Publication:  TheStreet.com

Summary:  Wei Min’s article comparing annual return of Manhattan apartment vs Dow

Excerpt:

What’s the expected return on investment (ROI) on an investment apartment in Manhattan?

Well, it’s a forecast, and as a real estate broker, I never promise investor clients prices will appreciate by X percent within Y years. But what I can share is the historical trend of price appreciation on a Manhattan apartment, as this chart shows.

Based on data from Miller Samuel on condos and co-ops, prices were $328 per square foot in 1997 and increased to $1,183 in 2008. From there, they declined to $1,051 in 2009. From 1997 through 2009, the average appreciation was 10.2% per year. Alternatively, prices went up 3.2 times during that period.