Townhouse prices on the East Side of Manhattan fell 3.5 percent in 2006, according to residential broker Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate and appraiser Miller Samuel Inc.
The median price declined to $5.5 million from $5.7 million. Overall townhouse inventory in the borough dropped 25 percent and the number of sales rose 11 percent to 275, the companies said in a report.
Prices for townhouses, including single-family homes and buildings that can accommodate up to five families, doubled in the last decade to a median of $2.7 million, the report said. Such properties have become popular with Wall Street executives who want to live on the East Side and families seeking more space than an apartment can offer.
“The townhouse has remained a niche market over the past decade,” the report said.
The median price for all townhouses in Manhattan fell 14 percent in 2006 because more were sold in Harlem, where buyers won’t pay as much as they do in other neighborhoods.
Townhouse sales accounted for about 2.8 percent of residential real estate sales in Manhattan the last 10 years, according to Miller Samuel. The remaining 97 percent of transactions are condominiums and co-operative apartments.
Sales prices in those categories rose 1.7 percent in the second quarter as the city sidestepped the U.S. housing contraction that began two years ago.
