Here at the New Construction Manhattan job, we do a lot of bird's eye view stuff -- or Top of The Nouvel's Eye View, if you prefer. That is, lots of stuff on the big trends in Manhattan real estate -- mortgage rates are down, , and so on. But of course Manhattan real estate -- and certainly searching for NYC condos, which is probably why you're at New Construction Manhattan -- is not a top-of-the-Nouvel experience. The process of finding the right Manhattan apartment is a hugely personal, finely individuated and finally very human-scale process.

Months ago, when we noted the recent spike in , the comparison came alongside much attempted soothsaying and no small amount of confusion. The absorption rate on NYC condos and NYC co-ops converge around the $1 million mark, but the way in which upscale Manhattan condos were outpacing similarly priced Manhattan co-ops was striking enough to note even then. That trend shows no sign of diminishing with news that co-op maintenance fees jumped $1.76 per square foot -- an increase of 19% -- over the past year. The condo renaissance -- an ambiguous, tenuous, neighborhood-by-neighborhood renaissance, but one all the same -- continues apace, it seems, in part by default. But what's going on with those NYC co-ops?

We're a NYC condominium blog here at New Construction Manhattan, which means that we spend much of our time and nearly all of our pixels covering -- wait for it -- NYC condominiums. Which is cool by us, certainly, given that NYC condos are kind of our thing, but also means that we've been glossing over what is one of the biggest stories in NYC real estate, as well as in real estate across the country. Namely, that would be the tumbling rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, which -- unless you're Alex Rodriguez, Mark Zuckerberg or someone who keeps several million dollars in cash on hand -- is what just about everyone who buys a NYC condominium will be signing on for after finding the Manhattan apartment of his or her dreams. Nearly every day brings news of a decline in the rates on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, to the point where it's difficult to keep up. When the Wall Street Journal wrote back in August about the historic lows in mortgage rates, it was a big deal; when those historic lows had dropped nearly another tenth of a point two weeks later, though, it was hardly a surprise.

It's a good question, and a natural follow-up -- after our recent post on , readers emailed us asking which Manhattan apartments these might be, and where they could find a listing thereof. Again, a totally natural question -- and, oddly, one of the few things you can't find using New Construction Manhattan's advanced search function. Not to worry, though. We've got you covered here, too -- read on.

There's a scene in the otherwise not-so-good horror flick Dark Water that packs a solid laugh for New York City real estate watchers. Well, several scenes if you're the sort who finds the idea of haunted bathtubs amusing, but the one we're thinking of is when John C. Reilly's real estate agent proudly describes a Roosevelt Island apartment building (spoiler alert: it's haunted) to Jennifer Connelly as featuring "brutalist school" design. Which, as much as we love newer Roosevelt Island condo listings like the elegant Riverwalk, is certainly a fair enough way to describe the East Berlin-style retail strip (above) that runs down the center of Roosevelt Island. While the community's quiet, city-within-a-city vibe is a big part of what makes Roosevelt Island apartments appealing, no one will mourn the passing of those identical, charmless facades.

We say it seemingly every day: the statistics all indicate that , and improving every quarter. And yet, as you surely know if you've even walked past a newspaper over the last year or so, people in this world -- and in New York City -- are pretty hacked off. About... well, name it. Fantastically irresponsible, totally trumped-up real estate scandals that play loathsomely to the smallest-minded among us? Yeah, we've got that. But there are legitimate causes for concern in this world and city of ours, and the broader uncertainties of the national and global economy are among them. So while we can tell the world, several times weekly, that the Manhattan condominium market is going strong and that NYC condos remain a really great investment, it stands to reason that a city that's even more on edge than usual, people are a little more jittery about buying an apartment. Or it could be that people are just kind of difficult. At any rate, according to The New York Times, brokers, sellers and buyers have entered a new era of contentiousness. To which we at the New Construction Manhattan blog would like to say, without qualification or any quantitative evidence: nice try, but no.

New Construction Manhattan blog readers know that we love Financial District condo listings. This is not entirely because Financial District condos are among the most popular on our site, although that obviously helps, but because condominiums in the Financial District are so unique. In a city that is, for all The New Classics we discussed recently, home to a lot of identikit luxury condominium listings, the apartments for sale in the Financial District stand out because of the architectural distinction of their buildings -- many of them elegant art deco office towers making the switch to condominium (or luxury rental, in some cases). As new condo listings go, therefore, it's generally easier for us to get excited about a new condo conversion in the Financial District than it is over, say, a new construction listing in Murray Hill. (With all due respect to the lovely condo listings of Murray Hill, none of those buildings are National Historic Landmarks, unlike the Cipriani Club Residences) So it's always good news when we can report that another elegant Financial District office building is re-imagining itself as a Financial District condominium. The latest project, as Curbed reports: the stately art deco tower at 119 John Street.

It seems like we spend all our time here at the New Construction Manhattan blog sussing out the shape and size and seriousness of . Which, you know, is reasonable enough of us, given that this is a blog about NYC condos and Manhattan real estate and such. But this fine-grain focus on the present -- and attendant anxiousness to find positive indications for the future in the still-anxious present-day state of Manhattan real estate -- can sometimes limit our perspective somewhat. Not just as regards the recovery, and the search for omens and signs indicating the existence thereof, but to the basic elements of Manhattan real estate itself. All the more reason to enjoy architecture critic Jayne Merkel's piece in the New York Times on the one objective lasting benefit of the last Manhttan real estate boom -- the addition of numerous beautiful and architecturally distinguished new construction luxury condos to the Manhattan skyline. That we have many of those NYC condo listings here at New Construction Manhattan is probably worth mentioning, too, but... anyway, let's get to Merkel.

As good as things have been for Manhattan condo sales over recent months -- and if you're just joining us, the answer is -- the boom in NYC luxury hotels has been that much more notable. A whopping 37 hotels have opened in the city over the past 18 months, and 21 more are slated to open over the next year, and occupancy rates are still at an impressive 93 percent. It has gotten so that it's hard to notice when a new luxury hotel opens its doors, but rest assured that Murray Hill and the Flatiron District are aware that the Gansevoort Park Avenue Hotel will soon be opening at 420 Park Avenue South. As well they should -- the perpetually popping NYC scene at the Gansevoort promises to do a lot to enhance the value of condos such as Twenty 9th Park Madison and Sky House, among other Murray Hill condos.