Median condominium prices south of 42nd Street exceeded those of the rest of Manhattan for the first time ever in 2004, driven by gains south of 14th Street, particularly in the Meat Packing District and the West Village, according to a report released yesterday by the Real Estate Board of New York.

The Median condo price south of 42nd Street in 2004 was $667,000, while the median price for a condo south of 14th Street was $1.275 million, according to the Real Estate Board.

New development is behind surging prices in the Meat Packing District, and rising prewar condo prices are behind the surge in the West Village, according to the Real Estate Board.

“For the first time since Rebny has been tracking apartment prices, the Downtown median sales prices for condominiums, which includes apartments south of 42nd Street, have been higher than both the Upper East Side and West Side,” said the Real Estate Board’s president, Steven Spinola, in a statement. “The prewar condo units in this area surged to a remarkable price exceeding $1.1 million, clearly demonstrating the desirability of the area.”

Median condo prices on the East Side from East 42nd Street to East 96th Street hit $630,000 in 2004, up from $608,000 in 2003, the Real Estate Board reported.

Median condo prices on the West Side from West 42nd Street up to West 110th Street climbed to $650,000 per unit in 2004, compared to $590,000 in 2003, the Real Estate Board said.

The addition of five major condominium developments, most notably One Central Park and 1400 Fifth Avenue, pushed prices up on the West Side and Northern Manhattan, the report said.

As for cooperatives, the median sales price for co-ops south of 42nd Street rose to $475,000 in 2004 from $400,000 in 2003, the report said. The median sales price for co-ops on the East Side in 2004 was $741,000, up from $645,000 in 2003, the report said.

The median price of co-ops in northern Manhattan climbed to $397,000 in 2004 from $350,000 the previous year, according to the Real Estate Board.

The number of apartments sold in Manhattan hit a 10-year high in 2004, with 9,481 units having sold, according to the report. The number is a 33% increase over 2003, and the most units sold since 1995, the report said.

In other findings, the report said:

* Downtown average sales prices climbed 31% to $680,000.

* The East Side increased 15% in both average and median sales prices to $1.266 million and $741,000 respectively.

* Average sales price for a prewar cooperative unit Downtown rose 29% to $743,000.

* The average price per room increased by double digits for all Manhattan neighborhoods. Downtown and northern Manhattan had the largest gains, each 28% higher than 2003, to a price of $188,000 and $111,000 respectively.

* Average prices Downtown continued to climb with the cost per room for a pre-war unit rising 24% to $197,000 and postwar cooperative apartments up 29% to an average price of $175,000 per room.

* The West Side average sales price rose 34% to $1,096,000; the median price of $650,000 represents a 10% increase.

* The average sales price for northern Manhattan climbed 27% to $307,000.

* West Side postwar apartments saw their average sales price increase 34% to $1,162,000.

* Pre- and postwar units Downtown increased 26% to an average sales price of $1,447,000 and $721,000 respectively.

* A pre-war unit in northern Manhattan costs an average of $445 per square foot, an increase of 58% from 2003. The median price per square foot in the neighborhood was $371,54% higher than last year.

* Postwar units on the West Side and northern Manhattan saw their average price per square foot rise 27% to $953 and $385, respectively.