The number of offering plans approved by the state for fresh New York City condos and co-ops declined 4.5 percent from 2006 to 2007, according to The New York Sun this morning. The state attorney general's office, which must approve offering plans before sales can start, accepted 663 plans containing 25,271 units last year.

It's the first annual drop since 1999. But it may not be as momentous as it first seems.

Residential building permits in the city had dropped annually 46 percent in the first quarter of 2008, according to Census data. So a much bigger decline than 4.5 percent in offering plans accepted would have been expected; it didn't happen.  read more »

Brownstoner breaks down the number of Brooklyn condo and co-op offering plans filed with the state Attorney General over the last few years (1,393 plans for 28,499 new units since 2004) and quizzes developers on what's to come.

Not much, apparently:  read more »

Condo sales accounted for 56 percent of the housing deals closed in Manhattan in the first quarter of 2008. That's a striking percentage given recent history and the borough's housing stock.

Co-ops usually outnumber condo sales, though the two types of housing have gained a bit of sales parity in recent years. In the fourth quarter of 2007, for instance, condos accounted for 49 percent of the apartment deals and co-ops 51 percent, according to appraisal firm Miller Samuel. In the quarter before that, condos accounted for 48 percent. In 2006, condos accounted for over 49 percent of all deals.

Such percentages come despite condos representing maybe 25 percent of the for-sale housing stock in Manhattan. The rest are co-ops (or townhouses).

Yet, now, condos have pulled well ahead of co-ops. Why? Any number of reasons but two probably matter more than most: new-condo development and co-op boards.  read more »

Joel Siegel's co-op at 82 Irving Place has been sold to an In Style editor Ariela Avram for $1.95 million, city records show. The tirelessly cheerful Good Morning America film critic died last summer at the age of 63 after a prolonged battle with colon cancer. His wife and the executor of his estate, Ena Swansea, signed the property deed.

Siegel had been fundraising for cancer research for decades before he was diagnosed following his first wife's death from brain cancer. He and Gene Wilder co-founded the first Gilda's Club cancer support group.

Parker Posey has officially sold her 1845 brownstone on East 10th Street for $135,000 above the list price, according to city records. The Observer's Max Abelson broke the news last month that the fourth-floor apartment belonging to the "East Village embodiment" was up for sale for $1.175 million and that Ms. Posey was moving to a $1.35 million co-op at 30 Fifth Avenue.  read more »

Doorman co-ops in Manhattan now average $1.37 a square foot in maintenance fees and non-doorman ones $1.22 a foot, according to analysis by appraisal firm Miller Samuel and reporting by The New York Times. The shorthand for co-op maintenance fees used to be $1 a square foot.

Last week's Observer broke the news that a poet and fiction writer named Georgia Shreve has agreed to sell her 1060 Fifth penthouse for $46 million, the biggest co-op deal ever in New York City. Rupert Murdoch, sadly, is now in second place.

City records filed last week and in August show that Ms. Shreve isn't moving far. She bought two penthouse units, plus no less than four storage rooms, at the East 87th Street condo Park Avenue Court. She paid $11.65 million, deeds show.  read more »

The Wall Street Journal this morning asked the eternally burning question: Will Manhattan home sales drop like sales have been dropping in other markets around the country?

The Journal cites a Corcoran Group analysis which showed a 9.9 percent year-over-year September drop in the number of Manhattan home sales going to contract.

That got us to wondering: What do the borough's home sales usually do in September? The answer is they go up--or they go down.  read more »

Discount sale in Washington Heights!

Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services announced today that they have the exclusive listing for what they are dubbing the “Washington Heights Co-op Package.” The package consists of 84 co-op apartments in five walk-up buildings.

The big news here is the price tag: $16 million for all five buildings. That boils down to $190,476 per unit. To put it plainly, it is a steal.  read more »

Once renovation on Rupert Murdoch’s triplex penthouse is completed, he’ll have an extra-large room for beefing up those willowy 76-year-old muscles.  read more »