Third Quarter 2008 market surveys of the luxury apartment sales market have indicated a little softening in valuations and some growth in inventory but no significant changes in what has been a very strong market for several years.

The Third Quarter 2008 surveys, however, generally preceded the very dramatic collapse of the city's, the country's and global financial markets and so are essentially historical footnotes rather than substantive guides to market trends in the near future.

According to Gregory J. Heym, chief economist of Brown Harris Stevens, the average price of apartments in the third quarter of $1,473,351 was 12 percent higher than a year ago, "but down from the prior quarter," which was "largely attributable to a sharp reduction in closings at 15 Central Park West and The Plaza."

"The amount of closings during the third quarter was 14 percent below a year ago, as activity continues to fall off from the record pace of 2007," according to Mr. Heym who remarked that "39 percent of all apartment sales and 70 percent of condominium sales were in new developments." The Brown Harris Stevens report was based on data provided by ValuExchange, a database containing the largest known survey of the Manhattan residential market and based on 3,165 recorded Manhattan apartment sales.

It found that the average price per square foot in the third quarter for cooperative apartments was $10,160,049 for four-plus bedroom units, $2,574,422 for 3-bedroom apartments, $1,264,292 for two-bedroom, $667,816 for one-bedroom and $400,109. The same figures for condominium apartments was $7,988,448 for four-plus bedrooms, $3,385,446 for three-bedrooms, $1,718,786 for two-bedrooms, $912,414 for one-bedrooms, and $644,510 for studios.

On the Upper East Side, the average price per room for pre-war apartments in the third quarter of 2008 from to $447,270 from $400,545 the prior year while the average price per square foot was $1,393 in the third quarter of this year compared to $1,283 the prior year.

South of 34th Street, the Brown Harris Stevens survey found that the average townhouse price was 37 percent higher than during the third quarter of 2007.

The report from Halstead Property indicated that "apartments that closed during the third quarter spent an average of 91 days on the market, 6 percent longer than a year ago."

In the third quarter of 2008, the medium price per square foot for condominiums in Greenwich and the East Village rose to $1,617 from $1,236 the prior year with an almost as dramatic rise in the West Village.

"New developments helped bring prices up in most size categories over the past year in the Northern Manhattan market," according to Halstead properties. "These gains," it continued, "were led by a 27 percent rise in the average price for three-bedroom and larger units. Prices were particularly strong in Inwood, where the medium price for sales rose 16 percent from 2007's third quarter to $377,500."

"Sellers need to be realistic and strategic as the market shifts," cautioned Pamela Liebman, chief executive office of The Corcoran Group, adding that "buyers were being cautious until the credit crunch is alleviated and taking longer to make decisions." She said that "overall, 34 percent fewer sales traded versus the same quarter a year ago, but the median price grew by 10 percent and the price per square foot rose 6 percent."

In Midtown East, the Corcoran report found that "the median price of new developments fell by 56 percent, but the number of new development sales was up an enormous 304 percent."

"As sales activity dropped off this quarter, inventory continued to creep upwards and reached its highest point in eight years," according to the Corcoran report.

The Prudential Douglas Elliman report prepared by Miller Samuel Inc., indicated that "listing inventory this quarter was up 34.6 percent to 7,003 units from the 5,204 units in the prior year quarter."