…Purchases of condominiums and co-ops surged 30 percent from a year earlier to 3,837, the second-biggest quarterly total in 24 years of record keeping, according to a report Wednesday from appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. The number of homes that were on the market at the end of September fell 22 percent from a year earlier to 4,567, which is the lowest total since Miller Samuel began tracking the data 13 years ago.
An abrupt increase in mortgage rates tipped more buyers into the Manhattan market, where the supply was already tight, according to Jonathan Miller, who is the president of New York-based Miller Samuel….
…The pool of available homes is shrinking as owners who bought during the boom years and then saw values plummet in the crash wait to list their properties until they’ve recovered enough equity to justify a sale, according to Miller….
