Here are all of the articles quoting the BHS 2nd quarter report- handy dandy for you:
New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/03/nyregion/manhattan-real-estate-market-holding-steady-in-2012-report-says.html?_r=1
Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304299704577502862447440428.html?mod=WSJ_NY_MIDDLESecondStories
Bloomberg:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-03/manhattan-first-time-apartment-buyers-grab-deals-in-slow-market.html
Crain’s:
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20120703/REAL_ESTATE/120709985
The Real Deal:
http://therealdeal.com/blog/2012/07/03/manhattan-inventory-falls-sharply-in-second-quarter/
Headlines seem to capture the flavor of what’s going on- The Times wants to harp on things holding steady, the Journal does much of the same, Bloomberg talks about smaller apartments getting snapped up, the Real Deal discusses inventory.
I would tend to focus, as I usually do, on inventory.
I see the story as:
1) Smaller apartment sales picked up, pushing average sales prices down a bit – Good news since 1bedrooms are still not back to 2007 pricing for most neighborhoods
2) Inventory continues to shrink
3) Properties in Contract has gone up
4) No Inventory
5) Likely to see new prices reached in many segments.
The sky is not falling, neither is everything rosy.
But shades of 2007 pop up from time to time, and the high end continues to break records.