High-paying jobs, the expense of raising a family, longer-lived widows and widowers, and an appreciation of the single lifestyle are the factors making Manhattan a singles community, says William Helmreich, deputy chairman of City College’s sociology department.

There were 376,916 single households in Manhattan in 2008, making studios and one-bedrooms the most popular rentals, says Stu Greenberg, owner of Fireside Realty in Manhattan.

But Manhattan is no singles paradise, particularly for women. There are 212,000 single female households compared with 165,000 single male households.

Source: New York Post, Chuck Bennett (10/30/2009)

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Elliott Robinson, JD – Associate Broker
Keller Williams Realty Metro Atlanta
315 West Ponce de Leon Ave., Ste. 100
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 431-2117
Web: www.elliottyouragent.com
Blog – www.elliottonrealestate.com
Twitter – http://twitter.com/elliottrob

Expensive properties were the hardest hit with the median sales price of a luxury apartment – those in the top 10 percent of sale prices – falling 17 percent to 26 percent with the number of sales reduced by half.

About 61 percent of all sales were below $1 million, down from 49 percent a year ago, according to Miller Samuel Inc., which analyzed the number for Prudential.

Meanwhile, the average time it took to sell a property rose 48 percent from a year ago to 129 days with the number of price cuts doubling, according to a report from StreetEasy.com.

“It’s the beginning of the new reality that 2007 and 2008 were not the norm, but the peak,” says Pamela Liebman, CEO of The Corcoran Group.

Source: The Associated Press, J.W. Elphinstone (07/02/2009)

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Elliott Robinson, JD – Associate Broker
Adams Realtors
458 Cherokee Ave. SE
Atlanta, GA 30312
(o) 404-688-1222