The New York Times has this report on Manhatten condos. "Condominiums have become a familiar sight in Manhattan in the last couple of years. But as these condos are marketed, each carrying sky-high prices and a competitive list of amenities, and still more are breaking ground, it is hard not to wonder whether there are enough buyers to go around."

"Not only are there thousands of condos currently on the market, but the state attorney general's office shows that this building binge has not yet slowed down and may produce a supply of new apartments that could be around for a while."

"So far, applications have been submitted for more than 24,000 condominium apartments since January 2004, 7,000 of them in the first half of this year alone. This increase in filings comes as supply in the current market has been rising steadily, with broker listings nearly doubling since 2004. And since many developers list only a sampling of apartments in new buildings, the numbers of apartments available for sale is probably significantly larger than the inventory listed with brokers."

"Sales slowed sharply at the beginning of the year, when buyers hesitated because of the uncertainty about the direction of housing prices. Jeffrey Jackson, the president of an appraisal company, said he had been consulted on half a dozen projects that may be postponed or converted to rentals."

"The bullish view of the Manhattan real estate market is based on the belief that it is unique. As Gary Barnett of Extell put it, 'New York is the epicenter of the world, and everybody wants to own something here.'"

"Susan Petri said that she and her husband have been shopping for a condo and that they found the same high prices at every place they looked. 'This is New York, the demand will always exceed the supply,' she said. 'Everyone wants to live here.'"

"But her husband, Roland, was more skeptical. They are trying to decide whether to settle in New York, where she now works, or in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he practices emergency medicine. He observed that the amenities touted in buildings in Manhattan were not that different from those found in new homes in Scottsdale and wondered whether they should wait to see if prices came down."

"During the years when prices were rising sharply and apartments were scarce, buyers were conditioned not to ask for concessions. If the price was too high, they would walk away. Today, appraiser Jonathan Miller has this advice to buyers: 'Always try to negotiate. Developers may be more open than in past years to negotiating.'"

"At 170 East End Avenue, brokers were saying earlier this year that sales were slow. Orin Wilf, Skyline's president, disputed this but added, 'We have been negotiable on our prices. We are willing to work with customers,' he said. 'If a customer walks into our sales office and wants to spend $5 million on an apartment, and the apartment they want is $5.4 million, over 99 percent of the time the deal gets done.'"

"At another smaller project, the Abbey, a former parish building on East 16th Street being converted to condominiums, one apartment, a duplex on the top two floors, sold at a discount of $500,000, or about 27 percent below the asking price. Eight of 31 apartments are still listed as available."

"'From the developers' standpoint the market talks to you,' Herbert Hirsch said. 'The market tells you what your property is worth.'"

"The New York Times reviewed condominium plans for larger projects, those with at least 30 units or those valued at more than $20 million. The review found that applications for 24,400 apartments in 240 larger projects in Manhattan and 5,000 apartments in 75 projects in Brooklyn had been submitted since January 2004. Of these, by the middle of June more than 13,000 had been approved for sale in Manhattan and 2,900 in Brooklyn."

"The 24,400 applications far exceed the number of apartments actually on the market."

"Last week, a report put the current inventory at 7,640 apartments, both co-ops and condominiums, up from 3,922 in 2004. In recent years, the total number of annual apartment sales in Manhattan has been estimated at 10,000 to 12,000."

"Many newer projects, including conversions of rental buildings, are also in the works. There were 10,800 apartments in large Manhattan projects still awaiting approval for sale, including the 7,250 apartments in 59 projects submitted this year. About 2,300 apartments in Brooklyn are also awaiting approval for sale. If all these apartments are actually built, they could weigh on the market for several years to come."