Fall brings soft landing for sales market.

The residential real estate market has seen a steady sales pace this fall, creating normalcy and balance where first frenzied then sluggish conditions preceded.

"Fall has brought a brisk upbeat to the New York residential real estate market. After a long and essentially quiet summer, the pace of sales began to slowly build up steam in October and in early November gained noticeable momentum," stated Elizabeth Stribling, president of Stribling & Associates.

The recently published Stribling State of the Market report cites a number of important market observations:

* The third quarter statistics showed a drop in the average price of a unit over the previous quarter, but the fact that the average price of a unit had increased since the previous year has been overlooked in many media reports.

* A slight shrinking in the overall inventory of available residential listings, according to a recent survey by the appraisal firm Miller Samuel.

* The overall national housing market appears to be simply returning to its 2003 activity level, which was a very good year. Showing this year's market to be in a cyclical rebalancing rather than a crash.

* Mortgage money remains affordable this year. Refinancing is based on the belief that housing prices will continue to rise in the future and in the interim serves to bolster the current market.

* The local economy, low unemployment rate and a record year for Wall Street show the strength of the New York City economy and support for continuing strength in the housing market.

* Sales prices appear to have stabilized with a negotiability factor between 3.5 and 5 percent on average between the buyer and seller.

* Good apartment conditions are valued, with lengthy and costly renovation being avoided since the price of an apartment renovations have skyrocketed and boards have become more onerous in allowing major construction and combinations.

* The rental market is soaring with the monthly threshold for a decent one-bedroom apartment rising from $2,500 to $3,000 on average.

* The super-luxury market shows a strong sales pace with the top tier luxury benchmark of $10 million being replaced by sales in the even higher ultra-luxury category of over $20 million.

* This ultra-luxury category shows further strength with the record-breaking sale of the legendary 20,000 square foot Harkness House at 4 East 75th Street for $53 million.

* New construction is surging in many Manhattan neighborhoods, including Harlem, Chinatown, Wall Street, Hell's Kitchen and the far west side of Chelsea.

* New developments are increasingly being branded, such as The Parkwood's classic detailing and artisanal attention of the prewar era by Developer Henry Justin and Designer Alan Tanksley; RAL's new to New York City Schiffini all-glass tempered kitchens at Loft 25 in Chelsea; the Gramercy Property Group's transformation of the 1905 carriage house into sleek new apartments while retaining the original exposed brick walls and timber beams of the gaslight age; and the Hit Factory, which is incorporating the vibes of its rock roots into its new modern residential identity.

"We seem to have reached a back to normal market with a fairly evenly balanced tension between buyers and sellers. Perhaps this is what is described as a soft landing," Stribling said.