Manhattan apartment prices were up year-over-year in the third quarter as more residents bought larger apartments, according to reports released on Thursday by New York City's biggest brokerages.
The median price was $914,000, up 7.5 percent from a year earlier, according to a report from Prudential Douglas Elliman.
The Corcoran report said the median price was up 9 percent to $900,000 since last year.
"Prices are jumping because of a shift in the mix," said Jonathan Miller, who writes the Elliman report.
Studio apartments' share of the market fell by 8 percent while two-bedroom apartments' share rose by the same amount, he said.
The median price of a two-bedroom is about three times higher than a studio's median price.
"Buyers are purchasing larger apartments with more bedrooms," wrote Corcoran CEO Pam Liebman in her company's report. "With mortgage rates at their lowest levels in over thirty years, buyers are able to afford more expensive apartments for less money."
Stripping out the move into bigger apartments, prices were basically flat, Miller said.
"Market-wide price metrics have stabilized" and even in some cases improved, Liebman said.
Prices of new housing as opposed to resale on the West side rose compared with both last year and last quarter, while the median price of existing condominiums on the East side rose 28 percent, according to the Corcoran report.
Fewer sellers cut their prices, according to real estate website StreetEasy.com's report.
This quarter, 27.7 percent of Manhattan's listings sustained price cuts, but that is 14 percent less than last quarter and 29.4 percent less than a year ago.
Also, condo resales spent 17.5 percent less time on the market than last year, while co-ops spent 19 percent less time, StreetEasy.com said.
But high unemployment and tight credit remain constraints on the market, Miller said, although those who have credit of sufficient quality to obtain a mortgage are enjoying low rates.
"There is stabilization but it doesn't mean that we're done," he said. "There's some bumpy roads ahead. We'll probably see a bit more price weakness before we see a real recovery. This is not a recovery, it's a rebound, and there is a difference."
Manhattan's Midtown East section, within walking distance of its main office district, saw the most home closings, with 300 closings at a median price of $687,500, according to StreetEasy.com.
