The bloom is off gentrification and trophy homes

The New York Times yesterday managed to discover a long-held precept of real estate sales: What we euphemistically term “transitional,” “gentrifying” or “emerging” neighborhoods are the first to suffer in a downturn.

At the same time, recent quarterly Manhattan market reports, which are summarized in my biweekly newsletter, document how severely the uppermost tier of supply has languished and how precipitously prices have dropped.