Homebuyers Flee Manhattan

Reading the tabloids of New York City gives one the feeling that a great mass exodus of people are leaving the city for good in search of greener, more-spacious pastures. While the data on just how many people are leaving the Big Apple is still inconclusive, monthly reports on apartment purchases show Manhattan is far from where it was a year ago.

A new report from real estate firms Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel show new contracts to buy co-op apartments in Manhattan were down another 33 percent in September compared to this same time last year. The previous four months, however, were much worse, with new contracts down 80 percent in May, 78 percent in June and 57 percent in July.

The borough of Brooklyn to the east of Manhattan saw a significant resurgence in new co-op apartment purchases, rising 182 percent in August compared to a year ago. That growth stagnated for September, with a 0 percent change from last year. Brooklyn had similar declines to Manhattan in May and June but rebounded in July.

The Hamptons and Greenwich are some of the top get-away destinations for affluent New Yorkers, and data shows a surge in single-family home purchases in these areas coinciding with the decline in apartment purchases in Manhattan. New purchases in the Hamptons are up by over 100 percent on average over the past three months, while Greenwich purchases increased by over 250 percent in September.