.....................Confessions of a NYC Real Estate Broker.....................

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2011-03-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

Freedom Tower is now "For Sale"

2010-01-04T10:31:00.000-08:00

The central tower at ground zero, designed to rise to 105 stories, has been characterized by some as a symbol of New York’s resilience, and reviled by others as a white elephant. Now it will pick up a new label: for sale.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey wants to sell the skyscraper, the former Freedom Tower, known now by its original name, 1 World Trade Center.

In recent days, the Port Authority has asked a select group of commercial real estate developers and owners to bid for a partnership interest in the $3.2 billion tower, according to a developer who was contacted by the authority.

The offering would allow the authority to raise what it hopes would be at least $100 million for the project. But the authority wants its new partner to take on the difficult task of marketing the skyscraper’s space and negotiating leases with corporate tenants.

Stephen Sigmund, a spokesman for the authority, acknowledged that a potential sale was in the offing.

“As 1 World Trade Center continues to rise into the city skyline,” he said Thursday, “the timing is right to determine whether there is a strategic partnership that can add long-term success to the building.”

Although the steel latticework is only about five floors above street level today, the skyscraper has been laden with enormous symbolic weight since its inception. It will stand 1,776 feet tall, in a nod to the country’s founding. The tower, with 2.6 million square feet, will also be among the most expensive office buildings in North America when it is completed in 2013.

The sales effort is likewise just getting off the ground. According to executives briefed on the Port Authority’s strategy, it has hired two real estate advisers, Cushman & Wakefield and Jones Lang LaSalle, to handle the negotiations with the prospective partners. The authority has identified a half-dozen companies with the financial wherewithal and the commercial expertise for the job, including Boston Properties, the Related Companies, the Durst real estate family, Hines, Vornado Realty Trust and Brookfield Properties, which owns the adjacent World Financial Center.

The bidders are being asked to sign a confidentiality agreement and are being given access to a restricted Web site with detailed information about the skyscraper.

It is not an especially auspicious time to be selling real estate. Values have plunged since the market peaked in 2007. Rents are down by as much as 45 percent, according to real estate brokers. And the office vacancy rate downtown is expected to climb above 10 percent as A.I.G., the insurance giant, reduces its presence and Goldman Sachs moves this year to its new heavily subsidized headquarters near ground zero.

The Port Authority is also at loggerheads with the developer Larry A. Silverstein, who leased the World Trade Center only weeks before it was destroyed in 2001. Mr. Silverstein wants to build three office towers at ground zero with Port Authority financing, but given the lack of demand, the authority favors a slow, phased approach to construction. The two sides are in the last stage of arbitration.

Still, a number of real estate investors have recently created funds to buy real estate, at the right price. The publicly traded real estate investment trusts, like Vornado and Boston Properties, raised tens of billions of dollars this year, in part to take advantage of falling prices.

The Port Authority, executives say, believes it has a saleable asset.

“There’s a substantial amount of real estate equity capital looking for the right investment,” said Michael Rotchford, the executive vice president at Cushman who is handling the partnership sale for the authority. “We think this is potentially one of the best real estate investments available in New York.”

In March, the Beijing Vantone Industrial Company, a Chinese real estate firm, signed a 23-year lease for the 64th through 69th floors at 1 World Trade Center. The authority has also signed preliminary agreements with the state and federal governments for an additional one million square feet.

By CHARLES V. BAGLI
Published: January 3, 2010

Centria Loft for rent

2009-07-11T16:25:00.000-07:00

333 East 45th St. beautiful 1 bedroom condo for sale NYC

2009-07-10T18:43:00.001-07:00

Gerhard Andlinger's Time Warner Penthouse, Once $65 M., Sells for $37.5 M. in Biggest Apartment Deal Since July '08

2009-06-30T16:47:00.001-07:00

It's been a humbling year for monstrously expensive, monumentally plush New York real estate: Not only is the most expensive townhouse ever sold in Manhattan asking a few million dollars less than it was bought for, but the price of Julian Schnabel's five-floor Palazzo Chupi penthouse has gone from $59 million to $38 million to $27.9 million.

Yet this month, according to city records filed late last week, a five-bedroom, 8,300-square-foot penthouse at the Time Warner Center, which was the single most expensive apartment on the market in New York City when it came on in 2008 for $65 million, has sold for just over half that asking price. Austrian-born, Princeton-educated investor Gerhard Andlinger got $37.5 million for his apartment, the biggest New York City residential deal in nearly one year. Nothing has sold for more than $35 million since a Fifth Avenue co-op was bought last July for $48,836,000, the appraiser Jonathan Miller confirmed.

Even if it seems odd and uncouth to complain about a $37.5 million real estate sale, the apartment was bought for $11.5 million less than its most recent, discounted tag. "It is a very low price," said Roger Erickson, the broker who sold a 75th-floor, 4,454-square-foot Time Warner apartment in January 2008 for $24.48 million. "What the hell did I get? I got $5,400 a square foot last year." Actually, he got $5,496.

Mr. Andlinger's penthouse, which was asking $7,831 per square foot back when the tag was $65 million, got $4,518.

"I think it's good news--it's a transaction happening!" Corcoran's Leighton Candler, who brokered the $48.8 million co-op deal last year, said Tuesday about the Time Warner sale. "Thirty-seven million is not chump change. That's a lot of money to spend on an apartment."

On the plus side, Mr. Andlinger paid only $25 million in March 2005 for the apartment, where the master bedroom suite includes an office, his-and-hers dressing rooms, his-and-hers bathrooms, and a gym; the 41-foot-long living room has floor-to-ceiling windows; the corner library/office is covered in red lacquer; the dining room has a view of the Hudson River; the pantry has a laundry center; and the five bedrooms all have en-suite bathrooms.

On the down side, the yearly maintenance charges and real estate taxes add up $356,316.

The apartment was bought anonymously under the name Southerndown, Inc. One lawyer listed on the deed did not return an email, and another declined to comment. Mr. Andlinger, who was barred from serving as a public company's director or officer for five years as part of a 2003 settlement with the SEC over insider trading allegations, could not be reached through his office, or at a Florida residence.

http://www.observer.com/2009/real-estate/gerhard-andlingers-time-warner-penthouse-once-65-m-sells-375-m-biggest-apartment-de

225 east 34th st, New York, NY | Powered by Postlets

2009-06-25T20:13:00.001-07:00

225 east 34th st, New York, NY | Powered by Postlets

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Home Buyer Tax Credit Could Expand

2009-06-22T10:04:00.000-07:00

A first-time home buyer tax credit of up to $8,000 has helped to move housing inventory during an otherwise sluggish real estate cycle. Now both legislators and the business community are hoping to build on the incentive's success by expanding it.

A number of bills have been introduced in the House and the Senate that lobby for an expansion of the measure. Among the proposed changes:

Setting a new cap of $15,000.
Extending the tax break into mid-2010.
Making the benefit available to all home buyers, not just first-timers.
Offering a separate tax credit to $3,000 for borrowers who refinance.

USA Today, Stephanie Armour (06/22/09)

Jon & Kate plus 8 Jon Gosselin is looking for a new place in NYC Trump Towers

2009-06-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

Jon Gosselin of “Jon & Kate Plus 8” is hunting for a new apartment in New York City, Access Hollywood has confirmed.

According to Gawker, who first reported the news, the reality star dad was recently spotted at Trump Place in the hallway of the building with a realtor on the eighth floor.

We talking condo or rental? 120 Riverside? 140? 160? Some poor US Weekly intern has a lot of brokers to call.

http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/search?search=trump+place

HOW TO LOOK FOR FORECLOSURES

2009-06-12T06:14:00.000-07:00

You would have to have been living in a cave these past few months if you haven't heard about the increase in foreclosed homes that have come on the market. Some states, like California and Florida, seem flooded with them. The tri-state area has its share, too.

There are foreclosure bargains on the market, but you have to be prepared with information and cash if you are serious about buying one. Don't expect to get a house for free -- banks want to make as much as they can, and even government foreclosures are not giveaways (although they can be cheaper than a bank-owned home).

That said, you can find great deals, especially if you are willing to put in a little TLC. (Foreclosures might have problems, starting with general neglect, depending on how long they have been on the market.) Here are a few points to consider as you start your search.

* FINDING HOMES

Government foreclosures, organized by state, can be found at hud.gov; the IRS lists them as well (ustreas.gov/auctions/irs/). These homes must be purchased and lived in or held for two years by the purchaser. Bank foreclosures can be found through banks, obviously (just go in and ask to see their listings), and via real estate agents. You can also use paid listing services that specialize in foreclosures, but in this market it's not really necessary.

* THE PROCESS

Each state has its own set of foreclosure laws. Don't go it alone -- consult a lawyer before you make a bid. And make sure you have the money to pay for the property. Most government foreclosures are sold on a cash basis. Bank foreclosures can be financed, but you need to be ready with pre-approval. Getting pre-approved for a mortgage also forces you to determine exactly how much you can spend on a property.

* CHECK OUT SEVERAL HOMES

Look at multiple foreclosures to get a sense of condition and price. You will see a wide range of homes in various states of disrepair. Some foreclosures will be in great shape -- many recently built homes have fallen into foreclosure or are available for short sale. (A short sale is when an owner cannot pay the mortgage and the lender accepts less than the total amount due on the mortgage from a new buyer.) Others may be in drastic states -- neglected, in disrepair or even victims of vandals (including angry homeowners). Be prepared and keep an open mind.

* GET AN INSPECTION

The market is still sluggish, so you do have time for this very important step: Hire a licensed home inspector to walk through the property to check the physical condition of the home's foundation, roof, plumbing, electrical system, appliances and structure. The inspector will provide you with a written report that details any issues, as well as the cost to repair them. Factor those costs into your bid. And don't bite off more than you can chew -- make sure you have a contractor lined up to make repairs and renovations if you decide to move forward.

* KNOW THE RULES

If you decide to terminate the purchase agreement for any reason, you could lose your initial deposit or down payment -- or both. So always read the fine print of any contract you sign, discuss it with your real estate agent and lawyer and understand exactly what you're getting into.

Buying a foreclosure could be your ticket to a beautiful home at a great price. Good luck!

Cashing in on the Housing Bailout

2009-06-12T05:46:00.001-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

New York Income Tax Changes for 2009

2009-06-10T07:14:00.001-07:00

Recently, New York State enacted new tax laws that include a significant increase in personal income tax for upper-income taxpayers.

Personal Income Tax Increase

Retroactive to January 1, 2009, two new personal income tax brackets are established on top of the current top tax rate of 6.85%. The rate increases to 7.85% for married couples filing joint with incomes over $300,000; for head of household filers with incomes above $250,000; and for single filers with income over $200,000.

The rate increases to 8.97% for all filers with incomes above $500,000.

Phase-out of Itemized Deductions

Retroactive to January 1, 2009, taxpayers with a New York adjusted gross income over $1 million may not claim any itemized deductions except for 50% of their charitable deductions. Previous law for taxpayers earning $525,000 or more allowed 50% of all NY eligible itemized deductions.

Supplemental Wage Withholding Rates

Effective May 1, 2009, for all supplemental wages, (bonuses, stock award vesting's, option exercises, etc.) - regardless of amount - the New York State withholding rate will increase to 11.03% from 7.35%. This applies to all supplemental payments, regardless of one's adjusted gross income. The New York City supplemental wage withholding rate remains unchanged (4.0%).

Quarterly Estimated Taxes

All New York taxpayers (resident and non-resident) must now be current on their tax liabilities based on the new rates. As a result, you may need to adjust your 2009 New York income tax withholdings and/or make estimated tax payments during 2009 to avoid any penalties. Note that if you are basing 2009 estimated tax payments on the 2008 "safe harbor amount", the 2008 tax must be recomputed using the new 2009 tax rates.

