> In July, New York City increased its mansion tax – a progressive tax that applies to home sales of more than $1 million – to a maximum of 3.9 percent, up from

> In July, New York City increased its mansion tax – a progressive tax that applies to home sales of more than $1 million – to a maximum of 3.9 percent, up from a flat-rate of 1 percent. A bunch of other tax changes and reduced deductions have occured recently that make buying/owning expensive units more expensive - especially for frequent buyers/sellers. So I'd be inclined to think the trend is evidence of less short-term speculation rather than a 'true' downturn in NYC real estate.