Mar. 20, 2006 - Manhattan Loft Prices / lofts kept pace with market, per Corcoran year over year report

Average sales prices for lofts were up 24% at year-end 2005 compared to year-end 2004, according to The Corcoran Report / Year End 2005, while the average price per square foot for lofts was up 22%. According to this report, the average price in the Manhattan coop market overall was up 23%, while the condominium market was up 25%, and 21% and 22% respectively on a per square foot basis..

In other words, loft sale prices were in synch with the overall market for 2005.

(As I will address in a future entry, this flat performance is in sharp contrast to the prior year, when the same data sources reported that lofts significantly out-performed the general market.)

The Corcoran report is based on a large but unknown number of transactions, as it uses sales data reported by Corcoran and by one of the major appraisal firms in Manhattan, Mitchell, Maxwell & Jackson. Unlike the reports issued by Miller Samuel -- which should be released soon -- Corcoran and MMJ do not break out their raw data in any way. But given the size of the Corcoran firm and the access to data that MMJ enjoys as a top appraiser, the raw data should certainly accurately represent the market.

But it is frustrating not to have further breakdowns. From the Corcoran / MMJ data we cannot tell:

• how many loft transactions there were compared to the overall market
• how many loft transactions were in condominiums (which overall slightly out-performed coops)
• the relative performance of different neighborhood loft markets (they aggregate all loft data in the "loft market [which they say is] centered in the prime Downtown enclaves of SoHo, TriBeCa, Greenwich Village and Chelsea")

There will be a lot more to chew on when the Miller Samuel report hits.

Access the report at http://www.corcoran.com/guides/pdf/Year%20End%2005%20Report.pdf