If you have any questions please contact your personal tax advisor

Barbara Corcoran explains the Making Home Affordable program

2009-06-09T15:34:00.000-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Barbara Corcoran, founder of the Corcoran Group, appeared on the Today Show yesterday to explain the Making Home Affordable program. Corcoran said communication from the government about the program is lacking, and that the first step is making sure homeowners qualify for either a loan modification or a refinancing by going to the Making Home Affordable Web site. Then, homeowners must get in touch with lenders' loan mitigation department. "The real problem is that people are calling the wrong people at the bank," Corcoran said, adding that when she tested some banks, many lenders did not know about the program. Corcoran said once the homeowner is able to navigate through the process, the loan modification or refinancing could significantly reduce monthly mortgage payments.

Boymelgreen faces lawsuit over 20 Pine loan

2009-06-09T15:32:00.000-07:00

Developer Shaya Boymelgreen is facing a lawsuit from Aristone Capital Funding after allegedly defaulting on a $3.2 million loan for Boymelgreen's former condominium project at 20 Pine Street in the Financial District.

Aristone, in a suit filed June 4 in New York State Supreme Court, alleges that Brooklyn-based Boymelgreen failed to repay the loan, missed a number of construction deadlines and failed to confirm whether he repaid the building's mortgage loan to Bank of America by October 2008.

The suit names Boymelgreen Family LLC as the borrower and Boymelgreen as the personal guarantor of the loan.

Records from the city Department of Finance show that in 2005, Bank of America lent $140 million to Boymelgreen and his investment partner Lev Leviev for the building.

In addition, Aristone alleges that Boymelgreen extended the maturity date of a mezzanine loan from Apollo Real Estate to April 1, 2009, without prior consent. City records show that Boymelgreen borrowed a $105 million mezzanine loan from Apollo.

Aristone is asking for repayment of the $3.2 million loan, unpaid interest of more than $471,000, nearly $204,000 in late charges, plus legal fees.

Richard Newman, an outside attorney for Boymelgreen, declined to comment. Boymelgreen company officials were not immediately available for comment.

The lawsuit comes four months after Africa Israel, led by Leviev, took control of the 409-unit property from Boymelgreen amid an uprising from condo owners.

At the time, about 50 owners hired attorney Adam Leitman Bailey to represent them and threatened litigation if common area construction was not completed. Bailey told The Real Deal yesterday that significant progress has been made at the building.

Africa Israel appointed a new managing director of sales and leasing and promised to finish construction of the building's common areas by June 1. Michael Shvo is the building's exclusive broker.

Africa Israel officials declined to comment.

Source: http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/shaya-boymelgreen-faces-lawsuit-over-20-pine-street-loan-aristone-capital-funding-lev-leviev-africa-israel

Condo Hotel... Gone For Good?? Trump Soho and The Plaza

2009-05-29T05:44:00.000-07:00

Like timeshares on steroids, condo-hotels appeared to offer the perfect real estate trifecta when the market was strong.

The units — which look like high-end hotel rooms but are sold as condos that buyers can stay in for about a third of the year — were long a win for developers, buyers and lenders.

Developers won because they were poised to reap profits both from condo sales and from the money generated on the nights the rooms were occupied by hotel guests. Buyers won because they were securing what appeared to be an appreciating real estate investment and had access to full-service hotel amenities. And financiers won because they were lending money on what seemed like two sure bets: the condo market and hotel market in Manhattan.

But with both the condo and hotel markets now faltering in the city, these hybrid units, which were emerging during the boom, are starting to look like less of a sure thing.

"The two markets that they touch, the condo market and the hotel market, have weakened," said Jonathan Miller, president of appraisal firm Miller Samuel. "The long-term view on both those property types is OK, just not today."

Others note that condo-hotel developments are not likely to be seen again in Manhattan anytime soon.
"Condo-hotels were really a financing gimmick in the boom era because it was a way that developers could finance a hotel that would otherwise not get built," said Jeff Davis, a senior vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels. "I don't think we're going to see any more condo-hotels."

While only two properties with true condo-hotel units have been developed in recent years — as opposed to developments such as the Time Warner Center, which has both the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and separate, standard condo units — experts say that if the market had stayed strong, others likely would have followed. And the two that were developed have been billed as the pinnacle of Manhattan luxury.

At the Trump Soho Hotel Condominium New York, a 391-unit project at 246 Spring Street, and the Plaza, which in addition to standard condo units and hotel rooms has 152 condo-hotel units, buyers can stay in their condos 120 days a year.

Donald Trump Jr., executive vice president of development and acquisitions at the Trump Organization, said he thinks Trump Soho, which is scheduled to open this fall, is still attractive to buyers, despite the current market.

"In the long term, real estate has always been a great investment, especially in Manhattan, [which] is the greatest tourist and business destination in the world," he said. "The Trump Soho purchaser is looking for the finest amenities and services, most luxurious rooms and the most trend-setting neighborhood outside their front door, and they will have that here."

Trump Soho promises to feature an array of high-end amenities, including an 11,000-square-foot spa, a library and a 190-seat Quattro restaurant.

The project is not the Trump Organization's first foray into condo-hotels: The Trump International Hotel & Tower, at 1 Central Park West, opened in 1997 and includes units sold as condo-hotel residences with owner-occupancy restrictions.

Trump Jr. said Trump Soho was more than 55 percent sold as of the middle of last month, and prices, which have hovered at around $3,000 per square foot, have not been reduced. Closings have not yet begun on the units, nor have nightly hotel rates been established.

Some in the hotel industry say condo-hotel units are not attractive in the short term, partly because rates for hotel rooms in Manhattan have taken a nosedive in recent months. Hotel rate drops also affect condo-hotel buyers because they receive a portion of the income from the days their units are rented out as typical hotel rooms. Experts say reduced income could act as a deterrent for buyers.

"Buyers would hope the [income from nightly hotel stays] would allow them to break even, but New York City is one of the worst lodging markets in the country right now," said Jones Lang LaSalle's Davis.

The Plaza, where condo-hotel units start at $1.5 million, has sold roughly the same percentage of its condo-hotel units as Trump Soho — about half — said one of the development's sales directors, Sassy Johnson, a senior vice president at Stribling. Sales of the Plaza's standard condos began in late 2005, and Johnson said the condo-hotel units came on the market about six months later. Johnson said the sales strategy with the condo-hotels has been to release just 20 to 25 units to the market at a time.

Joel Greene, president of Condo Hotel Center, a Florida-based online brokerage firm for condo-hotel properties since 2002, said that because of the recession, tourists are less likely to stay at high-end properties like the Plaza and Trump Soho. He said many will "trade down" for cheaper lodging.

"For example, people who may have stayed at a Trump might choose a Westin instead," said Greene, who worked on three sales at Trump Soho that ranged from $1.1 million to $1.9 million.

Condo-hotel developments were much more common in areas such as South Florida and Dubai than New York between the early 2000s and around 2006, when sales began declining, he said.

"It was a hot, hot market, with properties being resold for 50 percent more literally a few months later," said Greene, who said sales of condo-hotels are virtually nonexistent these days, particularly as banks have become hesitant to give buyers loans for the property type.

"Unfortunately, it was a market with a lot of speculative investments, where many people weren't looking at these as vacation homes but as investments," he said. "Now there is a glut of unsold units."

Meanwhile, sales of "fractionals," which are similar to condo-hotels, have been weak in recent months, as well, market observers say.

Fractionals, which involve the purchase of a portion of a condo deed, allow owners to stay in their units for a certain number of weeks a year. They are typically run by large hotel chains such as Starwood, Marriott and Fairmont.

In Manhattan, fractional ownership is offered at the Phillips Club at Lincoln Square and the St. Regis on 55th Street and Fifth Avenue.

The St. Regis Residence Club, run by Starwood, was launched in 2006 and included 22 units over two floors of the hotel. But fractional ownership recently was extended to units on two additional floors, said Leonel Piraino, a broker with Prudential Douglas Elliman who has five St. Regis fractional listings ranging in price from $332,500 to $500,000.

Owners at the St. Regis can stay in their units four weeks a year. Piraino said it has been "much more difficult" to sell the St. Regis units in recent months because of the economic downturn.

"In a regular economy, where people have a bit of money to play with, these are low numbers, so these types of properties will sell well," he said. "In this economy, people don't have the money for them because it's not a necessity. Like any other second or third home, these are less important than the primary home."

NYC in Review

2009-05-29T05:36:00.000-07:00

1.A look at William Waldorf Astor's buildings in the city [NYT]
2. New housing guidelines would give handicapped residents preference to live on lower floors of buildings [NYDN]
3. Vanderbilt Avenue will be closed to cars every Sunday in June [Brooklyn Paper]
4. Business owners protest creation of Fulton Street BID [Brooklyn Paper]
5. Department of Education takes space at Greenwich House [Villager]
6. Chatham Square critics rally to prevent project from getting funding [Downtown Express]

Nordstrom to take full block at Union Square

2009-05-29T05:30:00.000-07:00

With the Virgin Megastore liquidating the last of its wares before the multimedia monolith leaves Union Square, department store Nordstrom is inching closer to taking over the prized address on 14th St. and Broadway.

The retailer’s lower-priced spinoff, Nordstrom Rack, is currently working on a deal to take over the Virgin property after it shutters for good in the coming weeks.

According to reports, the department store’s reps have recently been negotiating with the property’s landlord, The Related Companies, to close on the Union Square South space for its first New York City location.

“We’re interested in Union Square, but we don’t have a deal yet,” Brooke White, a Nordstrom spokesperson, told Mixed Use. “We’ve looked at it, we’re talking to them, and it’s a possibility.” A Related Companies spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

While a Women’s Wear Daily report last week had the store negotiating for only the location’s lower level, broker Faith Hope Consolo said Nordstrom would likely take the whole space, including the adjoining property formerly occupied by Circuit City.

“It would be a dream deal,” she said, noting that the company has been shopping for space in Manhattan for quite some time. Consolo added that electronic/appliance retailer P.C. Richard & Son has also shown interest in the Circuit City space despite having a store just two blocks east of the location.

Nordstrom has flirted with Manhattan in recent years, but given the negotiability of today’s market and the store’s regional presence, the deal “definitely makes sense,” Consolo said.

“It would be a very exciting addition to the retail landscape, and very welcome,” she explained, citing the address’s proximity to other cheap-chic department stores in Union Square. “Nordstrom in any form is what Manhattan’s been waiting for.”

source: http://www.thevillager.com/villager_317/mixeduse.html

Housing Prices Down, New Buyers Buying

2009-05-14T10:49:00.000-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Pending home sales rise 3.2 percent in March

2009-05-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Rental Rates Shift for month of April

2009-05-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

Manhattan rents changed slightly between March and April, according to the April rental market analysis released today by brokerage Citi Habitats. Studio apartment rents held steady at an average of $1,774. One-bedroom rents fell slightly to $2,434 from $2,443, and two-bedroom rents dipped to $3,460 from $3,551. Rents for three-bedrooms rose to $4,607 from $4,594. The overall vacancy rate fell to 2.28 percent from 2.37 in March. Midtown East had the highest vacancy rate, at 2.7 percent, of the 11 neighborhoods included in the report, while the Soho/Tribeca area had the lowest, at 1.78 percent.

http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/residential-rents-shift-slightly-in-april-citi-habitats-gary-malin

RETAIL CASHES IN ON OBAMA FAME

2009-05-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

Don't be surprised to see a dish in honor of President Barack Obama turn up at your local restaurant. New York City eateries have been naming items, and sometimes their own shops, after the president. Sixpoint Craft Ales in Brooklyn named a beer after the president, called Hop Obama, but the Department of Homeland Security made the brewery stop producing the beer. And two fried chicken restaurants, one in Brooklyn and the other in Manhattan, renamed their restaurants Obama Fried Chicken. Also, Ray's Candy Store in the East Village has been advertising its Obama coffee, Obama cheeseburgers and Obama fries since before the election.

