Super Manhattan is still flying under investors' radar--for now.

The Manhattan residential market is not only impervious to a housing bubble, it is also at its strongest historically, Shaun Osher, chief executive officer of CORE Group Marketing, told a recent REBNY seminar, Marketing and Packaging Residential Properties. "Over the past 10 years, the New York market has shown an increase in appreciation," he said. "Historically, it's stronger than ever before, especially over the last two years."

Osher doesn't think a bubble exists in Manhattan, based on first time buyers and primary residence home ownership. He points a finger at the media for starting and perpetuating bubble talk.

According to Osher, the strength of the market is reflected by the fact that apartments will go on the market at $4.5 million and sell for $6.3 million with other buildings--including 200 Chambers, 325 Fifth Avenue and 1600 Broadway--selling out the minute they hit the market.

There is also very little inventory available on the market, in all price ranges and locations. This is all indicative of a strong residential market.

While the Manhattan market gets its strength from not being speculative or investor driven, this is slowly changing. "People are starting to see appreciation and the value of owning in New York City," Osher said. "15% of the apartments sold at 325 Fifth Avenue is investor related."

Osher said he agreed that, to an extent, the whole market is insulated from the interest rate environment. "If rates are 12%, you're going to see a major effect," he said. "But the market is driven by supply and demand. Most buyers in New York are selling one thing then buying something else."

With 30,000 new units coming onto the market, the most successful developments are those that carefully consider their location before setting a price. Citing the Lower East Side, what Osher considers to be a fragile neighborhood specific to a certain kind of buyer, as an example, to speculate $1500 per s/f in the design phase of a building in that area is not realistic, while $850 per s/f is.

"Fundamentally, top location properties do very well and hold their value," he said. "Fringe properties hold their value only if you're realistic in pricing."

In order to get the highest price possible, developers should price their units a couple of percent less than the market in order to generate momentum of sales. A project that comes to the market at a very high price, might not build that momentum. "Every month you're not selling, you're paying interest on loans," Osher said. "People are too bullish. They won't be seeing appreciation for over five years."

Another sign of possible failure for a developer is if the building doesn't fit within the context of the neighborhood. Residential developers in fringe neighborhoods will often bring in big- name designers and architects hoping this will boost sales. Osher said, "Developers are trying to up the ante, crossing the line where it doesn't make sense. They could get hurt."

He advises developers to market their products to their peers, maintaining that marketing success in New York City occurs when the building is not "marketed to the client but to the broker controlling the client."