Archive for the ‘co-op’ Category
New York’s ‘Insane’ Real Estate Market
Activity in New York’s real estate market has increased since the first quarter of 2012. (Photo by Bruno J. Navarro.)
NEW YORK — The real estate market in Manhattan, as well as in Brooklyn, is now firing on all cylinders and nearing pre-recession levels, according to a couple of recent reports.
“It’s really remarkable because January and February was just really crazy,” Streeteasy Vice President of Research Sofia Song told New York Magazine’s S. Jhoanna Robledo. ”That’s insane. This is the highest number of contracts in the first quarter and the second highest of any quarter since the meltdown of 2008.”
Properties that went into contract in the first quarter of 2013 jumped by 15 percent compared to the same period last year, according to Streeteasy.
Song called 2013 the “Year of the Frustrated Buyer.”
Anyone who has attended an open house in Manhattan, Brooklyn and parts of Queens would likely agree.
Also gone are the days of the low-ball offer.
One real estate agent told The Real Deal that bidding also had gotten “absolutely insane,” with three buyers making offers within the same open house.
A fellow agent at my firm, Bill Bone of BOND New York, was also quoted saying that his buyer lost out on a Williamsburg condo. “We had to compete with 45 other offers.”
(That’s why it pays, more than ever, for buyers to use an experienced real estate agent.)
Meanwhile, the median price of a Manhattan apartment rose 5.9 percent from the first quarter of 2012 to $820,555. The average price rose to $1.354 million, according to real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel.
Read More
- New York Magazine: Manhattan Real-Estate Market in 2013 Is ‘Insane’
- DNAinfo: Year of the Frustrated Buyer Awaits Manhattan Real Estate Market
- NYC Apartment Agent: Benefits of an Experienced Real Estate Agent
- TheStreet: You Will Kick Yourself If You Don’t Buy a Home Now: Ivy Zelman
- NYC Apartment Agent: Hot NYC Area Condos: Gone In One Hour
‘A Great Time to Buy,’ Real Estate Mogul Corcoran Says
Real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran says it’s ‘a great time to buy.’
NEW YORK — It’s so thrilling to hear an expert back up what you’ve been saying all along. In this case, it’s real estate mogul and reality TV star Barbara Corcoran weighing it on why it’s a great time to buy.
Appreciation in property values, she said Wednesday on CNBC, would be stronger than the numbers are suggesting.
“It’s going to go much higher than people anticipate,” she said.
Sure enough, the Case-Shiller home-price index has shown consistent growth over the past several months and an increase of 3 percent from last year — and that’s in a soft economy.
The Case-Shiller index is backward-looking, data-heavy and conservative gauge of what home prices have already done, so it’s not subject prone to wild speculation.
With mortgage rates this week around 3.4 percent for a 30-year loan and 2.84 percent for a 15-year, Corcoran is the latest expert to suggest buying real estate, joining the likes of billionaire investor Warren Buffett and Billy Procida, Donald Trump’s original apprentice.
In her interview, Corcoran was asked whether prospective buyers who are able to borrow should borrow as much as they can. She agreed.
“You have 30 percent reduction in sale price. You have cheap money around,” she said, adding that in nine out of 10 real estate markets, buyers are likely to be outbid on a housing purchase at least once.
Corcoran, who built a $5 billion New York real estate business with $1,000 and now stars in ABC’s “Shark Tank,” also said that homeowners looking to upgrade should take notice.
“Right now, if you’re upgrading to a bigger house, even if you’re selling at 10 percent off, you buy your new house at a 10 percent off,” she said.
Addressing the popularity of multi-family housing, Corcoran said buyers would do well to look at another segment of the market.
“I would first go out and buy a beachfront property,” she said. “Go out and buy a second home. It’s the last piece of the real estate market that has yet to hit bottom.”
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NYC Home Prices Back to Pre-Recession Levels
NYC Prices Rise As Inventory Falls (Photo by Bruno J. Navarro)
NEW YORK — If you’re looking to buy in the metropolitan New York region, don’t wait for prices to fall any longer, as the real estate market’s bottom might have already passed.
“Both Brooklyn and Queens saw the number of available apartments plummet (16.2 percent in Brooklyn and 12.2 percent in Queens), leaving buyers to scramble for what remains and driving prices upward,” wrote New York magazine’s S. Jhoanna Robledo.
(Robledo previously featured me in an affordable-housing feature for Williamsburg, Brooklyn.)