Robin Abrams, executive vice president at Lansco Corp., compares the shop owners using Obama's name to products with celebrity endorsements, and says as long as the public has a positive image of the president, retailers will probably keep naming products after him.

"Cashing in on positive public thinking about Obama is something that makes sense," Abrams said.

But some say using the president's name for stores or products is disrespectful. "It desecrates the president's position, his stature and respect that's owed to him by being president," said Alan Victor, another Lansco executive vice president.

Some New Yorkers agree. Rev. Al Sharpton and about 20 area residents protested Obama Fried Chicken in Brooklyn, saying that it conjures up racial stereotypes, according to a story last month in the New York Times. A spokesperson for the White House said it disapproves of using Obama's name for commercial purposes.

The president is not the only one making waves in retail. Fashion purveyors are benefiting from the extensive coverage of Michelle Obama's style.

After the first lady wore a J. Crew ensemble on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and was photographed in London wearing the retailer's apparel, sales online and in stores skyrocketed. J. Crew promoted the clothing on its Web site and traffic to the Web site increased by 464 percent compared to the previous day.

http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/retail-cashes-in-on-obama-fame

Manhattan is Calling you to come back

2009-05-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

ANDREW BAISLEY described himself as a “cheerleader for Brooklyn” — at least until a month ago, when the proud Bushwickian decided to take a peek at the Manhattan rental market. Now he has a one-bedroom in Chelsea with outdoor space and a 10-minute commute, all for an “unbelievable” $2,100 a month
“When you go to Manhattan, there’s an air of selling out,” he says. “I’ve accepted that.”

Great Recession prices are drawing even the most loyal outer-borough dwellers back to Manhattan. The migrants hail from Hoboken, Astoria and the brownstone blocks off Prospect Park, as New Yorkers who found themselves priced out of the gilded isle in the boom years are bidding farewell to long commutes and skinny-jean chic.

Among the lures: $1,600 one-bedrooms on the Lower East Side. Lenient landlords who no longer require security deposits. And an overriding sense that an obscenely overpriced borough is now, well, slightly more reasonably overpriced.

“There’s a part of me that feels like I’m cheating on Brooklyn,” said Keith O’Brien, a 30-year-old in marketing and public relations who recently jumped from a spacious two-bedroom in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, to a Lower East Side walk-up. “But this was a unique moment in real estate history where renters have the upper hand, which seemed unbelievable a couple of years ago. I realized that it would have been foolish not to start looking at places.”

For an extra $100 a month, Mr. O’Brien — a seven-year Brooklyn stalwart — is now enjoying a trendy location and a six-minute commute, in exchange for losing half of his living space. “There’s no sink in the bathroom,” he said, “but concessions must be made.”

Newly minted Manhattanites range from 30-somethings seeking a professional edge through a shorter commute, to out-of-work recent graduates who think they can get a better deal on the Upper East Side than in the usual post-college enclaves of Williamsburg and Fort Greene.

Numbers on the New York rental market are notoriously unreliable, but recent reports suggest that rents are falling faster in Manhattan than in neighboring boroughs.

In the first three months of the year, one-bedroom rents in Manhattan fell 6.7 percent compared with the previous year, while Brooklyn one-bedrooms dropped just 3.2 percent, according to data from Citi Habitats and Ideal Properties Group, both brokerage firms. Other reports show some Manhattan rents down by 10 percent from a year ago.

“I just got lucky with the whole financial meltdown,” said Kristi Giamichael, 26, who earlier this year gleefully tracked falling rental prices on Craigslist from the Hoboken duplex that she shared with two friends. She liked her neighborhood bar scene and the $1,172 rent, but realized Manhattan was no longer prohibitively expensive.

On May 1, Ms. Giamichael and a roommate moved into an 800-square-foot one-bedroom in Ruxton Towers, a landmark prewar building on 72nd Street off Central Park West. The two will split the $2,600 rent, and the landlord paid the fee to their broker, Caroline Bass of Citi Habitats.

Like many young adults, Ms. Giamichael moved to New York at a time of brutally high rents in Manhattan. Those seeking perks like in-house gyms and roof decks flocked to Hoboken and Long Island City, where amenities could be had for the price of a Yorkville walk-up.

Now, prices at upscale rental buildings like 45 Wall Street have come down significantly, discounted by 15 to 20 percent in recent weeks. At 20 Exchange Place, a tricked-out conversion around the corner from the Stock Exchange, the management company will waive the security deposit if the prospective tenant’s credit checks out. Stuyvesant Town offers the same perk on some apartments, along with waiving the broker’s fee.

“We do see that certain neighborhoods in Manhattan may be a better deal than certain neighborhoods in the boroughs,” said Stephen Love, a broker at Ardor Realty.

So some New Yorkers who came to appreciate the outer boroughs — spacious apartments, neighborhood charm — are finding reasons to return.

Matthew Creamer spent nearly a decade in Brooklyn (with a brief stopover in Hoboken), rotating through Smith Street, Cobble Hill and finally Sunset Park, where he spent four happy years in a 1,000-square-foot one-bedroom for $1,400 a month.

“I told a lot of friends that I would never move back from Brooklyn, had no desire to move back to Manhattan,” he recalled. “I said that on a lot of occasions.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/realestate/10cov.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=realestate

Paul Macapagal with Prudential Douglas Elliman Rated #1 by J.D. Powers and Associates

2009-05-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

Manhattan Financial District Condos Get Deepest Price Cuts

2009-05-07T10:52:00.000-07:00

Real-estate broker Ronnie Diamonde expected the three-bedroom apartment in New York’s Financial District, listed in August for $1.64 million and seen by 145 potential buyers, to sell in eight weeks.

The condominium in the triangular-shaped Cocoa Exchange building was reduced twice by a total 21 percent over four months to $1.3 million, according to Streeteasy.com, a service that tracks New York real estate prices. A buyer will probably sign a contract this week for even less, said Diamonde, of the Corcoran Group, who has three other listings in the building.

The Financial District suffered the deepest price cuts in Manhattan in the first quarter as securities firms shed more than 180,000 jobs in the Americas. Manhattan apartment sales fell 48 percent from a year earlier, real-estate appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. said. Sellers lowered prices on almost a third of condo or co-op listings by an average of 11 percent in the Financial District, according to Streeteasy.

Downtown has been “disproportionately impacted by the layoffs and contraction of the financial-services sector,” said Jonathan Miller, president of New York-based Miller Samuel.

In TriBeCa, the site of converted warehouses and the TriBeCa Film Festival, 24 percent of advertised apartments were discounted by an average of 11 percent, Streeteasy said. The deepest cut in the area is at 39 Worth St., which is listed at $5.99 million, a 40 percent discount, Streeteasy said.

SoLow

Sellers in SoHo, home to shops including Prada and Morgane Le Fay, lowered 27 percent of listings by an average of almost 11 percent in the first quarter.

Spurred by tax breaks, developers moved into the Financial District after the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Prices climbed as they bought office buildings and converted them into upscale condominiums.

“The Financial District was definitely an emerging neighborhood,” said Sofia Kim, vice president of research at Streeteasy. “People were being priced out of TriBeCa, but wanted to stay in the school district.”

Then the recession hit and investment banking profits vanished amid more than $1.3 trillion in global writedowns and credit market losses tied to the collapse of the U.S. mortgage market. Wall Street bonuses dropped 44 percent last year, according to New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

Cipriani Club Cut

“In any sort of a downturn, the neighborhoods that suffer first and fastest are the emerging areas,” Kim said.

Five of the area’s 10 biggest price reductions are at the Cipriani Club Residences at 55 Wall St., where markdowns ranged from 21 percent to 27 percent as of this week, according to Streeteasy. Prices were whittled at 18 of the building’s apartments in the first quarter. That number now stands at 27.

The dwellings are attached to a restaurant, party and concert space. Amenities include a wine vault, a movie screening room with velvet recliners, a barber shop and free muffins and croissants delivered daily to residents’ doors.

A 1,500-square-foot, two-bedroom condo, listed in June 2006 at $2.55 million, is now advertised for $1.85 million.

Steven Witkoff, co-developer of the project, didn’t return calls for comment.

No Magician

“That area was less about infrastructure and was more like, ‘Don’t you want to live in this cool building because it has a cool name?’” said Kathy Braddock, a partner at real- estate consultant Braddock & Purcell.

At 15 Broad St., in a building known as Downtown by Philippe Starck, Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate broker and managing director Jacky Teplitzky gave up a listing after deciding she couldn’t sell the apartment.

“I’m good at what I do, but I’m not a magician,” Teplitzky said in an interview. “There were no showings, no nothing. Inventory was mounting and mounting and mounting.”

There are 45 apartments for sale in the building, according to Streeteasy.

There are 11,150 sales listings in Manhattan as of this week, according to Streeteasy, which counts only listings that are exclusive to a brokerage and that have verified addresses. The number is higher than any that Miller Samuel has counted since it began tracking inventory in 1999. About 30 percent of current listings, or 3,345, are downtown, which is defined as the area below 34th Street, Streeteasy said.

Kelly MacDonell, 34, an executive at Aeropostale Inc., and Todd Watkins, 40, considered moving from the Upper West Side to the Financial District. They abandoned plans to buy in a new building on the Upper East Side when the builder failed to finish it on time.

‘Dead’ Area?

On a Sunday tour of open houses in early April, the couple’s concerns about a “dead at night” neighborhood vanished as they passed tourists snapping photos of the New York Stock Exchange and sipping beer at the outdoor cafes of Stone Street.

They toured a two-room, 15th-floor condo at the Cocoa Exchange, on the market since October and discounted 10 percent to $439,000. They liked that the building was finished and occupied. They didn’t like the apartment’s size -- 370 square feet -- and decided not to buy.

“I’m pretty brutal in my offers, anyway,” Watkins said.

The owner took the unit off the market five days later even after accepting a bid in the “low fours,” Diamonde said.

“He was tired of people low-balling,” Diamonde said.

5 tips on buying a foreclosed home

2009-05-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

1. Finding one has become easier

You don't need to show up at courthouse auctions or comb through legal filings. These days many banks sell foreclosed homes through real estate agents.

To find listings, look on sites that specialize in foreclosed properties, such as realtytrac.com and foreclosurepoint.com. The local multiple-listing service often has selections as well. (The fact that the home is in foreclosure is not always highlighted in the MLS, but it's often mentioned in the description.)

Finally, some agents specialize in foreclosures, so call your local realtor's office and ask for a referral.

2. It's best to buy from a bank

If you buy a foreclosed home at an auction before the bank repossesses it, you'll have to pay in cash, and you usually cannot inspect the property. You may also later discover that there are liens against it.

When a bank takes back a home, however, it will clear any outstanding liens. Plus, when you buy a bank-owned property, you can inspect it beforehand, and you can finance the purchase with a mortgage. Leave your suitcase full of cash at home.

3. Bring in a contractor before you buy

Many foreclosed homes have been abandoned, some even vandalized, and they often require major repairs. "One mistake a lot of people make is underestimating how much work it needs and the cost," says Rick Sharga of RealtyTrac.

To avoid getting stuck with a surprise bill, ask a contractor to give you an estimate of how much the restoration will cost and how long it will take. Many will do so for free in hopes of winning your business.

