According to an article in Wednesday's New York Times, three-bedroom Manhattan apartments and four-bedroom apartments are all the rage amongst families. It makes arithmetical sense, of course -- more kids, more bedrooms, Q.E.D. -- but the boom in sales of three- and four-bedroom Manhattan apartments indicates that a demographic that traditionally hightails it to the suburbs might be opting for Manhattan condos instead. Despite the fact that new condominium sales have been comparatively flat over the past year, sales of three-bedroom and four-bedroom Manhattan apartments have drastically increased -- whether it's because families are looking for more space for their children, space for guest bedrooms, or a tricked-out media room varies from case to case, of course. But clearly there's something going on here.Some statistics on these newly and increasingly popular Manhattan apartment listings: Prices of large Manhattan apartments for sale have dropped a whopping 34 percent from 2008 to April/May of this year, which is notably more than the drop in prices of smaller apartments. For those searching for Manhattan condos, larger apartments may be the more affordable option -- whether because they're looking for more bang for your buck or more room for the toddlers is, again, different in every case. Furthermore, number of three- and four-bedroom apartments sold in 2009 was almost double -- seriously: double -- the number sold in 2008. Since large apartments are becoming so popular amongst families, couples, and even individual buyers, their sales have greatly affected the market for two-bedroom Manhattan apartments, where sales have decreased. With an extra bedroom thrown in more or less for free, it's easy to see why. The NYC real estate market, predictably, has responded: developers are building more large apartments, and family-sized apartments in New York City have multiplied in the West Village, Upper East Side, Battery Park City and the Upper West Side. These Manhattan apartments offer suburb-style space despite being inside new construction Manhattan apartment buildings, which broadens their appeal to include those looking to downsize from suburban homes or just New Yorkers seeking a modern apartment along with a bedroom for each child and possible guest room, family room, or home office. Whatever the reason, things are going far better for bigger Manhattan apartments than anyone expected, and the impact on the NYC real estate market has been predictably, well, large.