Manhattan’s Million-Dollar Market

New York City’s luxury market is feeling like a million bucks. Depending on the source, the median sales price for a property in Manhattan either surpassed or came oh-so-close to the million-dollar mark in the third quarter. Real-estate brokerage Compass reported that the median price in Manhattan rose to $1,040,000 in the third quarter, a new record. The figure represents a year-over-year increase of 10.6%, and a growth of 4.1% from the second quarter of 2015. Reports by other real-estate brokerages also released Thursday put the median price just shy of the $1 million mark, either $998,000 (Douglas Elliman) and $999,000 (Corcoran Group). Douglas Elliman said the sales price was the second-highest on record; Corcoran said it was the highest in more than 10 years. Low inventory paired with a strong demand was cited by all the reports for the rising median price. Compass counted just 6,366 available listings—the lowest level on record since 2006. According to the Compass report, the rise in prices was stronger on the Upper West Side and Downtown. Both also hit new record median prices, at $1.2 million and $1.4 million, respectively. In Downtown, the most expensive major market in Manhattan, prices have increased an average of 2.2% every quarter since 2010. In the third quarter of 2015, 60% of properties here sold for $1 million or more. The record-breaking spree extended to new developments citywide, where the median price reached $1.8 million, up almost 30% from a year before. Starting price-points of luxury projects like One57 on West 57th Street and the Baccarat Hotel & Residences far exceed those of properties in the resale market. “This is expected to continue as several key developments are set to start closings in the fourth quarter,” said Compass in its report. The number of units priced at $10 million or more in Manhattan represents 9.4% of available properties in the city, compared with just 1.9% in the third quarter of 2010. Compass does not break down purchases by nationality in its data. But the firm says it has seen a drop in sales to buyers from South America due to falling oil prices, battered economies, especially in Brazil and Argentina, and deeply weakened currencies. Still, the firm believes the overall foreign interest in New York City will remain strong. “There is always going to be interest from foreign buyers,” said Leonard Steinberg, president of Compass. This article was updated on Oct. 3. Write to Andrea López Cruzado at andrea.lopez@dowjones.com Follow Mansion Global on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Write to us at info@mansionglobal.com