4. Bid low

Banks aren't necessarily selling foreclosures at fire-sale prices; some are listed at market value, says Gene Hacker, a broker in Orange County, Calif. So be prepared to haggle. The bigger the inventory of foreclosed homes the bank has and the longer the property has sat, the greater your chances of nabbing a great deal, says Chris Matty of ForeclosurePoint.com.

Set your initial offer about 20% below market price - or more if your area has a lot of foreclosures.

5. Be prepared to wait

While some lenders are getting back to bidders within 36 hours, others are dealing with an enormous backlog that can hold up their response for as long as three months. While you wait, someone can trump you with a higher offer.

To boost your chances at scoring a home you love, have multiple properties in mind, and get your financing pre-approved before you bid. Even if the lender says it has another offer, follow up every week - these deals can often fall through.

WILLIAMSBURG BROOKLYN BUILDINGS TAKE A CHAINSAW TO THEIR PRICES

2009-05-01T10:53:00.000-07:00

MORE than any other Brooklyn neighborhood, Williamsburg went cuckoo for condos during the recent residential boom. Whole blocks of warehouses and factories were razed or gutted, and condos sprouted like the pages of a pop-up book.

From the massive high rises on the waterfront to the boutique buildings near trendy Bedford Avenue, thousands of units were planned. And many were built.

"[Williamsburg] has the highest concentration of new development of any Brooklyn neighborhood," says Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel.

A recent search for Brooklyn condos on Streeteasy.com showed Williamsburg availability at nearly twice that of the neighborhood with the second-highest concentration in the borough: 656 condos in Williamsburg to Downtown Brooklyn's 336. And as new units gather dust all over the city, many Williamsburg developers now realize that, with regard to prices, they have to go low or go bust.

The most notable example of developers taking action is the February decision Toll Brothers made to hack prices at the first tower of Northside Piers by more than 22 percent.

The waterfront development had moved 100 units right out of the gate back in 2007. But sales had been at a near standstill since the rug was pulled from under the real estate world last fall. So Toll Brothers took units that had come on the market at an average of $900 per square foot and repriced them at an average of $700 a foot.

"We've been somewhat aggressive on the pricing of the first tower," says David Von Spreckelsen, senior vice president of Toll Brothers.

"We came on in October with the second tower, with 270 units. That's a lot of units to move, and we looked at it as excess inventory in the first tower. We had units sitting ready for occupancy."

The strategy seems to be working. In the two months since Northside Piers dropped prices, 25 first-tower units have sold.

But buyers weren't the only ones who responded to Toll Brothers' move. Rival developers were paying attention to Northside Piers' price drop and the resulting uptick in sales as well.

"When they dropped those prices, they made anyone inland have to look at their prices," says David Maundrell, president of brokerage Aptsandlofts.com. "We had to be realistic and do what Toll Brothers is doing because it's only a matter of time before buyers realize they can buy for $650 [per square foot] near the water.

"We needed to give a discount, so we're trading at $595," adds Maundrell, referring to Evry, a new 14-unit loft building he's selling at 273 Manhattan Ave.

Read: Toll Brothers effectively repriced much of Williamsburg.

Along with their new low prices, Toll Brothers is offering incentives to drum up sales. Northside Piers buyers can take advantage of a protection plan, which covers mortgage payments for a year if buyers lose their jobs. The developers are also experimenting with a rent-to-buy model for 15 units -- five of which are still available.

Other buildings that aren't as keen to drop apartment prices have also created incentives. Condo buyers at 80 Metropolitan, like Carrie Salter, have been offered the option of purchasing a private rooftop cabana at a large discount. Salter grabbed one for $11,000 to go along with her $599,000, 770-square-foot one-bedroom. Eighty Metropolitan is just more than 40 percent sold and is priced at $830 a square foot.

But most brokers have found that the only way to move a lot of units is by lowering prices.

"The incentives can help," says Von Spreckelsen. "But I think what's really appealing to people are competitive prices."

"The open houses are so full of people because we listed a unit over 1,000 square feet with a terrace in the mid-[$500,000s], which is unheard of," says Prudential Douglas Elliman broker Lior Barak, referring to the Jacksonia, a new building at 131-145 Jackson St. that has recently lowered prices on multiple units.

And Mason Fisk, a 26-unit conversion at 72 Berry St. that re-evaluated its pricing before coming on the market, has become the Williamsburg success story of late.

"We were very sensitive to the way the world has changed," says Corcoran Group broker Deborah Rieders, the sales director at Mason Fisk. Rather than come on the market with pre-2008 prices, the team took 15 to 20 percent off the initial offering plan numbers. Units are on sale for an average $650 a foot.

"We didn't want them to sit. We wanted them to sell," says Rieders.

And sell they have. Mason Fisk has moved 70 percent of its inventory, 18 of 26 units, since coming on the market in early March.

"I've always wanted to buy," says Patrick Nolan, a friend of Rieders who rented in Williamsburg off and on for 20 years before buying a 1,214-square-foot one-bedroom with a home office on the second floor of Mason Fisk. "I sort of challenged Deb to find me a place that I like in the neighborhood that I love for a price I could afford."

The lesson of Mason Fisk, Rieders says, is that buildings "have to be priced well right out of the gate." If they're not, they'll "end up chasing the market."

Yet, some developers just don't seem to be worried either way, refusing to take an ax to their prices or to offer up a bevy of perks.

Douglaston Development, developer of the Edge, whose initial phase includes two waterfront condo buildings with a total of 565 units, is offering units at an average of $950 per square foot, which is exactly where the prices were when sales started about a year ago. And the second phase includes plans for 510 more units.

"We have the good fortune of not having a product that is finished," says Jeffrey Levine, chairman of Douglaston Development, who expects move-ins at the Edge to start next year.

"We can be patient because we believe that once the economy begins to turn that people will see this as an opportunity to buy quality units in prime Williamsburg below replacement cost."

(It should be noted that Northside Piers, too, has priced its second tower optimistically, at an average of $850 per square foot, for similar reasons; it's not ready yet, either.)

Levine's confidence aside, the Edge has sold just 120 units -- about 20 percent -- of the total available in its first phase, and most of them from April to September of last year. Which is only feeding rumblings among area brokers who say it might not be long before the Edge follows the crowd and adjusts its prices as well.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04302009/realestate/will_of_the_people_166822.htm?&page=2

After Five Price Chops, a $35 M. Mansion (Sort Of) Goes to Auction

2009-05-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

The story of 11 East 74th Street is the story of the new New York, or at least that slice of Manhattan where the townhouses come with six stories, seven bedrooms, walnut paneling, and marble-saturated bathrooms. In 2006, a family of developers named the Rinzlers paid $11,230,700 for the house, and a year later put it back on the market for $35 million, a tag that fell to $32.5 million, $29,275,000, $26,975,000, $24.95 million, and then to $20.95 million last month.

But on the afternoon of May 14, the 10,800-square-foot townhouse is going to auction with an opening bid of $15 million. (Brokers involved, plus the executives at the newly formed Bid on the City, which is handling the process, prefer the phrase "sales event.")

Bid on the City's Ukraine-born founders Vlad Sapozhnikov and Albert Feinstein said in an interview on Wednesday that 11 East 74th Street will be their firm's first sale, though on May 17 they'll be selling off four much smaller apartments. The townhouse's brokers, Rachel Koenig and Lisa Simonsen, are keeping their listing, though Mr. Sapozhnikov said that under normal circumstances his firm would be handling pre-sale marketing, with a focus on "foreign buyers and ethnic buying."

Ms. Koenig—who contacted Bid on the City after reading about them in The Times—said there's an undisclosed reserve price that's above the $15 million minimum bid. "Once the reserve is met," she explained, "it will go to the highest bidder."

How many people have signed up for the auction? None so far, Mr. Feinstein said, because sign-ups begin on May 5, the day after an appointment-only open house.

How to bequeath your home to your kids

2009-04-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The end of the housing crisis is near...

2009-04-25T18:20:00.000-07:00

Free Smart Car in Harlem

2009-04-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, several brokerage firms closed their Harlem offices, amid a slump in new condominium sales. But there are signs that the new condo market in Harlem is not quite dead yet, as buyers have begun signing contracts once more.

Stephen G. Kliegerman, the executive director of Halstead Development Marketing, said that after a lull in the last few months of 2008, Harlem is now the firm’s most active buyer’s market. Since December, he said, 20 buyers have signed contracts at the Kalahari, a new development on West 116th Street near Lenox Avenue.

The firm represents 15 developments in Harlem.

Now, another 34 condos are going on the market in two new glass-and-metal-clad buildings on West 123rd Street near Lenox Avenue, with an unusual amenity: a free Smart Car for those who purchase a small parking space for $65,000. Smart Cars cost about $15,000.

The developers, Jeffrey Bennett and Refik Radoncic, appear unfazed by the turmoil sweeping the Manhattan condominium market and the mortgage industry. Mr. Bennett said their new project was built to a high standard for affluent buyers, with generous layouts, nine-foot ceilings, central air-conditioning, limestone terraces and a 3,000-square-foot rooftop garden. The project is called Windows on 123.

Though low-cost mortgages are hard to come by in some new developments, Mr. Bennett said he was not worried. He said he was not looking for first-time buyers. “We are trying to attract a much more established crowd,” he said, “empty nesters moving from Connecticut or downtown, an artsy crowd.”

Prices at Windows on 123 average just over $700 per square foot, he said, but the layouts are larger than in some other Harlem projects. Two-bedrooms range from about $750,000 to $970,000.

David Daniels, a broker at the Corcoran Group, threw out the idea of a free car with a parking-place purchase almost as a joke at a marketing meeting, Mr. Bennett said.

“My partner and I looked at each other and smiled,” he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/realestate/19deal2.html?ref=realestate

The MARKET IS RIPE FOR THE SECOND HOME PURCHASE

2009-04-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

How to buy a short sale...

2009-04-16T05:48:00.000-07:00

When Brian Gavitt, a physician, and his wife Gayleen, a stay-at-home mom, started to eye homes in Sacramento last winter, they knew they were looking in the hardest-hit areas of the housing bust. So the couple, who were relocating from Lansing, figured they could land a fantastic bargain in no time at all.

The part about the bargain turned out to be true. The Gavitts bought a five-bedroom house in the upscale Natomas Park neighborhood ("Even now, you don't see FOR SALE signs up anywhere," says Gayleen.) And it was a steal at $300,000, a full $200,000 less than they would have paid just two years ago.

The amount of time it took to land the deal was another story. It was more than six months from when the Gavitts first saw their dream home to the moment they held the keys in their hands. The reason: The home they bought was a short sale.

Not along ago, few people had even heard of a short sale, which occurs when the bank agrees to discount the loan balance for a seller who owes more on his mortgage than the home is currently worth.

If you're in the market for a home today, you're almost guaranteed to be looking at some short sales. Nationwide, 14% of homeowners are currently underwater on their mortgages, calculates real estate website Zillow.com. And in many areas, it's far more: In the Gavitts' zip code, for example, over half of homeowners would owe more than their home is worth if they sold today, calculates Dee Schwindt, the Gavitts' realtor.

The good news is that short sellers are likely to still be living in the home and some may even be current on their payments. That means these aren't the run-down, distressed properties that you often find among foreclosures; in fact, there's a good chance that some of the most deluxe homes for sale in your market are underwater.

Before you get too excited about buying a short sale, know that they generally aren't, well, short. For the sale to go through, the seller's lender must approve the price and agree to take the shortfall as a loss. That extra step can cause the process to drag on three times as long as a normal home sale.

But as the Gavitts discovered, the hassles can be well worth it. Some buyers and realtors don't want to deal with short sales, leaving many choice homes with very few bidders. So if you're willing to brave the intricacies of the process, you'll be far more likely to land the home you always wanted. The key to snagging a good deal is knowing how to avoid the land mines.

