Apartment sales in Manhattan went up in the third quarter, according to reports that were released by several brokerage firms in New York on Tuesday.
According to the Corcoran Group, Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead Property, this is the highest level of sales the market has seen since the financial nightmare began.
"We saw the highest levels of sales in four years in the third quarter," Hall Willkie, president of Brown Harris Stevens, told the Daily News.
"It's a very good market right now. There's a lot of demand and inventory is low," he added.
"It was an unusual active summer, with more contracts signed than last year."
The New York Times reported that according to reports by Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead Property, the number of Manhattan apartment sold went up to 2,790 in the third quarter.
That is a 12 percent increase from last year and the highest since the Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008.
Although the markets prices refused to show any signs of life, these reports show slight increases, decreases and others show no change.
The Times confirmed that the Corcoran Group reported a 17 percent increase in sales that same time range.
President of Halstead Property, Diane M. Ramirez, told the Times New York has shown its true colors as a place that can tackle almost whatever comes at it.
"It's all about consumer confidence coming back."
Nevertheless, low equity is turning sellers away from listing their houses on the market according to Jonathan J. Miller. Miller is the president of the appraisal firm Miller Samuel and also the author of Prudential Douglas Elliman's report.
"Those sellers can't become buyers because of tight credit," Miller told the Times.
"We're hitting a point where it's getting critical," he added. "You're going to see the prices edge higher."
