared with the same period last year, increasing 1%, to $633,000. Perhaps most surprising, however, co-ops in the Bronx surged 11%, to $243,000.

Condos throughout the five boroughs were also up, reporting a 25% price uptick, to $1.097 million. Manhattan posted the highest price increase, as well as the highest average price, with a 25% jump, to $1.455 million. Brooklyn had the second-highest sale price, with a 5% increase, to $613,000, while Queens had the second-highest percentage increase in price, 22%, to $453,000.

For housing overall, including condominiums, cooperatives, and one- to three-family homes, the average sales price was up 20%, to $782,000, in the third quarter.