On the other side of the equation, home prices are on the rise again, even more so in Brooklyn and Queens, where they’re back to pre-recession levels.
The median price for a house or condo in Brooklyn is $510,000, a solid 4 percent higher than last year, according to NPR’s Margot Adler. Properties in Queens, the median price is nearly $400,000, up 2 percent.
Overall, sales are up 6 percent in the city (including Manhattan), according to the Real Estate Board of New York.
Buyers waiting for prices to soften might find that they’ve missed the boat.
NPR quotes Corcoran CEO Pamela Liebman likening the market to a nearly sold-out holiday sale.
“When you walk in a store on December 24th, you buy what’s ever left on the shelf,” she said.
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It Takes Know-How to Win a Bidding War
It Takes Know-How to Win a Bidding War
NEW YORK — The 2012 Olympics are in full swing in London and the frenzied pitch of the New York City market brings to mind its competitive spirit (not including badminton).
Buyers are feeling a sense of urgency as multiple bids and bidding wars are becoming increasingly common. Inventory is dwindling as the number of reported transactions soar.
Although mortgage rates remain at historic lows, home prices are beginning to rise.
In a heated market such as we currently find ourselves in, the slightest error can mean the difference between gold and going home. Using an experienced sales agent is more important than ever, and having all your paperwork in order may help catapult you to the top of the buyer’s line when putting in an offer.
There is no instant replay, do-over, or second chances when it comes to negotiating for that perfect home. Be smart and make sure you have the best representation there is.
A true Olympian never stops training for the gold and seasoned real estate professionals never stop perfecting their negotiating skills. The link below will give you a list of negotiating errors that buyers and their inexperienced brokers make.
Don’t let this happen to you.
When you are ready to buy or sell a property in the New York area, reach out to me and we can win gold together.
BrickUnderground: Top negotiating mistakes of buyers, and their brokers
Bidding Wars Make a Comeback
Bidding Wars Make a Comeback (Photo by Bruno J. Navarro)
NEW YORK — Signs of a rebound in the real estate market were plentiful this week, but another element spoke volumes about how real it was: The return of the bidding war.
It was this detail in a Time magazine story, titled “Why This May Be the Ideal Time to Buy Real Estate,” that led me to reblog it almost immediately after reading it.
The blog entry covered much of the same ground I addressed in recent posts.
“If you were thinking about making a move on a piece of property, right now is possibly the best time. You can still take advantage of low prices in most places around the country, and mortgage rates are at once-in-a-lifetime record lows: 30- and 15-year fixed mortgages are around 4% and 3%, respectively,” wrote Martha C. White.
What caught my attention, however, is to see reporting on something that has been happening with increasing regularity.
“Many would-be homebuyers are surprised to find that one fixture of the bubble era is back: the bidding war,” according to White.
In Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, my colleagues and I have been seeing this often enough in condo and co-op sales — so much so that it isn’t surprising anymore.
Sales of investment properties and vacation homes have also been on the rise, which correspond to more affordable mortgage rates and a sense of confidence in the economy.
“For Americans who either have cash to buy or a credit score good enough to obtain a mortgage, there’s still time to get a killer deal on real estate, but that window may be closing,” the article concludes. “If your finances can support it, now appears to be a great time to buy.”
As always, if you’re looking to buy, sell or rent a home in New York, please let me know.
Why This May Be the Ideal Time to Buy Real Estate
Well, it's only taken half a decade, but the moribund real estate market is finally starting to show signs of life. If you were thinking about making a move on a piece of property, right now is possibly the best time. You can still take advantage of low prices in most places around the country, and mortgage rates are at once-in-a-lifetime record lows: 30- and 15-year fixed mortgages are around 4% and 3%, respectively.
Read more: http://moneyland.time.com/2012/05/21/why-this-may-be-the-ideal-time-to-buy-real-estate/?iid=pf-article-mostpop1#ixzz1virbnyya
Home Sales Approach Two-Year High
Existing Home Sales Near Two-Year High (Photo by Bruno J. Navarro)
NEW YORK — It’s not your imagination: The real estate market is hot again.
Sales of existing homes grew almost to the highest rate in two years, while prices saw the biggest increase since 2006.
Last month, existing U.S. home sales increased 3.4 percent to an annual rate of 4.62 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors.
That rate was the highest since May 2010.
Anecdotally, sales activity has picked up in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, as previously forecast. I expect the data to show significant gains when it becomes available.
