NEW YORK - Apartments in Manhattan hit fresh record highs in the first quarter of the year 2008. According to some of the city's top real estate agencies, strong sales in the city's luxury segments are booming and it's been the market's main driver, however the overall sales are quite slow. Demands are high and supplies are tight for these multi-million dollar luxury apartments across Manhattan.

The average cost of an apartment in the City of New York ranges between $1.63 million to $1.72 million in the first quarter of the year 2008, according to different reports, there is an increase somewhere between 19% and 47% over the average apartment prices for the first quarter of 2007. If two of the most elite addresses with units on the market are excluded - The Plaza and 15 Central Park West, where the average prices came down to $1.42 million.