New Development Report Reveals Condo Sales Continue to Rise in Manhattan and Brooklyn

NEW YORK, Aug. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The first-ever New Development Market Report reveals that year-over-year condominium sales, on a price per square foot basis, in Manhattan and Brooklyn are up by 6% and 2%, respectively.  In its inaugural issue, presented by MNS, a leading residential brokerage and sales and marketing firm, the New Development Market Report tracks the market trends with a quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year comparison throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn on both a city-wide and neighborhood basis.

"With the releases of this report, we have created one source that shows how many units are sold, at what price-per-square-foot and at what unit mix broken down by area," said Andrew Barrocas, CEO of MNS.  "The report will serve as a useful guide not only for developers, but buyers and sellers alike."

According to the report, quarterly comparisons reveal a 3% drop in price-per-square-foot averages in Manhattan, with average sales prices virtually flat. In Brooklyn, quarterly comparisons showed a 1% increase in price-per-square-foot sales and a 7% increase for average sales prices.

Some highlights of the report include the following:

Manhattan:

• City registry documented 20% more sales this quarter, with Midtown West emerging with 12% of sales, primarily from Sheffield 57, Griffin Court and The Dillon.

• More than 80% of inventory sold in SoHo averaged over 1,500 square feet in size, just second to TriBeCa's 86% in the over 1,500 market.

• Lower Manhattan, including FiDi, TriBeCa and Battery Park City, closed an average of 40 units per month – almost doubling its absorption rate from last quarter.

• The Flatiron District saw a 50% increase in absorption this quarter with closings at 15 Union Square West and the impressive $13 million Cupola apartment at 141 Fifth Avenue.

Brooklyn:

• Clinton Hill showed the most sales growth.

• In Williamsburg, closings at the Edge made up a quarter of all second quarter transactions in the neighborhood, and boosted the price per square foot average to $710 as compared to $644 in first quarter of 2011.

• Compared with last quarter, Boerum-Cobble Hill saw a 20% jump in sales prices. In the Cobble Hill historic district, closings averaged over $1.5 million at Landmark at Strong Place, the church-turned-condominium.

• The almost doubling of sales in Prospect Heights from $618 per square foot in second quarter of 2010 to $1,088 in the second quarter of 2011 thanks to Richard Meier's 114-unit, On Prospect Park where a $3.3 million penthouse sale was the highest recorded new development sale in the borough.

"With all of the real estate reports out there, we saw a void in the marketplace regarding new condominium developments that our report intends to fill," stated Ryan McCann, Executive Vice President of Marketing of MNS. "By putting all this information in one spot, this report will serve as a great indicator of where development in general is moving."

The First Quarter 2011 edition of our New Development Market Report was researched and prepared by MNS. New Development Sales data, defined as such "Arms-Length" first offering transactions where the seller is considered a "Sponsor", was compiled from the Automated City Register Information System (ACRIS) for sponsor sales that traded during the First Quarter of 2011 (01/01/11 – 03/31/11).

Included in this research are walk-up and elevator new development condominium buildings, as well as new conversion condominiums if the sales were applicable Sponsor transactions. Excluded from the report are all cooperative sales. Unit types such as studios, one-bedrooms, and two-bedroom units are grouped by square footage ranges. Studios are less than 700 square feet, one-bedrooms less than 900 square feet, and two bedrooms are under 1,450 square feet. Added to the report is the over-sized unit type that ranges from 1,500 square feet to 5,500 square feet.

About MNS:

MNS is a leading residential brokerage and sales and marketing firm with offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and is the exclusive sales and marketing firm on some of the largest and fastest selling condominium projects in New York, including One Brooklyn Bridge Park and The Edge. MNS is also known for its monthly rental report – the only one of its kind in New York – which has become the premier source of information on rental trends for consumers and the industry alike. The company was created in 2009 with the joint venture The Real Estate Group of NY, a seven-year-old brokerage company and The Developers Group, an eight-year-old sales and marketing company. For more information, please visit MNS.com.

SOURCE MNS