Know what you're getting into. In a short sale, you are dealing with several parties: the sellers, their agent and the sellers' lender. That's why a short sale can take anywhere between two and six months to execute, compared with about 30 days for a typical sale. Though many banks are willing to take a loss on a mortgage in a short sale if it means avoiding an even bigger loss in a foreclosure, with so many owners trying to unload properties, the lender's negotiators are flooded with short-sale offers. So if you're moving or selling another property, keep in mind that you'll likely need to budget for a few months' worth of rental payments so you have somewhere to live in the interim.

Find the right pro. Lenders often make realtors who work on short sales take a hit on their commission, so some brokers may be loath to show you the listings. But don't even think about going solo. These deals take a lot of work and persistence, says Loni Parmelly, author of Success in Short Sales. Before you sign up with an agent, ask him how many short sales he's closed. If he hasn't done at least two, find someone more experienced.

Weed out candidates. In most cities, home listings will indicate in the description whether the property is a short sale. Ideally, you want to knock off ones that come with extra complexities. If possible, pass on any home that has more than one lien against it; having to negotiate loans with two lenders can greatly increase the amount of time it takes to complete the deal. Also avoid homes where the seller has other offers. That's because if another offer is pending, the seller's agent isn't likely to even submit yours for approval until the first one is rejected, meaning you'll have to wait for another negotiation to play out before you even get a chance.

Set the right price. The first step is to have your agent submit your offer to the seller. Don't just rely on the current list price to come up with your initial bid, says Bill Richardson, a district sales manager for the Keyes Co. Realtors in Boca Raton, Fla. The seller's agent may have far underpriced it in hopes of attracting buyers, but the bank likely won't accept a lowball offer. Ask your agent to determine the home's fair market value by searching comparable sales in the area, with an emphasis on other short sales and foreclosures (or get a rough estimate yourself at zillow.com). If the fair market value is lower than the list price, set your offer 10% lower than that.

At this point, you'll also want to get pre-approval for a mortgage; many banks won't even consider your offer if you don't have one, says Schwindt.

Protect yourself. Next, the seller's agent will submit your offer to the seller's lender. At this point, you'll be asked to sign a sales contract. See if the lender will agree to pick up all closing costs as part of the contract, says author Parmelly. Also ask your realtor to specify that you won't do an appraisal or inspection of the property until the offer is approved. That way you won't have to shell out hundreds of dollars until you know you realistically have a good chance of getting the home.

Finally, though most lenders will require you to make some kind of deposit along with the contract, don't put down more than $3,000 before your bid is accepted. That will give you room to put offers on other homes or even to pull out of the sale if it drags on for too long.

Be a pain in the neck. After your offer is submitted to the lender, you're likely to hear nothing for weeks, if not months. This is no time to relax. Call your agent at least once a week, and make sure the seller's agent is contacting the bank's negotiator nearly every day.

"These negotiators may have 400 files on their desk. They'll want to get rid of the squeaky wheels," says Parmelly, who worked as a loan negotiator for lenders for 16 years. To help the seller's realtor in her negotiations with the lender, it's a good idea to have your agent show her which comparable homes you used to arrive at your number.

If the clock keeps ticking and you're reaching the end of your rope, try playing hardball. After months, the lender the Gavitts negotiated with was still dragging its feet and their pre-approved loan rate was about to expire. "We said, 'We need an answer by Friday or we walk,' " Gayleen says. The bank responded by week's end.

Keep your eye on the market. When the bank finally sends its counter-offer, use it as a guideline rather than an ultimatum. Most of the time, the lender's number is based on its own research, that of a local realtor it hires and the outstanding loan balance. Usually its goal is to sell for at least 90% of the home's value, says Amy Bohutinsky, a spokes-person for Zillow.com.

The lender's offer may not be what you'd hoped for, but don't despair: You have a chance to counter. If the market has been flat since your initial bid, try for 5% to 10% less than the bank's number. If the market has been sinking rapidly, however, you may be able to prove that the home's value has shrunk further and offer even less. Once you have the lender's ear, the new offer should take less time to process.

Despite all the legwork and wait, the Gavitts are thrilled with their new home. "I'm glad people are turned off by short sales," says Brian. "It just means more choices for the rest of us.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/27/real_estate/short_sale.moneymag/index.htm?postversion=2009031607

Madonna buys new townhouse in NYC $40 million

2009-04-15T17:30:00.001-07:00

Madonna is moving to the Upper East Side, The Post has learned.

Madge has signed a contract to buy a four-story, Georgian-style townhouse on East 81st Street for about $40 million, sources said.

That's some $5 million less than the original asking price.

"The townhouse is perfect for Madonna," according to one source.

"She's trying to recreate London in New York City, and this is in the style of a London townhouse."

But her new home in what brokers call the "Far East" does not appear to be all that much of a bargain.

No residence in that area "has ever sold for $20 million, let alone $30 million -- or ever will again," said one broker who asked not to be identified.

The kaballah convert will also find the house has bad vibes -- specifically from the Lexington Avenue subway.

People inside the 26-room mansion can hear and feel the trains coming through, according to one visitor.

But on the plus side, the double-wide mansion does have a two-car garage, a 3,000-square- foot garden, nine fireplaces, an elevator and a wine cellar with a grotto.

And with 13 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms, it certainly has the space to accommodate Madonna's family, which -- at this point -- does not include even a semi-permanent replacement for ex-hubby Guy Ritchie.

While Madonna, 50, originally turned up her nose at the location -- between Lexington and Third avenues -- the home's style and garage proved irresistible, according to the source.

But it's not yet in move-in condition.

The Material Girl plans extensive renovations, along with major security upgrades.

To further reproduce her British lifestyle in New York, Madonna is continuing her quest for an English-style home in the horse country of the East End of Long Island or Westchester.

Madonna said she'd move to Malawi after a judge there ruled earlier this month that she could not adopt a second child -- Mercy James, 4 -- from that country because the singer had not lived there the required 18 months.

"Madonna has a big beautiful plot of land over there already," a source told The Sun newspaper in London.

"She's planning to build a girls school. But she's gone back to the designers and asked if they could accommodate a family home on the plot or on adjacent land."

She already has three kids, Lourdes, 12, Rocco, 8, and David Banda, 3, whom she adopted from Malawi in 2006 after a more sympathetic judge gave his approval.

When Mayor Bloomberg was asked today whether he'd send Madonna a thank you note for buying a new place - a boost to the city's sagging revenues - he said, "No. But we do plan to send her a bill."

Average Home Price Drops to $660K; Hello, Half-a-Mill?; Keep an Eye on Condos

2009-04-09T06:53:00.000-07:00

The uber-powerful Real Estate Board of New York has weighed in on the local housing market in the first quarter, presenting a rather comprehensive body of stats that spills out into all boroughs and that shows, like reports last week covering Manhattan, drooping sales and largely steady prices.

The most striking stat, as far as we can tell: $660,000 was the average home sales price for the entire city in the first quarter, and that represents a 23 percent decline from a year ago. One can easily make the mental leap: Another 20 percent drop in prices (totally plausible, given anemic sales and mounting job losses) and the average New York City home price approaches half a million dollars. Imagine the public perception shift!

Condos appear to be buoying the citywide average. The average condo sales price in the first quarter was $1,156,000, down 10 percent annually, but well above the average for co-ops of $518,000.

Keep an eye on the condo market, then, and watch absorption of existing inventory; once buyers gobble up the existing availability, given the lack of new development (there's a credit crunch, have you heard?), the averages across the board should start to come down. Whether this translates quickly into more sales is a toss-up: New York has a finite supply of housing and developable sites. Sell down inventory and prices could actually climb sharply as demand outpaces supply.

For now, though, at least according to REBNY, condos are the driver of the citywide average, and, therefore, of a lot of public perception. That perception could turn much sunnier or gloomier, depending on where one stands in the market, once the average tickles $500,000. (And just a quick aside: No one rattles off $1 million as the average apartment price anymore, do they? It probably still very much is in Manhattan, but you don't see it in newspaper leads or on the news or in the blogs that much. It used to be the capo di tutti capi of housing stats in this town.)

A couple of other takeaways from the REBNY report:

Average prices per foot in the first quarter:

Manhattan $1,162

Bronx $240

Brooklyn $368

Queens $316

Staten Island $262

Median prices:

Manhattan $846,000

Bronx: $360,000

Brooklyn: $457,000

Queens: $390,000

Staten Island: $369,000

http://www.observer.com/2009/real-estate/average-home-price-drops-660k-hello-half-mill-keep-eye-condos

Bernie Madoff Strikes again

2009-04-08T04:59:00.000-07:00

Can't sell your home??

2009-04-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

Centria 1 bed 1 bath....

2009-04-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

Report on the New York State Budget

2009-04-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

OVERVIEW

The New York State Legislature passed a $131.8 billion budget, an increase of 10.1 percent ($12.1 billion) over last year’s final budget.

In explaining the significant spending growth, the State has maintained that this growth is the result of the economic stimulus funds. However, without these federal funds, state spending increased 4.7 percent ($5.9 billion), significantly greater than inflation and the budgets of most businesses around the state.

GAP CLOSING ACTIONS

The budget closes a record $17.7 billion deficit, primarily with new revenue. The new taxes, fees and the economic stimulus funds account for almost 80 percent ($14 billion) of the deficit closing action. Genuine spending cuts represent 20 percent ($3.7 billion) of the deficit reduction.

The new revenue includes $6.2 billion in economic stimulus funds, $6.1 billion in tax increases ($4.1 billion in personal income taxes, $600 million in assessments on energy utilities, $423 million in healthcare/insurance taxes) and $1.6 billion in the elimination of STAR property tax rebate program. (The elimination of this rebate program that will effectively raise taxes for property owners has been characterized by the State legislative leaders as a spending cut.)

In a recession, as businesses and families are cutting costs and creatively doing more with less, the budget’s 10 percent increase in spending, mostly with tax increases, will worsen the state’s economy. This budget does not address the structural problems in the State’s finances that will re-emerge when the stimulus funds and the personal income tax increase expire in the next few years.

ADVERSE REVENUE ACTIONS AVERTED

We lobbied strongly against a number of revenue actions (new taxes) in the proposed budget. One revenue action would have imposed sales tax on the cost of labor for capital improvements. We noted in our opposition how this tax would thwart the rehabilitation and maintenance of affordable housing and the installation of major capital components in existing buildings to make them environmentally efficient, or “green”. Another revenue action would have imposed a 5 percent sales tax on luxury items which would have harmed retail stores on our city’s major retail corridors and would put at risk the significant sales tax we are now collecting on such items. Other revenue actions would have taxed the gain from the sale of a partnership interest and would have extended the sales tax to entertainment related activity. There were a series of other revenue actions that we expressed our concern such as the elimination of the sales tax exemption on clothes, the extension of the sales tax to cable and satellite television and radio and the imposition of sales tax to the value of a store coupon used for purchase. These new taxes would have been harmful to our industry and to our economy. We are pleased to report that these revenue actions were not included in the final budget.

PERSONAL INCOME TAX INCREASE

The $4.1 billion personal income tax increase will impact taxpayers with incomes above $200,000, including sub-S Corps, LLCs and partnerships. Here is a summary of the changes.

Resident unmarried individuals, resident married individuals filing separately earning more than $200,000 the tax rate is 7.85 percent, a 1 percent increase; those earning more than $500,000 the tax rate is 8.97 percent, a 2.12 percent increase.

Resident head of households earning more than $250,000 the tax rate is 7.85 percent, a 1 percent increase; those earning more than $500,000 the tax rate is 8.97 percent, a 2.12 percent increase.

