You can tell it is year-end bonus season in Manhattan when Wall Street financiers parlay their payouts into property purchases and real estate agents ready their pitches in anticipation.

This year, bonuses are expected to rise 10% to 15% over last year, which saw a giant leap over 2002. As the calendar year heads toward a close, the real estate market is already beginning to show signs of a winter upswing.

“Three weeks ago, the market was slugging along, but ever since Thanksgiving, apartments have been flying off the shelf,” said a senior vice president at Douglas Elliman, Darren Sukenik.

“The Wall Street types, mostly single guys or young couples in their 30s, are buying luxury apartments that are not terribly practical in the $1.1 to $3 million range – I call them ego apartments.”

“I would call these Wall Street types astute buyers because they are purchasing the absolute best they can get within their budget,” said the president of Halstead, Diane Ramirez. “Rather than buy a small two-bedroom, they will opt for a one bedroom penthouse, which has better re-sale value.”

In the last three weeks, Mr. Sukenik has sold both penthouses in the Sedona at 270 West 19th St., on the border of the Meatpacking District and South Chelsea, for 15% more than their asking prices.

“One of the penthouses, which was asking $1.7 million, sold for over $2 million with five bids over ask, four of which came from single guys from Wall Street,” he said.

A Bear Stearns banker, who declined to be interviewed, snatched up the one-bedroom penthouse with outdoor space. Mr. Sukenik called it “a real bachelor pad, perfect for entertaining.”

With the bulk of bachelor pads located in Chelsea and the West Village, Mr. Sukenik has also sold family units in TriBeCa, including in the same building as singer Mariah Carey at 90 Franklin St.

One couple, a pregnant wife and her Wall Street husband, waited for several weeks to find out the sum of his year-end bonus before bidding $2.2 million for a two-bedroom unit listed for $1.995 million.

“Compensation will be up 10% to 15% this year, and 50% to 75% from the bottom reached in 2002,” compensation expert Alan Johnson said.

In a twist on the norm, traders have done better than investment bankers this year and will likely receive bigger bonuses, Mr. Johnson said.

For the real estate market, this translates into more young men in their late 20s who are bachelors or young couples looking to buy their first homes, as opposed to older bankers who have established families looking for larger units.

“Most people on Wall Street will be told about their bonuses in the next few weeks, and half will be paid at Christmas, with the other half being paid in January and February,” Mr. Johnson added.

“While some on Wall Street aren’t officially told until December, many are told by their bosses what to expect around Thanksgiving, and will act early to get ahead of the January and February markets, when prices rise,” said Halstead broker Louise Phillips Forbes.

Darren Hornick, who heads up boutique real estate firm Dwelling Quest, has a number of Wall Street financiers window shopping for real estate now, in the hope of getting a head start before prices rise.

“I’m seeing a lot of new money coming, with young Wall Street guys receiving their first significant bonuses looking to buy their first apartments,” he said.

Mr. Hornick expects the market to stay busy through March, with the biggest boom in the far West Village, where a number of new developments have been built, including Morton Square and the glass Richard Meier towers.

Mr. Sukenik said, “There is a buying frenzy going on, with bankers and traders acquiring apartments in the $1.1 million to $2.5 million range, and I only see things heating up as we get into 2005.”