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While all sales are not yet recorded for January, so far we have identified that there were 619 recorded Manhattan apartment sales in the first month of 2010, up 5% from January 2009, but down 58% from January 2007. January 2007 (1,467 sales) had the highest number of sales of any January in the last 5 years. Due to a lag in the public record filings of deeds, the current stats do not contain all closed transactions for January 2010. We will update you when we feel 99% of January sales have been recorded.

Based on the recorded sales thus far, the median sale price dropped 15% from $882,500 in January 2009 to $750,000 in January 2010. Despite the drop, the current median listing price for a Manhattan apartment lies at $990,000, 32% higher than the median closed sale price in January 2010.

View current apartments for sale in Manhattan.

In this PropertyShark study that was first covered in the Los Angeles Times, we see that the number of sold homes remained steady in Malibu for 2009 (148 sold homes*) when compared to 2008 (145 sold homes). However, it’s still a significant drop from the peak years in 2005 (275 sold homes) and 2007 (240 sold homes). The median sale price dropped from $2,660,000 in 2007 and $2,700,000 in 2008 to $1,800,000.

Among the most expensive homes sold in 2009 were a $17.5 million sale for a duplex at 20018 Sea Lane Drive, a $16.5 million sale at 6483 Zumirez Drive, and a $14.6 million sale for 28830 Cliffside Drive. 28830 Cliffside Drive was originally put up for sale in 2007 by Michael and Lisa Weithorn for $19,250,000, reports the Real Estalker in a June 2007 article. Property records show the buyer of the estate to be Carl Daikeler.

For a visual presentation of the homes sold  we have put together an interactive map that plots every home sold in 2009. Click on a point of interest for sale price and sale date, as well as links to additional details on the sold property.

Note: for the purpose of this report we have defined sold homes as single-family residences & duplexes.

PropertyShark has identified the top 3 properties in Los Angeles with the largest total dollar price drops during the past week. You can click on the photo for more listing details or click on the address for a detailed property report.

Browse current Los Angeles homes for sale.

(Note: PropertyShark.com is not involved in any way with the sale of these particular properties.)

At the top of the list is the triplex located in DUMBO in the Clock Tower Building, listed at $25 million.

1 Main Street, DUMBO

Condo Beds: 3 Baths: 3.5 Listing price: $25,000,000

In second place is a townhouse located at 13 Cranberry Street in Brooklyn Heights, just over the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan and is listed for 6.95 million.

13 Cranberry Street, Brooklyn Heights

House Beds: 5 Baths: 3.5 Listing price: $6,950,000

The third home is located in Cobble Hill at 229 Baltic Street for 4.2 million.

Browse our current Brooklyn homes for sale.

In collaboration with Corcoran, PropertyShark.com developed the Q4 2009 Corcoran Report, covering apartment sales (condos and coops) in Brooklyn for Q4 2009.

Here is an interactive map showing all sales that took place in the fourth quarter of 2009. The size of the circle indicates the number of sales in the building and the color shows price per square foot.

On the map, you can click on a building for a mini-report pop-up, displaying details about sold units in that building.

Browse current Brooklyn apartments for sale .

According to PropertyShark.com records, only 55 properties were bought at auction in 2009 by investors or independent buyers in Brooklyn. That is 16.8% of the 326 properties successfully auctioned properties* at the Brooklyn courthouse.

By comparison in 2008, 96 properties (19.7% of total) were bought by independent buyers, while in 2007 independent buyers bought 114 properties (28.7% of all successfully auctioned properties).

Below we have selected three interesting properties bought by investors in 2009:

	17 Old Fulton Street This “House of the Day” on Brownstoner back in December 2008 was listed for sale at $2,950,000. It hit the auction on 8/4/2009 and was sold for $1,500,000.
	388 Crescent Street Featuring 15 residential units and 3 commercial units, 388 Crescent Street was scheduled for auction for the first time in June 2007 with a lien of $828,407. The auction was postponed 3 times until the property finally sold at auction in January 2009 for $1,000,000.
	491 Rutland Road 491 Rutland Road is the least expensive property to be sold at auction to an independent buyer in 2009. The gated garage was bought by Grand Equities Corporation for $28,000.

*Note: We have defined ’successfully auctioned properties’ as all properties that were bought at auction by independent buyers or were repossessed by the banks. PropertyShark.com tracks auction results for all types of properties in Brooklyn expect coops.

View currently scheduled foreclosures in Brooklyn, NY.

While there can be risk involved, distressed properties can occasionally present an opportunity to buy a home for less than market value. Here are three single family homes in Los Angeles that are listed for sale and currently have a trustee sale scheduled.

7501 Bellingham Avenue, North Hollywood	Single Family Home Beds: 3 Baths: 3 Listing price: $360,000 Loan amount: N/A
7016 Park Manor Avenue,  North Hollywood	Single Family Home Beds: 3 Baths: 2 Listing price: $350,000 Loan amount: $500,000
11863 Hoyt Lane, Sylmar	Single Family Home Beds: 4 Baths: 3 Listing price: $299,000 Loan amount:$448,000

Browse our current Los Angeles homes for sale.

(Note: PropertyShark.com is not involved in any way with the sale of these particular properties.)

There were a total of  566 first time residential lis pendens in the Hamptons  in 2009.  This is 84% more than in 2008, when there were 307 pre-foreclosure filings. Zip codes 11937 (East Hampton), 11968 (Southampton) and 11946 (Hampton Bays) topped the list for the highest number of lis pendens. (Note: First time lis pendens counts only the first time a lis pendens is filed on a property.)

Compared to Q4 2008, first time lis pendens increased by 230%  in Q4 2009 and were almost at the same level with Q4 2007.

Browse current distressed properties in the Hamptons.

New York City has already seen a strong start for the year in the commercial properties sector with 3 recorded sales over $50,000,000 since the beginning of 2010.  In comparison with the past year, the biggest transaction in January 2009 was a $11.75 million deal in the Bronx,  involving an apartment building and an adjacent parking space.

The biggest recorded sale to happen so far in 2010 was the 299 Park Avenue stake sold by UBS for over $160,000,000. The buyer is the real estate investment firm Rockpoint Group, the New York Post reported.

The second largest transaction was the JP Morgan Chase bank sale of 4 New York Plaza for $107,000,000 to Harbor Group International.

The third largest sale was the 60 5th Avenue building transaction between Forbes and N.Y.U. The sale closed for $65,000,000, $10 million more than was speculated according to The Real Deal.

(Forbes HQ on Fifth Avenue sold to N.Y.U for $65 million)

Browse current commercial properties for sale & lease.

We examined Manhattan residential for sale listings that hit the market in the last year that are still listed, and identified the top 3 properties with the largest total dollar price drop during the past week. You can click on the photo for more details on the listing or click on the address for a detailed property report.

Browse our current Manhattan homes for sale.

(Note: PropertyShark.com is not involved in any way with the sale of these particular properties.)