Resident married individuals filing jointly earning more than $300,000 the tax rate is 7.85 percent, a 1 percent increase; those earning more than $500,000 the tax rate is 8.97 percent, a 2.12 percent.

These personal income tax increases are scheduled to expire in three years.

APPRECIATION FOR MEMBER SUPPORT

I want to thank our members who supported our opposition to the original $6 billion personal income tax proposal that would have raised tax rates as much as 50 percent. I believe your support, especially the e-mails and post cards that were sent to elected officials, was an important factor in reducing the personal income tax proposal by $2 billion, significantly lowering the highest proposed rate, and making this a temporary increase.

CONCLUSION

We will continue our effort to curtail the spending growth in the state budget that is unsustainable and that has been going on for too long. Enlisting the continued support of our partners the Association for a Better New York (ABNY), the Business Council, and the Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) and other concerned taxpayers around the state, we will pursue an aggressive, prudent agenda that advocates fiscal reform—limit ongoing government spending to realistic, recurring revenue--and that supports tax policies and initiatives that promote economic growth throughout the state.

Sincerely,

Steve Spinola

Housing market could recover more quickly than predicted

2009-04-03T17:39:00.000-07:00

Lowering payments decreases chances of redefaulting

2009-04-03T17:22:00.000-07:00

It is a great time to buy a home...

2009-04-01T07:48:00.001-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

First Manhattan Costco in Forest City’s East River Plaza

2009-04-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

Manhattan bargain shoppers, rejoice! By year’s end, you will have your very own Costco.

On a Tuesday morning Forest City Enterprises investors call, president and CEO (and cousin of Bruce) Chuck Ratner revealed that Costco Wholesale will open its first Manhattan store in East River Plaza, the development firm’s 500,000-square-foot mall set to open later this year on the plot of land bounded by 116th and 119th streets and the F.D.R. Drive. Costco already has outlets in Queens, Staten Island and Brooklyn.

The club store has assumed the 30-year (plus options) lease of Home Depot, according to Forest City spokesman Joe DePlasco. Home Depot, despite its longtime involvement in the plaza, ultimately decided to forgo its expansion. The lease assumption took longer than expected because Costco required a city variance to allow for nighttime deliveries.

Costco will occupy 110,000 square feet and employ 400 people, according to Mr. DePlasco, who added that East River Plaza is now 74 percent leased. Other tenants include Target, Best Buy and Marshalls.
http://www.observer.com/2009/real-estate/first-manhattan-costco-forest-city%E2%80%99s-east-river-plaza

NYC apartments now more affordable

2009-03-27T06:15:00.000-07:00

Apartment rental prices have dropped about 30 percent and incentives are there to be had, Daniel Hedaya, director of leasing at Platinum Properties, told CBS 2. At one building in the Financial District, a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit that was going for $4,300 per month last year is now renting for $3,300 per month. Concessions include one to three months' free rent and no broker fees or security deposits for qualified tenants. These opportunities may not come again for 15 or 20 years, added Jason Sheftell, a real estate reporter for the Daily News.

Hey, did you hear about the Dow? Up 497 points!

2009-03-24T05:09:00.000-07:00

Details of the government’s plans to clean up the nation’s banks ignited a blazing stock market rally on Monday, lifting Wall Street to its best one-day performance in five months and tempting some investors to imagine what they would not have dared just a few weeks ago — that the worst may finally be over.

Click below to read the rest

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/business/24markets.html?_r=1&hp

Geithner Relies on Investors for $1 Trillion Plan

2009-03-23T07:09:00.000-07:00

March 23 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration unveiled its long-awaited plan to remove toxic assets from the books of the country’s banks, betting that it can revive the U.S. financial system without resorting to outright nationalization.

The plan is aimed at financing as much as $1 trillion in purchases of devalued real-estate assets, using $75 billion to $100 billion of the Treasury’s remaining bank-rescue funds. The Public-Private Investment Program will also rely on Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. debt guarantees, the Treasury said in a statement in Washington.

Today’s effort is the latest in a string of government attempts to end the worst financial crisis in seven decades; the Bush administration abandoned an earlier attempt to buy the toxic securities in November. It may take months before it’s clear whether Geithner’s approach will work, because officials still have to pick private asset managers and banks have yet to commit to selling their illiquid investments.

“The big question is what is the incentive for the banks to sell?” said Dino Kos, managing director at Portales Partners LLC in New York and former executive vice president at the New York Fed. “What is the incentive for a hedge fund to pay a price close to where the banks have it marked at?”

Stock Reaction

Today’s announcement provides details on an initial strategy laid out by Geithner last month, which caused a slump in stocks because it lacked an explanation of how the effort would work.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index rose 2.4 percent to 787.04 at 9:43 a.m. in New York. The index is still down about 10 percent since Geithner’s Feb. 10 outline of the Obama administration’s plans. Yields on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes were little changed at 2.61 percent.

Austan Goolsbee, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television that “you will start to see this buying up the assets” shortly after private asset managers are chosen by May.

“This approach is superior to the alternatives of either hoping for banks to gradually work these assets off their books or of the government purchasing the assets directly,” the Treasury statement said. “Simply hoping for banks to work legacy assets off over time risks prolonging a financial crisis, as in the case of the Japanese experience.”

‘Legacy Loans’

Half of the Treasury’s funds will go to a “Legacy Loans Program” that will be overseen by the FDIC. The Treasury would provide half of the capital going to purchase a pool of loans from banks, with private fund managers putting up the rest. The FDIC will then guarantee financing for the investors, up to a maximum of six times the capital, or equity, provided.

The FDIC, which has extensive experience disposing of devalued loans from taking over failed banks, will hold auctions for the pools of loans, which will be controlled and managed by the private investors with oversight by the FDIC.

A “broad array of investors are expected to participate in the Legacy Loans Program,” the Treasury said, encouraging insurance companies, pension funds and even individual investors to join in.

The second half of the Treasury’s contribution will go to the “Legacy Securities Program.” The objective of the initiative is to generate prices for securities backed by mortgages that are no longer traded because investors have little confidence about the underlying value of the home loans.

Fed Role

Under this program, the Fed will expand an existing facility that provides financing for investor purchases of asset-backed securities. The Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Program will be broadened to take on assets such as residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities that were originally rated AAA and sold by private banks.

The Treasury will also approve as many as five asset managers “with a demonstrated track record of purchasing legacy assets” that will buy the securities.

The managers will be given time to raise private capital and receive matching funds from the Treasury. They will also be able to get “senior debt” from the Treasury of 50 percent to as much as 100 percent of the fund’s capital.

Adding to the pressure on the administration is an unprecedented wave of populist anger over the rescue thus far, following the revelation that employees of American International Group Inc. got $165 million in bonuses after the insurer received taxpayer funds.

Bonus Outrage

On March 19, the House voted 328-93 to impose a 90 percent tax on employee bonuses paid by companies such as AIG and Fannie Mae that received more than $5 billion in taxpayer assistance. The Senate is considering similar legislation.

The backlash on Capitol Hill means private firms may think twice about taking part in Geithner’s public-private partnership, even though government financing will limit their risk and increase the potential of earning profits, David Kotok, chairman and chief investment officer of Cumberland Advisors Inc., in Vineland, New Jersey, said before today’s release.

Goolsbee expressed confidence that private investors will step up.

“The private sector will compete to be partners with the government,” Goolsbee predicted. “I don’t believe they should expect to be treated the same way as a deadbeat type of institution like AIG or Fannie Mae. Those couple of businesses are only in existence because the government has bailed them out.”

source:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8874568

The Truth about the Mortgage Meltdown.....sad but true!!!

2009-03-23T06:28:00.000-07:00

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part 2

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part 3

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part 4

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part 5

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part 6

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NYC Contract Signed Report for Feb 09 Prudential Douglas Elliman

2009-03-23T05:21:00.000-07:00

Contract Signed Report. Please note, this report now includes the signed contracts from all of our offices in NYC. We believe it is important for us all at PDE to speak from the same report with the same analysis as our buyers and sellers are more attuned than ever to market conditions. Please note the following trends:

Median sales price has decreased to $785,000 from $855,000
Average sales price decreased to $1,086,000 from $1,336,351
Discount from Last Asking Price decreased to 9.5% from13.6%
Discount from Original Asking Price decreased to 17% from 21%
Transactions sold at ask or above decreased to 9% from 21%
Majority of transactions, 65%, are under $1Million
Median number of days on market to C/S since last ask decreased to 53 days from 72 days

Transaction Trend
The number of transactions we do on a monthly basis has been increasing since November. February’s transactions are up 45% over January’s transactions.

A-Rod Denied Discount at 15 CPW

2009-03-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

Think stars get all the breaks? Not Alex Rodriguez, who was beaten out for a $40,000-per-month rental in 15 Central Park West by the ex-CEO of the company that bought Corcoran eight years ago (he settled for the smaller apartment next door, owned by the same guy and offered at $30k/month). A-Rod asked his 82-year-old landlord for a break on the rent—hey, it's a down market!—but he didn't get that, either

HIGH LINE ON TRACK

2009-03-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

The High Line is ready to bloom.

With a grand opening scheduled for June, the first section of the elevated trestle between the Meatpacking District and 20th Street has come to life, with grass, trees and thousands of plants in its reconstructed rail bed.

More than 650 trees and shrubs have been planted, including a dense thicket of woods designed to create a dramatic grove called the Gansevoort Woodland at the southern end of the park.

Grass has already taken root in the soil placed between restored rail tracks and the concrete planking used to form walkways through the length of the park.

The opening of the first section in June will be followed by the second section, between 20th and 30th streets, in spring 2010.

Buyers look to 40-year-old federal law to revoke contracts

2009-03-16T21:02:00.000-07:00

Hundreds of condo buyers in new developments in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens are awaiting settlements or court decisions that could result in the refund of all or part of their down payments. The actions being taken by the buyers are the result of a recent focus on a consumer protection law that for decades has been invoked by buyers around the country looking to revoke their purchase agreements, but has only now entered the limelight in New York City.

With an onslaught of apartments closing two-plus years after signing at prices far below their current value, buyers are looking to extricate themselves from deals, with such cases making their way to federal courts.

Attorney Robert Chasnow of Holland & Knight in Washington, D.C., and other attorneys The Real Deal spoke with, agree that the law, called the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act, didn't get that much attention in New York City before because the market had always been so strong that buyers did not to look to get out of contracts.

"But the difficulties in the marketplace have caused purchasers to look wherever they can for relief," Chasnow said. "And that looking wherever they can has led them to where many others outside New York have found it."

Under the act, passed in 1968 and amended in 1979, developers of condo projects with over 99 units are required to file a project report with HUD, present a copy of the document to each apartment buyer prior to his or her signing of a purchase agreement and promise to deliver the unit within two years. If the developer fails to fulfill his obligations, the buyer has two years to back out of the contract and potentially walk away from the deal with her entire down payment.

It's difficult to determine the total number of complaints since there is no central office for the filings, but attorney Adam Leitman Bailey said he is representing between 150 and 200 buyers looking to get out of contracts at approximately 20 projects in the city, claiming that developers did not comply with the full disclosure act.

As previously reported by the New York Times, Lawrence Weiner, attorney at Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, is representing approximately 20 buyers at seven or eight condo projects in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan, and in the last six weeks, has filed suits against Hakimian Organization's 75 Wall Street, Simone Development's One Hunters Point, and RAL Companies & Affiliates' One Brooklyn Bridge Park, among others. Only RAL responded to requests for comment saying, "the claim is being investigated."

Weiner was behind the December launch of the Web site No-Condo.com, a law firm referral service that helps buyers get out of contracts in buildings where the developer violated HUD regulations.

Weiner has filed each of these cases in federal court as did attorney David Wrobel, partner at Wrobel & Schatz, who went to the Southern District of New York with buyers' complaints against the Laurel in early February. He also filed a complaint against the Chelsea Stratus with the attorney general's office. Jonathan Canter of Kramer, Levin, Naftalis & Frankel, who is representing the Laurel and the Chelsea Stratus, did not respond to a request for comment.

Hundreds of buyers are awaiting decisions about whether they are eligible to revoke their contracts.

Wrobel said that he knew of three instances in the last month where developers simply agreed to the revocation of the purchase agreement and gave buyers' their deposits back, without going to court.

But the issue is complicated, and as D.C. attorney Chasnow notes, there are around 20 exceptions to the rule, which allow developers who failed to present HUD-approved property reports to maintain a contract. The most prominent loophole is that if the developer promised to deliver the property within two years of signing -- and fulfills the promise -- the buyer cannot revoke his or her purchase agreement.

Buying Property in a Down Economy

2009-03-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Foreclosure Filings Make a Big Jump

2009-03-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

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Extell Development Riverside Center

2009-03-11T07:11:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Riverside Center, the final piece of the Riverside South community. With spectacular architecture by Pritzker Prize Award winning architect Christian de Portzamparc, Riverside Center will provide the neighborhood with much needed infrastructure, amenities and open space.

At Foreclosure Auction, Houses Sell, in a Frenzy

2009-03-09T06:56:00.000-07:00

In rapid-fire speech that resembled a horse-race announcer’s, an auctioneer introduced the first of the day’s 375 properties: a seven-bedroom, five-bathroom home in Roselle, N.J., with an estimated value of $565,000 and a starting bid of $129,000. (Final sale price: $245,000.)

On the floor, four men called the bids, screaming, blowing whistles, thrusting their arms into the air and using their fingers to signal how much more was being offered over the last bid.

“One man’s misery is another man’s fortune,” the saying goes, and perhaps nowhere was it more true than at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on Sunday, where a mob of potential buyers convened for an auction of foreclosed homes, a fast-paced and somewhat unusual happening in a place more used to trade shows and corporate events.

Some 1,400 people were there, a crowd twice as large as the one last year, when the California-based Real Estate Disposition Corporation held its first foreclosure auction in the city, in a conference room at a Midtown hotel. But there were not nearly as many foreclosed houses then as there are now, said the corporation’s chairman, Robert Friedman.

“The economy is much more severe these days,” Mr. Friedman added. “We’re seeing more foreclosures than any other time in the 19 years we’ve been in business, and we have auctions almost every day all across the country, sometimes more than one auction a day.”

Outside the Javits Center, some 20 protesters — among them labor leaders, antiwar activists and someone from City Councilman Charles Barron’s office in Brooklyn — were critical of both the auction and the billions of dollars the federal government has devoted to bailing out financial institutions. One protester held a sign that read: “R.E.D.C. made $3 billion last year by auctioning off working people’s homes. Bail out the people — not the corporate predators.”

The corporation does not have any role in foreclosing on homes; it is simply hired by banks to sell the foreclosed homes they own at auction, Mr. Friedman said. Last year, it held 300 auctions. This year, it expects to hold about 100 more than that.

From a dais that rose before packed rows of aluminum chairs, the company’s vice president, Todd Gladis, greeted the audience with a mix of lament and rallying cry. “Nobody likes the foreclosure crisis that’s going on,” he bellowed into a microphone. “But we believe that everybody here in this room will play a role in turning things around by turning houses into homes.”

Then, the auction began.

“I pray that God will help me find a place I will like and can afford,” said Letisha Jones, 28, a nurse who lives with her parents and two sisters in East New York, Brooklyn. Ms. Jones said that she planned to spend no more than $100,000 on a home for herself, or maybe a bigger home for her family.

She left empty-handed. “Maybe I’ll have better luck next time, now that I know how it works,” she said.

The audience was roughly divided into three categories. There were experienced bidders, many of them investors who have made careers of buying, fixing up and selling foreclosed homes for below-market prices — and quick profits. There were the novices, who looked at once lost and awestruck, their eyes darting between the booklet listing the houses that were up for grabs and the screens that showcased them as the bidding went on. Finally, there were the curious, like Ashley Durham and her fiancé, Darnell Smith, who plan to marry in May.

“We might come back to an auction after the wedding to see if we can buy a place for us, but for now, we’re just looking,” said Ms. Durham, 25.

“And laughing,” Mr. Smith, 32, added. “This is crazy.”

The auction’s rules were simple. Buyers were required to pay 5 percent of a house’s sale price on the spot, so the bidders had to come with a $5,000 cashier’s check and the ability to cover the remaining balance of a down payment with cash or a personal check. The rest of the sale could be financed; mortgage specialists were posted at desks behind the stage.

The properties included a weathered two-family home in Jamaica, Queens, offered for $500 and sold for $125,000; and a two-bedroom, one-bathroom house in Hampton Bays, on Long Island, offered for $89,000 and sold for $185,000.

The corporation adds a 5 percent fee to the final price of each house.

Beth Kaplan Bongar, 54, a writer and performer who also works as a real estate agent, bought the Hampton Bays house with part of the money she received in the sale of a loft in TriBeCa that she had owned for 30 years, she said.

Ms. Bongar said that she visited the house on Saturday. She noted that it had a fenced-in front yard, where her two dogs could run free, and that outside of windows that had to be replaced, it did not require substantial repair work.

“I need a place to call home,” she said. “And in the long run, this will cost me a little more than the storage bin I have down in Jersey, which is costing me $300 a month.”

How to buy a house at auction

2009-03-07T08:26:00.000-08:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Priciest, cheapest units to hit the market

2009-03-07T07:05:00.000-08:00

The most expensive unit to come on the market this week, according to Streeteasy.com, is apartment 4 at 25 Bond Street, listed for $19.5 million. The five-bedroom, six-bath condo is listed by Sotheby's International Realty. The second most expensive unit is a five-bedroom, five-bath co-op unit at 88 Central Park West, on the market for $19 million. Apartment 23S is listed by Halstead Property. And the third most expensive apartment to hit the market is an $18.99 million condo at the Plaza, 1 Central Park South. Apartment 1101, listed by the Trump Organization, has five bedrooms and four-and-a-half baths.

The least expensive apartment to come on the market is a studio co-op at 103 East 84th Street on the market for $135,000. Penthouse E is listed by Brown Harris Stevens, which is advertising the penthouse as a pied-a-terre. The second least expensive apartment on the market this week is the studio co-op 2N at 333 East 53rd Street, listed by the Corcoran Group for $219,000. And the third least expensive unit is apartment 53 at 474 West 158th Street, which has two bedrooms and one bath. It is listed for $225,000 with Barak Realty.
http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/priciest-cheapest-units-to-hit-the-market

Looking for Bottom in N.Y. Real Estate

2009-03-07T06:53:00.000-08:00

WITH sales prices of Manhattan apartments having tumbled by perhaps a quarter in just the past few months, pinpointing the bottom has become a top priority for anyone eager to buy, sell or broker a deal on a home in New York.

Some industry observers foresee market drops of 40 percent, while others think that is too extreme and suggest that price reductions of 25 percent will more be likely the new norm.

There’s no question, though, that the boom-or-bust experience has arrived in Manhattan, which had seemed to be avoiding the fate of Las Vegas and Florida.

“It’s almost surreal,” said Dottie Herman, the president of Prudential Douglas Elliman, referring to the abrupt turnabout after the collapse of Lehman Brothers last fall. Until then, prices had been marching upward, with the median price of an apartment more than tripling in a decade.

To some degree, the rise in prices was logical in New York, where a string of outsized Wall Street bonuses lined the pockets of many buyers. That wasn’t the case in other parts of the country, which suffered from speculation and a large number of subprime mortgages.

No one has any hard numbers yet on New York because first-quarter reports, reflecting closing prices of deals struck last fall, will not be available for a few weeks.

Looking ahead, however, some believe it is possible that the average slide from peak values could reach 40 percent by the end of 2010, with variation by neighborhood and market segment. That would put values back to levels last seen around 2002.

Others are more optimistic. “I’m not disagreeing with you that values are coming down,” said Pamela Liebman, the president of the Corcoran Group. But, she said, “there’s no way the Manhattan market is dropping to those levels that are being talked about. Certain apartments might, but as a whole it will not happen.”

Hall F. Willkie, the president of Brown Harris Stevens, said he, too, would be surprised by a decline that large.

“A lot of negative things would have to happen in the general economy,” he said. He is seeing sales prices 15 to 25 percent below those of last summer, with renters making up an ever-increasing percentage of buyers. And he saw a positive sign in the fact that, despite all of the bad economic news, sales volume is about half what it was this time last year.

Jonathan J. Miller, the president of Miller Samuel, a Manhattan research and appraisal company, estimates that contract prices have declined by about 25 percent since last summer.

Just how much further prices will dive may depend more on how soon and how generously banks resume lending than on the recovery of Wall Street or the end of the recession.

Ms. Herman said she expected the brunt of the pain to be borne within the next six months. Others expected the downward drift to last for a year to 18 months, until credit markets regain their equilibrium.

When will we know when the market has reached the bottom?

Frederick Peters, the president of Warburg Realty, noted that some deals his firm had brokered lately were nearing the lows being predicted by others. “Even if the New York market were to end up being 35 to 45 percent down,” he said, “to the degree we’re seeing deals done at 30 to 32 percent down anyway, it’s not very far away.”

Mr. Miller says sales activity needs to stabilize first. “You’re approaching bottom when you start to see sales activity stop declining and level off,” he said. “Pricing begins to push up when you have an extended period, like a year, when sales activity doesn’t decline anymore.”

One measure of just how anorectic sales have become is the bloated state of inventory.

“It’s right now the highest since I started tracking in 1999,” Mr. Miller said. Inventory levels in Manhattan have averaged 7,021 a month for the last decade, he said, and there were 10,243 co-ops and condominiums for sale at the end of February — 38 percent more than a year ago.

Many expect that the million-dollar segment will stabilize first because it is powered by first-timers who are drawn by falling prices and don’t have to sell before they buy. The process is being helped along by federal efforts to increase mortgage lending: The latest stimulus package enables Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to extend loan guarantees to New York City mortgages originated this year for up to $729,750.

Mr. Peters predicted that larger apartments, in the three-bedroom-and-up category, would stabilize over the next six months. Those buyers, he said, tend to have an easier time obtaining mortgages through private banking relationships and will become more active once sellers trim prices.

Large drops in prices are not new in the city. The last decade-long increase in prices was followed by about seven years of falling prices starting in the early 1990s, said Ingrid Gould Ellen, the co-director of the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University School of Law. Prices fell about 29 percent.

“But there’s no rule that a downturn has to be six or seven years,” she said. “It’s possible that rather than seeing price declines spread out over a six-year period, this time it could be concentrated in a two-year period.”

Indeed, both Ms. Herman and Ms. Liebman note that this recession differs from previous ones in that there are buyers on the sidelines this time.

“We see a real increase in traffic and a lot more buyers out there,” Ms. Liebman said. “The fish are circling and they will eventually get hungry and start biting. What we’re seeing is a big disconnect — sellers need to get more realistic, but buyers don’t even think it’s enough. Buyers are not hesitating to walk in and bid 40 percent off the price, but sellers aren’t taking it.”

Recovery, when it arrives, is predicted to be modest. Lenders aren’t expected to return to the open-valve position of the boom years.

