2/27/2013
By Ivan Pereira
A report showing a small decline in home prices doesn’t mean the city lost any real estate luster, housing experts say.
S&P Dow Jones Indices released a report Tuesday that tracked the 2012 home prices indexes for 20 cities and found the tri-state area had a .5% decrease.
Although the national average sales price index went up 7.3% last year, New York’s price decline didn’t mean it became a weaker market, Craig Lazzara, a senior director S&P Dow Jones Industries.
“New York’s average price at the end of 2012 was the same as it was around 2004,” he said.
Lazzara noted that the city didn’t suffer as much during the 2007 housing crisis compared to other areas such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Miami.
Despite double-digit percent increases in those cities’ indexes, he said those areas are still playing catch-up to reach their peak prices.
“For New York, it’s been a less severe growth because they had a smaller decline,” he said.
Gary Malin, president of New York real estate group Citi Habitats, agreed and pointed out that S&P included many neighborhoods that are far outside of the five boroughs, like New Haven, Conn.
Malin said princes in the five boroughs had record-high prices and numerous sales, especially in Manhattan where 12,000 apartments sold in 2012 with an average price of $1.4 million.
“When you factor in Manhattan [alone], it’s a different story,” he said.
