Average price of Manhattan apartments drops below $1m

The median price of a Manhattan apartment has fallen below $1m for the first time in three years, according to a survey of sales in the final months of 2018, as real estate agents struggle to shift a glut of luxury properties and potential buyers worry about the outlook for the US economy. The median price paid for co-operatives and condos in the prime borough of New York City, fell 5.8 per cent to $999,000 . There was a 25.5 per cent fall in the median sales price of new developments compared to the same period a year earlier, reflecting fewer sales of the highest-priced apartments. The median sales price for resale co-ops and condos rose 2.8 per cent. Part of the issue is fewer foreign buyers from China and Russia. Until the end of 2017, there was a lower level of inventory and a large pool of buyers, which resulted in higher prices, but a glut of luxury developments came on to the market a while ago and at the same time that foreign buyers began to retreat.