Manhattan sunset, seen in September from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, home of the U.S. Open. Photo: TPN/Getty Images
The average price of a Manhattan co-op or condo fell to $1.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to Douglass Elliman, the largest real estate brokerage in the New York City area, the Financial Times reports.
Why it matters: "The Manhattan property drop is in sharp contrast to the rally on Wall Street, where stock markets have hit new records."
- The price per square foot declined 6.1 per cent to $1,581.
What's happening: New York City's mansion tax, which took effect July 1, "levied a sliding scale of charges on apartments selling for more than $1m."
- "Trump’s tax law limited the amount of state and local taxes households could deduct from their federal taxes."
- That "has been blamed for spurring a flight by wealthy New Yorkers to Florida, which has no personal income tax."
Younger buyers still flooded into Brooklyn and Queens, and sought out studios and one-bedrooms in Manhattan, the FT added.
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