As I discussed in my new development post – 2014 was a year in which the divergence between new development and the resale market was wide enough that breaking apart their sales numbers makes sense. When three bedroom and larger condominium sales appear to be up 31% year over year vs. 7% for coops, there’s
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Over 2014, my firm’s chief economist felt a growing divergence between new development sales and the resales of condos and cooperatives, in terms of new development sales skewing closing information, both in being averaged into all other sales, and because of the delays between signed contracts and closings. Our monthly and quarterly reports now reflect
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Sometimes buyers want to understand what they are getting into when buying a cooperative. They have to get “approved” by a cooperative. What does this mean? Just like in a country club, a membership committee reviews your entire financial and personal lives, and decides if you are worthy of moving into its established community. You
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I had the pleasure of seeing a number of new developments in the past few weeks, too many to cover in one blog post. Today, I’ll cover 498 West End and 45 East 22nd Street, incredibly different properties, but not necessarily appealing to different buyers. Both are in prime locations, 84th and West End, and
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To those of you who read my monthly running posts, I just want to thank you for letting me share them. If I have inspired anyone to run somewhere he or she would not have considered running before, I would consider the time very much worthwhile! I will, of course, continue to explore different areas
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Our office at Brown Harris Stevens is poised to have its best year ever, possibly, exceeding the really robust numbers of 2012. The questions that loom behind the strong numbers of any quarter, or any market rally like one we’ve seen since the 4th quarter of 2009, are those that ask: How strong is the
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Recently, I’ve been reminded of how challenging getting a mortgage can be for even the most qualified buyers. Forget how difficult it can be right now even to get an accepted offer on an apartment! Once contracts are signed, buyers are simply not prepared, emotionally or otherwise, for the mortgage process that awaits. Whether buying
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For those following this monthly post about running around New York City, I encourage you to email me with suggestions about places to explore. We are planning a run from Manhattan to CitiField, as well as some running around Staten Island, which is only 8 miles from North to South in certain places. But for
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I saw a lot of property in the last month. Some were the last units on the market in their respective projects (that is, which are essentially nearly sold out) – the penthouses of 508 West 24th and One Morningside Park, and a unit at 61 Fifth Avenue. I’ll include a few images and thoughts
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Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” How similar is this building boom to that of 2004-2008? Are we doomed to repeat the mistakes, and insanity, of that time? There are many, many little things that remind me of the New York City market of 2004-2008. Reading
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