Manhattan apartment sales have hit a new high record in the third quarter.
In the past few quarters, more and more buyers in Manhattan have been competing for dwindling numbers of listings, brokers told the Wall Street Journal.
According to the Journal, sales in the third quarter went up to 9.3 percent from a year earlier, the highest since before the collapse of Lehman Brothers, driven by the sky rocking Manhattan rents and low mortgage rates.
"The market is phenomenal for sales, rents are ridiculous," Laura Lawrence, a broker at the Corcoran Group told the Journal.
The strength of the market increased from lower-priced buyers to those looking for luxurious apartment selling for $1 million to $4 million. Sales of the most expensive apartments, that were selling for $4 million or more went down by 13 percent, the Journal reported.
According to the Journal, trophy sales figures don't include expensive deals signed in recent months at new buildings such as One57 and West 57 Street, and those deals won't close until next year. Although sales of average prices lowered, sales of lower-priced apartments increased.
Noah Rosenblatt, a broker who tracks market trends online told the Journal that with strong contract signing activity in recent months and shrinking inventory, he expects pricing to continue to strengthen in the fourth quarter.
"Buyers are getting no break from competition," Mr. Rosenblatt told the Journal.
The analysis of public records at the Journal reported that median prices climbed 2.1 percent from the second quarter and were up 2.7 percent from the third quarter a year ago.
Average prices lowered, which reflects improvements in sales in the lower end of the market.
