Manhattan Sky Partners Real Estate Blog

By VIVIAN S. TOY

Prices for Manhattan real estate were relatively flat in the first three months of the year, but brokers anticipate a much stronger spring sales season, saying that many properties had recently prompted bidding wars, indicating a new level of buyer confidence.        The median sale price for the first quarter was $775,000, unchanged from the same period in 2011, according to a report from Streeteasy.com that will be released on Tuesday. Reports from New York City’s largest brokerages also indicate relatively steady pricing, with one showing the median dropping by 1 percent and others an increase of 4 percent to 6 percent.

The average price rose, with Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead Property showing a 9 percent increase over last year to $1.48 million. That number, however, was skewed by strong sales in the luxury market, including an $88 million penthouse at 15 Central Park West.

Hall F. Willkie, the president of Brown Harris Stevens, which represented the buyer and the seller in the $88 million deal, said the sale “had an immediate effect on comparable properties, but it also had an impact on the overall market in terms of confidence.”

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By JULIE SATOW

A 200-unit rental building will begin rising later this year at 509 West 38th Street west of 10th Avenue, one of dozens of developments that are being planned in the Hudson Yards district over the next several years.

With the No. 7 subway extension on schedule to open next December, the third section of the High Line moving ahead and residential and commercial development within the rail yards themselves (from 30th to 33rd Streets, west of 10th Avenue) advancing, the neighborhood’s transformation is starting to come into focus after a city rezoning to residential and commercial from manufacturing.

“The activity really began to pick up about six months ago when the announcement that the extension of the No. 7 subway line was on budget and, more importantly, on time,” said Robert A. Knakal, the chairman of the brokerage firm Massey Knakal. The line will curve through the yards area; it currently ends at Eighth Avenue.

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Manhattan continues to show stability and still remains one of the standout housing markets in the US. While there has been a lot of positive attention focused on the luxury market as of late, low mortgage rates have driven studio and 1-bedroom sales activity to their highest levels in more than two years. Sales slipped slightly from prior year quarter, but listing inventory continued to remain tight. Despite the slow pace of economic improvement in our region, we anticipate an active spring housing market.

See the report….

A review of Mercer’s 2011 Cost of Living Survey

At rank 32, New York City is the most expensive city in the United States. Los Angeles (77) and Chicago (108) have dropped significantly in the rankings (22 and 17 places respectively) as price increases on goods and services have been moderate compared to New York. Washington, however, also at ranking 108, has climbed three places, as rental accommodation prices have increased significantly.

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The Furman Center reports that home sales volume declined 20 percent from the first to the second quarter of 2011, and is down 40 percent compared to March through June of 2010. Despite the decline in volume, home prices increased citywide by about six percent from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2011.

 The Furman Center’s Quarterly Housing Update is unique among New York City housing reports because it incorporates sales data, residential development indicators, and foreclosures. It also presents a repeat sales index for each borough to capture price appreciation while controlling for housing quality.

Read More…. Furman Center New York City Q22011Housing Report

By Amanda Fung

Demand for high-end apartments costing $5 million or more is robust; industry observers predict 2011 will bring stable prices and sales activity.

By JOSH BARBANEL

Despite rising gloom about home sales across the country, sales of apartments in Manhattan appear to have strengthened this summer, with median prices up, inventory down and an increase in the number of apartment closings.

The figures suggest that the Manhattan market, buoyed by a resumption of hiring and a healthy Wall Street bonus season ahead, has so far escaped much of the distress across the country. The National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday that existing home sales nationwide plummeted by 27% in July, following the expiration of federal housing tax credits.

The tax credits, worth as much as $8,000, had much less of an impact in the Manhattan market because the credits made up a much smaller percentage of sale prices than in lower-priced markets. July’s median home sale price in Manhattan was $900,000, compared with $182,600 nationwide.

Still, there is some worry among some brokers here that economic uncertainty may stall luxury sales in the fall, as buyers become more reluctant to sign contracts. Some also fear a rush to sell by owners worried about likely increases in capital gains tax rates next year could push down prices.

Dolly Lenz, a top-selling broker at Prudential Douglas Elliman, said that buyers have begun holding back.  “There is a lack of confidence and a lack of direction,” she said. “You can feel the mood and it is not a good mood. There is no rush to buy and people are gambling that prices are going down.”

In other parts of the city, and across the region, sales have more reflected the national trend. Volume fell after a rush of deals in the spring to take advantage of the federal tax credits, according to Jonathan Miller, an appraiser and president of Miller Samuel Inc.

