The Douglas Elliman Report: Manhattan Sales 4Q 2011 -- Prepared by Miller Samuel

NEW YORK, Jan. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Douglas Elliman Report: Manhattan Sales 4Q 2011 reveals that housing prices continued to show stability, with an unchanged listing inventory over the last year.  Though this report shows the highest market share of entry-level sales in two years, the total number of sales fell after the prior quarter surge.

"The Manhattan housing market finished the year with stable prices and continued strength at the upper end of the market," said Dottie Herman, President and CEO of Prudential Douglas Elliman. "Condo sales continued to benefit from the demand by foreign buyers and listing inventory continues to remain at reasonable levels."

"Although the preceding quarter was one of the most active sales periods of the past four years, this most recent quarter had fewer sales than we would have liked to have seen," said Jonathan J. Miller, President and CEO of Miller Samuel, Inc., the report's author.  "Although sales for the entire year exceeded the prior year, the economy still faces challenges ahead. We expect the 2012 Manhattan market performance to be comparable to 2011."

Key Trend Metrics
-Median sales price was $855,000, up a modest 1.2% from $845,000 in the prior year quarter and down a seasonal 6.2% from $911,333 in the prior quarter.
-Price per square foot was $1,117, up 5.6% from $1,058 in the prior year quarter and down 1.2% from $1,130 in the prior quarter.
-Average sales price was $1,445,484, down 2.5% from $1,487,650 in the prior year quarter and down 1.3% from $1,464,528 in the prior quarter.
-Number of sales fell 12.4% to 2,011 from 2,295 sales in the prior year quarter and dropped 35.3% from 3,106 sales in the prior quarter.

- Pending price index decreased 9.2% from the same period last year.
- Pending sales index decreased 8.1% from the same period last year.

-Listing inventory was 7,221 essentially unchanged from the prior year quarter.
-Days on market were 130 days, up from 125 days this time last year.
-Listing discount was 4.9%, down from 8% in the same period last year.

Co-op Market
-Median sales price this quarter was $636,407, down 7.1% from $685,000 in the prior year quarter.
-Number of sales declined 16% to 996 units, from 1,186 units in the same period last year.

Condo Market
-Median sales price this quarter was $1,650,000, up 16.7% from $997,885 in the prior year quarter.
-Number of sales declined 8.5% to 1,015 units, from 1,109 units in the same period last year.

Loft Market (co-op and condo sales)
-Median sales price this quarter was $1,725,000, up 10.4% from $1,563,013 in the prior year quarter.
-Number of sales declined 20.7% to 134 units, from 169 units in the same period last year.

Luxury Market (upper 10% of all co-op and condo sales)
-Median sales price this quarter was $4,150,000, down 4.6% from $4,350,000 in the prior year quarter.
-The lower limit of the top ten percent of all sales this quarter was $2,975,000.

New Development Market (co-op and condo sales)
-Price per square foot was $1,394, up 18.8% from the prior year quarter result of $1,173.
-Number of sales declined at 12.6% to 201 units, unchanged from the same period last year.

-Active inventory declined 9.1% to 1,490 units from 1,640 units in the prior year quarter.  
-New development accounted for 15.7% of all sales this quarter.

About Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate

Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate is New York's largest residential brokerage, with over 60 offices in New York City, Long Island, the Hamptons and Westchester/Putnam, more than 3,800 real estate agents and a network of national and international affiliates. They are exclusive strategic partners with London-based Knight Frank LLP for residential business in all of their New York markets. Prudential Douglas Elliman ranked in the top four of all real estate companies in the nation in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. The company also controls a portfolio of real estate services, including Manhattan's largest residential property manager, Douglas Elliman Property Management, as well as PDE Title and DE Capital Mortgage. For more information on Prudential Douglas Elliman as well as expert commentary on emerging trends in the real estate industry, visit the Prudential Douglas Elliman site at www.elliman.com.

About Miller Samuel

Miller Samuel is an appraisal and consulting services firm covering the New York City metropolitan area. Miller Samuel provided property valuations of more than $5,000,000,000 in the past year. The company's clients include domestic and international financial institutions, law firms, consulting firms, developers, employee relocation companies, co-op and condo boards, managing agents, individuals and government agencies. The firm has authored this report series since 1994. For more information visit www.millersamuel.com.

SOURCE Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate