…In mid-September, there were 4,342 Manhattan homes on the market, down 25.7 percent from 5,847 in the third quarter of 2012, according to data from Miller Samuel….
…The borough saw 3,837 closed sales in the third quarter, a dramatic 30 percent increase from 2,952 in the same period of last year, according to a market report released by Miller Samuel. On the other end, the average price of a Manhattan apartment in the third quarter was $1.43 million, a 0.7 percent decline from $1.44 million in the same quarter of last year, according to Miller Samuel’s report….
…Jonathan Miller, who prepared the report, cited mortgage rates as the explanation for these seemingly incongruent trends.Mortgage rates have been steadily rising since May, which Miller said has pushed previously undecided homebuyers off the fence as they rush to take advantage of low rates….