At the same time, home resale prices nationwide soared to a median of $177,400 in April, up 10.1 percent from a year earlier.
“That was the biggest year-over-year increase since January 2006,” according to Reuters.
Mortgage rates, too, continued their downward trend.
The average rate for a 30-year loan dropped to 3.79 percent, a Freddie Mac survey showed.
That was even lower than the record low set earlier this month.
As always, if you’re looking to buy, sell or rent a home in New York, please let me know.
UPDATE: The data gets a boost from federal statistics, which show similar gains among new homes.
The Real Deal writes, “Sales of new single-family homes rose 3.3 percent month-over-month in April 2012 and 9.9 percent year-over-year, according to a release issued by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. April saw new home sales at a seasonally adjusted rate of 343,000 units.”
Should I Buy Or Should I Rent?
Should I Buy Or Should I Rent? (Photo by Bruno J. Navarro)
NEW YORK — The question almost sounds like the title of a Clash song: Should I buy or should I rent?
The results of a new study make it clear. Buying is the better option.
A confluence of factors are the cause, from low mortgage rates to rising rents.
CNN Money writes: “In 98 of the top 100 housing markets, buying a home is more affordable than renting, according to the online real estate company Trulia. Only Honolulu and San Francisco buck the trend.”
Of course, such rankings do little to paint a complete picture.
The article also adds, ”Housing markets, even within a single metro area, typically have local submarkets. Take New York City, for example. Renting in Manhattan is more affordable than buying. But in suburban Westchester County just miles to the north, buying is the more affordable option.”
If you decide to rent, there are a few steps you can take to avoid Craigslist apartment scams. Feel free to share any other helpful tips in the comments, too.
As always, if you know someone looking to buy, rent or sell a home in New York, please let me know.
Related
CNN Money: “Home buying much cheaper than renting“
Which Would You Buy: Apple Stock or a Home?
In 2002, if you had purchased Apple stock instead of putting the same amount of money into a house, you’d have almost $10 million right now. — “Why Apple Stock Is Better Investment Than a House,” CNBC.com, March 6, 2012.
NEW YORK — Time travel has always fascinated me, so I appreciated an article looking at the historic performance of Apple stock versus buying a home.
An excerpt from the article uses the average cost of a house from a decade ago.
For example, the typical American home cost $228,000 in 2002, according to U.S. census data. With that money, you could have bought 18,704 shares of Apple at their price a decade ago of $12.19 a share.
Today, that home is worth $280,000 and that Apple holding is worth $9,969,232.
Clearly, buying shares of Apple would’ve been a phenomenal bet.
Of course, today a single share of Apple would cost more than $500.
Were it possible to turn back time, I’d create a to-do list that would include investing in the little computer company that could. But then again, so would buying one of the magnificent Brooklyn brownstone mansions in Park Slope or Greenpoint — or perhaps my favorite Clinton Hill mansion.
I’m no stock market whiz, but I do know there is no such thing as a sure thing. (If you know of one, please let me know!) So, absent a time machine I would still opt what Warren Buffett would do and bet on housing.
What Is the Best NYC Neighborhood?
What Is the Best NYC Neighborhood?
NEW YORK — Recently, I had the good fortune to answer the question: What is the best New York City neighborhood to live in?
Asked by Trulia user Crazykenny, the query was an interesting one whether talking about sales or rentals.
Off the top of my head, I wrote the following response (and I’ve linked several of my own photos from around the city):
Going by only your user name, I would say you’d probably enjoy some of the craziest areas in the city. Depending on how you define the term, those neighborhoods best suited to you might be in Chelsea, the Upper East Side, SoHo or the East Village, all of which offer a variety of nightlife options, trendy restaurants and lively bars, as well as a vibrant feel. Williamsburg is another possibility, if you’re willing to go a stop or two into Brooklyn.
For as many neighborhoods as you have in New York (comprising the five boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island), you will probably find just as many people who say THEIR neighborhood is the best one in which to live.
Your best bet would be to read up on and visit every neighborhood, ask your friends/relatives/coworkers and/or find an experienced real estate agent who is also a born-and-bred New Yorker who loves many of the neighborhoods mentioned (as well as others) for very different reasons.
Congratulations, because you’ve just found the latter. Feel free to give me a call, text me or shoot me e-mail and I’d be more than happy to help you figure out exactly what the best NYC neighborhood might be for your needs.
What do you think is the best neighborhood in New York City? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
