Big Apple Housing Sees 22% Price Bite

The average sale price of a home in New York City fell 22% in the second quarter, to $644,000, according to the Real Estate Board of New York. But Board President Steven Spinola says real estate brokers in the Big Apple are reporting that people are out kicking tires, if not seriously looking. "It's only a matter of time before the New York market is on the rise again," he said. "If this economic downturn is anything like others in the past, New York is one of the last to feel the effects." Manhattan showed the biggest declines in the April-June period, with average prices for cooperatives, condominiums and one-to-three unit buildings falling 19% to $1.297 million. In Queens, the average dipped 13% to $403,000, and in Brooklyn, it fell 12% to $503,000. Staten Island saw only a 10% decline to $388,000, while the Bronx fell 9% to $356,000.