New York City's 2017 residential sales set a record high of $50 billion “driven by Brooklyn's all-time high annual consideration of $11 billion this year,” according to the latest fourth quarter 2017 report by the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).

Meanwhile, residential sales in New York City in the fourth quarter of last year totaled $10.7 billion, marking a 12 percent decline compared to the same period in 2016. However, three of the five boroughs (Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens) saw total residential sales growth in the same quarter of 2017 year-over-year.

The study also said that sales activity during that quarter from last year went up 10 percent in the number of home sales (consisting of co-ops, condos, and one-to-three-family dwellings) ranging from $1 million to less than $3 million, in contrast to fourth quarter 2016.

“The high end of the New York City home sales market slowed this quarter in comparison to past quarters,” said REBNY President John H. Banks in a press statement. “Average sales price growth in areas outside Manhattan offset this decline and led to year-over-year stability in the average sales price for a home in New York City.”

REBNY also said that the average sales price for a home in New York City fell 1 percent year-over-year to $917,000 during fourth quarter 2017.

For condominium units in all five boroughs, the average sales price dipped 14 percent to $1,573,000 in fourth 2017 quarter. In Manhattan, the average sales price for a condo was $2,405,000 in that quarter, a 19 percent decline year-over-year. Brooklyn and Queens saw their average sales price for a condo go up by 3 percent (to $1,014,000) and by 32 percent (to $704,000), respectively.

As for co-ops, the average sales price for a unit was $739,000 in fourth quarter 2017, an increase of 5 percent year-over-year. Manhattan's co-op average sales price went up 5 percent to $1,228,000. Brooklyn's average sales price for a co-op jumped 13 percent to $524,000, and Queens experienced an 8 percent uptick to $299,000.

REBNY also cited sales activity by neighborhood. For instance, the average sales price of a Williamsburg Brooklyn condo fell 5 percent in fourth quarter 2017 to $1,138,000 year-over-year, while the average sales price in that same quarter for a condo in the Financial District/South Street Seaport area of Manhattan was $1,695,000, a 44 percent jump over the same period in 2016.

To read REBNY's fourth quarter 2017 residential sales report, click here.

David Chiu is an associate editor at The Cooperator.