On Real Estate 3RD QUARTER 2013 The inventory of available apartments remains well below last year. However, the number of closings rose from 2012’s third quarter. In the beginning of September, there was a 3.3 month supply of apartments for sale in Manhattan, down from 4.2 months in August. A year ago the absorption rate was 5.2 months. The absorption rate is the number of months it would take to sell all active listings in a given market. Historically, an absorption rate between 6 and 9 months indicates a balance between supply and demand. Inventory remained scarcest on the West Side, where the absorption rate fell to just 2.5 months. Over the past year the East Side saw the biggest drop in its absorption rate, which fell 45 percent from 6.4 months to 3.5 months. Both the average and median prices were higher than a year ago. The average time on the market for units sold fell dramatically.
hall f. willkie President Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales hwillkie@bhsusa.com
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Photography by Francis Hills
9/26/13 7:52 PM