The combination of the new federal tax law, the end of the “legacy” contract pipeline and rising mortgage rates have slowed the pace of the Manhattan sales market. The number of sales to close in the first quarter of 2018 fell 24.6% to 2,180 from the same period last year. This was the lowest quarterly sales total in more than six years and the largest year over year percent decline in nine years. Resales represented 88.1% of sales and their number…