1st Quarter 2008 Manhattan Residential Market Prices Jump as the Number of Sales Fall

1st Quarter 2008 Prudential Douglas Elliman Manhattan Market Overview-Prepared by Miller Samuel

NEW YORK, April 2, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- The just-released First Quarter 2008 Prudential Douglas Elliman Manhattan Market Overview reveals that, despite pricing continuing to increase, it is likely that the record number of sales in 2007 will not be repeated in 2008. Sales in the current quarter declined to levels seen two years ago. Factors including the reduction of available credit, less favorable mortgage terms, the national economy moving towards a recession and the specter of additional layoffs in the financial services sector over the next two years has begun to restrain the demand for Manhattan residential real estate. Record prices were influenced by gains in the luxury market.

Still, the regional economy is performing well, tourism and hotel occupancy rates are at or near record levels and the New York City government is financially well positioned for the next two years. The US dollar has set new lows against several currencies, which continues to bring new sources of demand, with specific emphasis on new condo development projects.

"This is a price sensitive market and buyers are becoming more conservative," says Dottie Herman, President and CEO, Prudential Douglas Elliman. "There still are many buyers ready to purchase property, but no one is demonstrating a sense of urgency."

"We appear to have entered a transition period, as reflected in the sharp decline of sales this quarter and modest uptick in inventory," says Jonathan Miller, President/CEO of Miller Samuel, the firm that prepared the report. "The sharp change in prices is reflective of greater activity for higher- priced apartments."

Highlights from the 1st Quarter Prudential Douglas Elliman Manhattan Market Overview include:

-- The median sales price increased 13.2% to a record $945,276 over the
prior year quarter result of $835,000.
-- The average price per square foot increased 20.5% to a record $1,289
over the prior year quarter result of $1,070.
-- The average sales price increased 33.5% to a record $1,722,991 over
the prior year quarter result of $1,290,391.
-- The number of sales dropped 34.3% this quarter to 2,282 units as
compared to the 3,474 units sold in the prior year quarter.
-- Listing inventory increased 4.6% to 6,194 units from the prior year
quarter total of 5,923 units.
-- Days on market was 146 days this quarter, approximately two weeks
longer than the 131 days seen in the same period last year.
-- Listing discount was 3.2%, essentially unchanged from 2.6% in the same
period last year.

Co-op Market

The median sales price of a co-op this quarter was a record $750,000, up 11.1% from last year at this time. Average price per square foot increased 15.7% to a record $1,128 and the average sales price increased 23.1% to a record $1,393,548 from the same period last year reflecting higher price gains at the upper end of the market. Inventory levels for co-ops fell 2% to 2,869 units, as compared to the prior year quarter total of 2,9292 units. Co-op listings are comprised of nearly all re-sales.

Condo Market

The median sales price of a condo this quarter was a record $1,160,000, up 17.1% from last year at this time. Average price per square foot increased 21.1% to a record $1,416 and the average sales price increased 36.2% to a record $1,981,802 from the same period last year, reflecting higher price gains at the upper end of the market. Inventory levels for condos totaled 3,325 units, up 11.1% from the prior year quarter total of 2,994 units. New development comprised 47.5% market share of condo listings, up from 29.9% in the same period last year.

Luxury Market (upper 10% of all co-op and condo sales)

The median sales price of a luxury apartment this quarter was a record $4,989,425, up 45.7% from last year at this time. Average price per square foot increased 46.6% to a record $2,556 and the average sales price increased 65.2% to a record $7,667,413 from the same period last year.

Loft Market (co-op and condo sales)

The median sales price of a loft apartment this quarter was $1,600,000, down 1.6% from last year at this time. The average price per square foot increased 2.6% to $1,246 and the average sales price increased 7.8% to a record $2,228,135 from the same period last year.

-- The report's author, Jonathan J. Miller, President/CEO of Miller
Samuel. Miller provides input for the Federal Reserve's Beige Book,
and serves on the NYC Mayor's Economic Advisory Panel and the NYC
Council Finance Committee Economic Advisory Board. On Matrix
[matrix.millersamuel.com], he blogs about the real estate economy.

-- Dottie Herman is President & CEO of Prudential Douglas Elliman, the
company that distributes the report. Prudential Douglas Elliman is New
York City and Long Island's preeminent residential broker, with nearly
70 offices, over 3,300 real estate agents and a network of national
and international affiliates. Herman is frequently quoted in The New
York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Crain's, and The New York Post.

Full data tables and analysis are immediately available upon request.

ABOUT THE MANHATTAN MARKET OVERVIEW

The Manhattan Market Overview is New York's first quarterly residential market report, and is developed from the largest and most sophisticated database of transactions in New York. The report was the first to track co-ops by price per square foot, to analyze square footage of all sales, to analyze the market by median sales price, to break out the market by bedrooms (Studio, 1, 2, 3, 4+), to analyze market-wide apartment inventory, to analyze days on market and absorption, to drop price per room as an obsolete market indicator, to break out sales by specific neighborhoods and to analyze the uptown co-op and condo market.

About Miller Samuel (www.millersamuel.com) -- Miller Samuel is a New York based real estate appraisal services firm established in 1986. 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 developed what is now the largest database of Manhattan co-op and condo sales covering the sales market back to the late 1970s.

Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate is New York's largest residential brokerage, over 60 offices, more than 3,500 real estate agents and a network of national and international affiliates. Prudential Douglas Elliman, ranked in the top five of all real estate companies in the nation, closed $14 billion in sales in 2007. Prudential Douglas Elliman 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 Preferred Empire Mortgage Company. 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.prudentialelliman.com.

Source: Prudential Douglas Elliman

CONTACT: Barbara Wagner, +1-212-843-8035, bwagner@rubenstein.com, or
Alyssa Beaver, +1-212-843-9370, abeaver@rubenstein.com, both of Rubenstein
Associates, Inc. for Prudential Douglas Elliman

Web site: http://www.prudentialelliman.com/
http://www.millersamuel.com/
http://matrix.millersamuel.com/

2008-04-01 23:08:08 0325631 PRNEWSWIRE