Home sales in Manhattan surge as wealthy buyers rush to avoid “mansion tax”

Manhattan homebuyers went on a shopping spree in the second quarter, rushing to buy properties before transfer taxes increased. The median sale price rose to a record $1.2 million, up 11% from a year earlier, as home sales reached 2,957, up from 2,629, according to a report Tuesday by Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman Real Estate. The sales increase comes after six consecutive quarters of declining transactions, what the report called a “dry spell.”