City house hunting becomes a family affair, says report.

Three-bedroom apartments saw the greatest increase in market share of all apartments in Manhattan during the first eight months of 2004, according to comprehensive data collected by Brown Harris Stevens chief economist, Gregory J. Heym.

During this time period, there were 638 sales of three-bedroom apartments, which represented 12 percent of the total sales market. The same period in 2003 saw 568 three-bedroom apartments change hands, representing 9 percent of all sales.

Three-bedroom apartments also surged in price during this time, particularly on the East and West Side of Manhattan. The average price on the East Side jumped 53 percent to $2.53 million, while the West Side figure rose 13 percent to $1.98 million.

"More families are realizing that Manhattan is a great place to raise kids," explained Brown Harris Stevens president Hall Willkie, leading to the recent rise in desirability of three-bedroom apartments. Brown Harris Stevens analyzed 5,489 sales from the first eight months of 2004, and compared the location and size of each with the same period in 2003. The charts on the following page detail the changes in percent of sales for all apartments during the first eight months of 2004, versus the same period last year.

On the East Side, three-bedroom units Manhattan is represented 15 percent of all sales, up from 12 percent a year ago. Prices for these units were up dramatically, rising 53 percent over the past year to an average of $2.5 million.

For West Side sales, three-bedroom apartments comprised 12 percent of the market, up from 10 percent a year ago. The average price for these sales rose 13 percent, to $1.98 million.

In the Downtown market, 6 percent of sales were for three-bedroom units, up from 4 percent during the first eight months of 2003. At $1.65 million, the average price for these sales was 4 percent higher than a year ago.