Market Reports Sneak Preview: Bad News, But Some Good?

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The major brokerages' Q1 market reports are due out in the next few days, but Bloomberg got a teaser from Curbed chartmaster and appraiser extraordinaire Jonathan Miller, who prepared Elliman's quarterly report. Brace:

Manhattan apartment sales fell in January and February from a year earlier and new properties came to the market at the fastest pace since at least 2000, according to data from New York-based real estate appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. Transactions slid 6.4 percent to 3,250, while the number of condominiums, co- operatives and townhouses for sale at the end of last month climbed to 6,225, 15 percent more than at the start of the year.

Are the credit crunch and Wall Street job cuts starting to rear their ugly head within the world of Manhattan real estate? Or are year-over-year numbers not worth pulling your hair out over? Oh my, this is going to be an interesting week. But while the number of transactions may be down from this time last year, prices still seem to be rising. Brown Harris Stevens' and Halstead's chief economist reports a 14% property price increase, to a median of $850,000. The final feast before the empire collapses?
· New York City Real Estate Market Slows as Wall Street Cuts Jobs [Bloomberg]

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