Third Quarter 2009 reports from the major real estate brokerages in the city note some improvements.

The number of closed deals of for-sale apartments declined 38 percent in the third quarter of this year compared to the same quarter a year ago, but actually increased 16 percent from the second quarter this year, according to a report issued today by The Corcoran Group.

"Economic troubles continued to put downward pressure on pricing in Manhattan during the Third Quarter of 2009," the report maintained, adding that "no neighborhood was immune to the market's decline over the last year, as we saw a decline in price per square foot of 14 percent market wide." It found that the average price per square foot for co-ops in the Third Quarter was $787 compared with $973 in the same quarter in 2008. The average price per square for condos in the Third Quarter was $1,167 compared to $1,304 in the same quarter in 2008, it continued.

There are more than 9,700 available units, a 21 percent decrease from March 2009, the report said, noting that that number does not include "shadow," or unlisted but unsold new development units. The number of new development sales was down 70 percent from a year ago, it added.

The Prudential Elliman Third Quarter 2009 report prepared by Miller Samuel Inc., found that "the average time it took to market a property as measured by days on market was 167 days, more than a month longer than the 134 days on market in the prior year quarter and up a modest 5 days from the 162 days on market of the prior quarter." "Listing discount, which measures the spread between the listing price and the sales price at time of contract was 7.6 percent, up from 2.6 percent in the prior year quarter, but down nominally from 7.8 percent in the prior quarter," it continued.

"The unusually low level of sales activity in the first quarter of 2009 appeared to set the stage," according to the Prudential Elliman report, "for a release of pent-up demand later in the year. The summer surge in the number of sales was caused by a myriad of factors including mortgage rates at historic lows, the $8,000 first time buyer tax credit, increased affordability after the sharp correction in price levels, and continued evidence that the financial system was continuing to stabilize. In addition, a 24 percent jump in the Dow Jones Industrial Average over the past 6 months resulted in an improvement in consumer confidence. Still, unemployment remains elevated, employment in the financial services sector continues to decline and unusually restrictive mortgage underwriting remains in place. Therefore, this surge in the number of sales does not appear to indicate a housing market 'bottom,' but rather provides some evidence that the housing market has 'turned the corner.'"

As the chart at the right indicates, Prudential Elliman tracking of average sales prices showed a big recent collapse after a steady 10-year rise.

Loft sales declined 44.9 percent from the 225 sales in the prior year quarter but was up 72.2 percent from the 72 sales in the second quarter of this year, the Prudential Elliman report maintained, adding that the average sales price was $1,778,140, down 19.6 percent from the same period last year and 8.7 percent from the prior quarter.

The average sale price of a cooperative apartment in the Third Quarter of 2009 according to the Brown Harris Stevens report was $331,046 for a studio, $538,369 for a one-bedroom, $1,069,517 for a two-bedroom and $2,616,304 for a three-bedroom and up. The average sale price, it continued, for a condominium in the same period for $508,546 for a studio, $792,866 for a one-bedroom, $1,650,537 for a two-bedroom, and $3,931,684 for a three-bedroom and up.