Mustafah Abdulaziz for The Wall Street Journal
The Fifth Avenue townhouse bought by Carlos Slim for $44 million.

In Manhattan, a review of city records compiled by The Wall Street Journal shows that median prices so far this quarter are up more than 14% above the previous quarter and 16% above the year-earlier quarter, when Manhattan prices hit bottom, during the downturn.

The increase in reported prices was concentrated in co-ops while the condo market was flat. Brokers point out that it often takes longer for co-op sales to go from contract to a closing than condo deals because buyers need to be approved by co-op boards.

Sharon Baum, a Corcoran broker, said that despite the summer heat there has been a lot of activity, including a spate of bidding wars on well-priced property.

A few weeks ago, she said, she put a one-bedroom apartment on Park Avenue South on the market for just under $1 million and had 14 offers within a week. An open house was attended by 136 prospective buyers. It went for 10% over the asking price, she said.

“This is August, when you would think nothing is doing, but when apartments are priced right at all price points they will sell in a week,” Ms. Baum said.

Across the country, inventory of unsold apartments has been rising, but in New York, brokers say it has been tightening. Properties that had lingered on the market for many months during the housing downturn are getting sold, and not yet replaced with new inventory. Sales of new condominiums picked up this year, lessening fears about a glut of unsold condominiums driving down prices.

So far this quarter the number of closed sales is running about 5% above the same period last quarter, according to a review of city records.

Brokers say that unlike last year, sellers were not dumping apartments on the market under duress. Back then, some investors suffering huge losses and victims of Ponzi schemes rushed to put apartments on the market, driving prices lower.

A study by the Vanderbilt Appraisal Co. said that at the current sales pace it would take 9.9 months to sell the current Manhattan apartment inventory. A year ago it would have taken 20 months. The study found that the market was in equilibrium for all properties priced $3 million and below, but the absorption rate was considerably slower for the most expensive apartments.

Brokers say some of these trophy listings are lingering because they are priced well above the current market. Several cited Brooke Astor’s 14-room apartment, which has been on the market since mid-2008, and remains unsold despite a price cut to $24 million from $46 million.

During the third quarter, there were some significant closings. Carlos Slim, the Mexican billionaire, has topped the list so far, paying $44 million for a townhouse at 1009 Fifth Avenue.

Next was Conan O’Brien’s sale of a seven-bedroom duplex high up in the Majestic, a co-op at 115 Central Park West, followed by a downtown townhouse at 2 N. Moore St. with a 47-foot heated lap pool that sold for $24 million. Steve Wynn, the Las Vegas casino developer, paid $23.5 million for a penthouse at the Plaza Hotel.

Some brokers remain concerned about the rest of the year, because of the uncertain economy. Kirk Henckels, the director of Stribling Private Brokerage, said that most of the significant sales recorded this quarter “reflect the market prior to the decline in consumer confidence.” He said he was more concerned about the fourth quarter, but said he believed that prices were already near a bottom.

But the fascination with Manhattan real estate hasn’t abated. “Selling New York,” an HGTV reality-TV show featuring the drama of brokers selling some of Manhattan’s most expensive apartments, was renewed for two additional 13-week cycles.

Broker Michele Kleier, president of Gumley Haft Kleier and a principal character on the show, said she remained upbeat on the market, and had already scheduled a series of showings for September.

“I am not hearing from clients that they are losing their jobs,” she said. “We are not having the kind of nervousness we had last fall.

• Plunge in U.S. Home Sales Stokes Economy Fears

by David Kaufman

While it’s too soon to call it a full-fledged neo-Renaissance, Harlem is unquestionably happening. Buoyed by an influx of former downtowners and emboldened by a tradition of culture and creativity, the neighborhood is chockablock with new high-end shops, restaurants, music halls, lounges and even a luxury hotel. It’s all part of the quarter’s ongoing effort to establish itself as a must-visit Manhattan destination, even while it retains its distinctive character. Harlem may still be beloved for its hundreds of churches, elegant row houses, unexpected parkd tiny hos anme-cooking joints. But there’s another side of Harlem in the offing these days: sleek, chic and sophisticated. It’s Manhattan at its colorful best.

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By HILARY STOUT

Published: July 8, 2010

IN the hierarchy of tradeoffs that a Manhattan apartment buyer inevitably has to make, one in particular has reigned supreme: if you wanted prewar charm you were probably going to end up in a co-op.

Although that is still the case, things are changing. Over the past decade or so, conversion to condominiums has become the preferred path for developers seeking to shift a rental building over to ownership.

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