Asking prices for new Manhattan apartments jumped 12.4 percent to an average $1.46 million in the past year, according to StreetEasy’s monthly report released Monday.

The demand is growing for new buildings like the Village’s 130 W. 12th St., Harlem’s 88 Morningside and the Upper West Side’s Aldyn. The amount of contracts signed shot up nearly 25 percent compared to a year ago, according to Streeteasy.

Meanwhile, supply is shrinking. Overall inventory fell by 8 percent over the past year.

“Asking prices are climbing,” said Streeteasy’s Vice President of Research Sofia Song. “That’s definitely an indication of the confidence of developers. Their confidence has grown.”

There are fewer price cuts, too. The report, which tracked the market from March 2011 to March 2012, showed that the number of price cuts declined by nearly 23 percent.

“Starter apartments” continued to see the most action in terms of contracts, Song said. At the beginning of the year, one-bedrooms were hot. In March this year, two-bedrooms were all the rage, she said, which was a contrast to the spree of sprawling apartments over the last two years.

“This year, it’s all about starter apartments,” Song said, noting how high rents have been pushing many New Yorkers into buying. For those who will be staying put for the next five years, they’re seizing on the low mortgage rates, she noted.

Across the East River, in Brooklyn, contracts increased by 37 percent compared to a year ago and inventory declined by 8 percent, according to StreetEasy. Queens also saw price listings shoot up, by 22 percent. However, the borough’s inventory of new developments also increased by nearly 36 percent from a year ago.

(Source: DNA Info)