Chelsea is one of New Yorks more expensive downtown neighborhoods and has beaten the market for quite a long time. The changes inthe neighborhood with new parks like the Chelsea Cove on 23rd & the Hudson and the High Line as well as a general upscaling of the retail environment and the move of the Art Gallery Scene from Soho to West Chelsea have contributed to the areas 'innoculation' against the declines seen in other areas. Sales below $1M have been stronger city-wide for the past year as financing is more readily available and affordable in that range.
But the $1M+ Market is definitely moving as well. A slight overabundance of new development inventory has kept those prices a bit lower but that seems to be rapidly being absorbed now. When you hit $2.5-3M things are still a bit slower, but moving as well.
I picked Chelsea as my target neighborhood 19 years ago when I began in Real Estate so I take full credit for the development and increase in value in the area (cough cough)--but seriously I saw what the area was, saw the early trends and don't see any reason for them to change, only get better.

Different trend as in history of value?

Chelsea is a desirable, fun neighborhood in Manhattan, and for both Condos and Coops value has increased considerably in the past 10 years. According to the Prudential Douglas Eliman Manhattan Market report 1998-2007, the value of Studio apartments has almost quadrupled, with the values of 3 and 4 bedroom apartments have nearly met that rate of appreciation. While number of bedrooms doesn't truly answer your question of whether the rate of appreciation of condos <1million is different than the rate of appreciation for condos >1million, it is a good indicator.

If you are looking at a well maintained condo in Chelsea, it is highly unlikely that its value will depreciate. This may also help you...http://furmancenter.org/research/sonychan/

Please let me know if I can assist you further in your home investment search.

Best Regards,

Alessandra Marx
alessandra@elikaassociates.com
http://www.elikaassociates.com

All real estate is local and it appears that the Chelsea neighborhood is bucking Manhattan trends.

Of the condo sales made in Chelsea this year:

43% were below $1M
37% were between $1M and $2M
20% were above $2M

My latest stats for co-op and condo sales for Manhattan for July (approximately consistent throughout this year) show:

67% sold below $1M
23% sold between $1M and $2M
10% sold above $2M

Miakoda30, you may also want to check out the Manhattan Market Overview for Q2 2009:
http://realestategeezer.com/2009/07/02/manhattan-coop-and-co…

I hope this was helpful.

Bob