Ms. Herman said she anticipated a return to annual appreciation rates of 5 to 7 percent. At 6 percent annual appreciation (should that occur after the market stabilized), it would take about nine years for an apartment worth $1 million at peak — and about $600,000 at bottom — to regain its value, according to calculations by Mr. Miller.

The degree and rate of recovery will be influenced by various factors. A Goldman Sachs analysis of the New York City condo market published in early January addressed the possibility that pay cuts in the financial industry or a significant departure of affluent residents could reduce incomes to their pre-Wall Street boom levels of two decades ago. If per-capita incomes were to revert to twice the national average (versus more recent measures of three times the national average), condo prices would need to fall by 58 percent to match the price-to-income ratios of the late 1990s, before the run-up in the real estate market, according to the analysis.

The leveling of the boom may strike condos and co-ops differently.

As prices head south, Mr. Miller said that he expected condos to be more volatile. New construction, including condo conversions, seems likely to suffer the most. “Contract activity on new development has been much harder hit than co-op resales because of credit,” Mr. Miller said.

Co-op boards, however, could damage themselves, he said, if they become too picky with buyers.

“The danger they face is that co-op boards are in denial about the change in the market,” Mr. Miller said. “They’ve been even more conservative with this downturn in terms of financial qualifications — if you work on Wall Street now that’s like a liability — and they’ve been killing sales that they feel are low, to protect values in the building.”

That sort of behavior only depresses values within a building. “It gets a reputation in the brokerage community of being unrealistic about market conditions and that makes it much more difficult to attract buyers,” Mr. Miller said. “I’m not saying they shouldn’t be prudent, but by overreacting they are doing what lenders are doing, which is damaging the collateral they are trying to protect.”

Mr. Peters said his firm had negotiated some co-op deals “dramatically below where prices have been.”

“What we see is that boards are scrutinizing the purchases carefully but not striking down the deal because the price isn’t high enough,” Mr. Peters said. “I definitely agree that in the current environment, that would be profoundly foolish, because the world is a different place.”

A different place and possibly a better one, said Ms. Liebman, who like many brokers manages to see the positive in any environment that comes along. “Why should an average one-bedroom with nothing special to offer cost well over a million? The market got ahead of itself, and this correction is good for New York because it brings the affordability back in line.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/realestate/08condo.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=realestate

Foreclosed homes set for big auction at Javits Center

2009-03-06T04:47:00.000-08:00

March 7, 857 foreclosed homes in the New York will be sold to the highest bidder at a big auction set for Manhattan’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. This is the second time USHomeAuction.com, a Irvine, Calif.-based real estate auction firm, is holding an event in New York City. Its first sale took place last year, when the city was just starting to feel the fallout from the subprime crisis that has crippled Florida and other parts of the nation.

“In the past, there weren’t enough foreclosed New York homes to hold an auction,” said Rick Weinberg, a spokesperson for USHomeAuction.com. “This year I suspect that there will be a second and third auction in the city.”

In January, New York City foreclosures soared 64% from December and were up 5% from January 2008, according to real estate site PropertyShark.com. There were 278 foreclosures in the city. Single and two-family homes in the Queens neighborhoods of Jamaica, South Jamaica, Hollis and St. Albans recorded the most foreclosure filings. February foreclosure numbers are expected later this week.

USHomeAuction.com works with banks and lenders and stages sales events whenever there is a critical mass of inventory in each market. Last year, the firm auctioned 83 New York homes for a total of $16 million. Last year was also a record year for 18-year-old USHomeAuction.com, which nationwide auctioned off 32,799 homes for a total of $3.4 billion. The majority of the homes were in hard-hit California, Florida and Arizona.

The auction firm expects more than 3,000 attendees on March 8 at the Javits Center. Starting bids for houses are discounted by a minimum of 70% from their previously valued price. For instance, one 2,500-square-foot house in Jamaica valued at $555,000 has a starting bid of $69,000, according to USHomeAuction.com.

“They’re not the nicest properties, but people can get a great bargain, especially if you’re handy,” said Mr. Weinberg.

Foreclosed homes in New Jersey and Pennsylvania will also be auctioned off at the event.

NYC foreclosures decrease in February

2009-03-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

Foreclosures in all five boroughs of New York City decreased by 3 percent between January and February of this year, to 269 from 278 new foreclosures, according to the February foreclosure report from Propertyshark.com. Compared to February 2008, foreclosures have dropped 10 percent. Single- and two-family homes saw the highest number of foreclosure auctions, while condos and co-ops saw the lowest.

Foreclosure statistics in the boroughs varied widely year-over-year. Brooklyn foreclosures dropped by 77 percent between February 2008 and February 2009, to 12 foreclosures from 53. PropertyShark.com recorded 40 foreclosures in Staten Island this February versus 49 in February 2008, but the borough still had one of the highest rates of foreclosures per household, with one in every 4,125 homes scheduled for auction in February 2009. Queens, where foreclosures increased to 183 last month from 169 in February 2008, has a foreclosure rate of one in every 4,235 homes scheduled for auction. The number of foreclosures remained static year-over year, with 25 new foreclosures this February and last February. Manhattan had four foreclosures in February 2008 compared to nine last month, but the rate remained low, with one in every 81,333 homes scheduled for auction.

Of the 15 New York City zip codes with the most foreclosure auctions scheduled in February of this year, 12 were in Queens, two in Staten Island and one in the Bronx. Queens and Staten Island have consistently led the city in foreclosures.
http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/nyc-foreclosures-decrease-in-february

Madoff Claims He's Entitled to Keep $7M Manhattan Apartment

2009-03-03T07:20:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK — Bernard Madoff and his wife claim they are entitled to keep a $7 million Manhattan apartment and an additional $62 million in assets.

Court papers filed on Monday state that Madoff and his lawyer say the Manhattan penthouse and money held in accounts of Madoff's wife, Ruth, are not subject to seizure.

The court papers say Madoff claims the apartment and the $62 million are unrelated to a $50 billion fraud Madoff has been accused of carrying out.

The $62 million includes $45 million in municipal bonds on deposit in an account held by Ruth Madoff and $17 million in her name at Wachovia Bank.

Madoff has been confined to the apartment under house arrest as the government investigates how he allegedly carried out the sweeping fraud.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,503845,00.html

On the Market: Lindsay Lohan's Fire...Sale

2009-03-02T19:11:00.001-08:00

Did Lindsay Lohan every truly touch head to pillow inside Far West 42nd Street's celeb-whoring Atelier? Sure, Lohan was everywhere talking up her two-bedroom pad in the 46-story condo tower, and even curated a photo exhibit in the building's Sky Terrace. But Page Six says it was all for show. Perhaps LiLo was gifted the apartment and told not to sell for at least two years, because re-sale brokerage River 2 River now has a listing for Unit #40J, which it claims is Lohan's former digs:

From an e-mail listing ad making the rounds:

Live in Lindsay Lohan's former apartment, where she put 100K worth of the finest upgrades into this apartment. Come and see the amazing views from the unobstructed 40th floor windows, see all the way to the Statue of Liberty with nothing in your way. Price - $1,200,000 - 100K worth of custom upgrades included as well. This is a one of a kind apartment and 200K priced below the next similar apartment in the building.
According to StreetEasy, the 1,000-square-foot apartment hit the market for $1.3 million two weeks ago, and that $100K PriceChop has come in three small reductions in the short period of time since. The apartment is also offered as a potential combination with the unit above. Lachey's?

http://curbed.com/archives/2009/03/02/on_the_market_lindsay_lohans_firesale.php#more

New York’s rich take their tax lumps

2009-03-02T19:05:00.000-08:00

It’s a challenging time for New York’s affluent, eh? Judging by the tax hikes on wealthier Americans proposed this week by President Barack Obama, it’s an even tougher time for the nonprofit and real estate industries those affluent support.

An estimated 327,700 state residents earn $200,000 or more annually, according to the most recent data available from Manhattan Institute, an economic think tank. To pay for ambitious stuff like reforming America’s health-care mess, the President wants to raise income-tax rates for singles earning $200,000 or more and couples making at least $250,000—and lower their tax deductions on mortgage interest and charitable contributions.

But the affluent here have already lost between 30% and 50% of their net worth over the past year, sighs Michael Sonnenfeldt, founder of Tiger 21, a Manhattan-based club for individuals whose net worth is more than $10 million. Tax hikes will further paralyze spending, he says, damaging everything from housing to the arts, not just upscale restaurants or luxury retailers.

Real estate experts are especially worried. “There’s less of a reason to buy a house and take on the mortgage if not all of it is deductible,” said Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York.

Since mortgage interest is front-loaded into the early years of the loan, he adds, a tax deduction is more important to people who are thinking about buying. “When people buy a home, they tend to stretch.”

Arts and culture groups in New York receive roughly half their funding from charitable giving, according to nonprofit experts. Nearly 80% of cultural groups in New York City recently reported cutting their budgets by almost a quarter or more.

“Why would you want to take a risk in the change in the tax code that could further reduce philanthropic dollars—at a time when the sector needs those dollars more than ever?” asked Gordon Campbell, chief executive of United Way of New York City.

Others hope the wealthy will nevertheless donate, albeit on a different scale. “I’m sure it will have a negative impact on charitable giving, however, I believe that giving on the part of individuals is motivated much more by charitable and civic feeling than by the expectation of tax benefits,” said Randall Bourscheidt, president of advocacy group Alliance for the Arts.

And even some of the wealthy acknowledge the problems of reduced charitable giving and mortgages as relatively small when compared to the nation’s overall economic health.

“It doesn’t pay to debate whether you have a high or low tide if you have a tidal wave coming,” said Mr. Sonnenfeldt.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090227/FREE/902279972

Why New York Will Win The Recession

2009-03-02T19:00:00.000-08:00

Maybe you've seen Richard Florida's Atantic article on meltdown geography, or the New York Times on LA's beleaguered hipster suburb . Both effectively say suburbs will eat it in this recession. Why?

Because as heavily dependent as Gotham is on the smoldering financial services industry, it's actually worse in many smaller cities and towns, probably due to all those boomtime real estate brokers, mortgage-banking call centers and other subsidiary industries. Florida, an "urban theorist," writes that the "New York area" gets 8 percent of its jobs from finance, close to the national average of 5.5 percent and compared with"28 percent... in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois; 18 percent in Des Moines; 13 percent in Hartford; 10 percent in both Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Charlotte, North Carolina. "

Even more important: New York (and cities like Chicago) have dense professional networks, which take a long time to build.

For Florida, this explains why the world has had but three financial centers since the 17th century (Amsterdam, London, New York). Such networks also figure heavily in the city's dominance of other industries: "New York is more of a mecca for fashion designers, musicians, film directors, artists, and-yes-psychiatrists than for financial professionals," Florida writes.

Florida should be treated with some skepticism. It's early in the meltdown, and the author seems eager to comport the crash to his own longstanding arguments about the inevitable dominance of "Creative Class" cities. For example, he ignores impact of the financial services crash on industries supported by its wealth, those fashion designers and artists he's so fond of.

But the Times' article on the "bourgeois bohemia" of Eagle Rock, Los Angeles reinforces his idea that intra-city networks are hard to build.

One of the flood of recent newcomers to the town, a screenwriter, once dreamed of "a miniature Whole Foods," "a gastropub" and a "retro" diner lining the streets. But now amid the economic crash, "the shops at risk are the ones playing the Decemberists in a continuous loop," the Times writes, before quoting urbanist Joel Kotkin:

"The ecosystems of these neighborhoods are very fragile... Over-stimulation, and, in a recession, under-stimulation, and you have dangers."

In other words, Manhattan landlords can quickly cut their rents to attract new residents and industries in hard times. Places like Eagle Rock,which started cheap, face a much longer slog to build up dense communities of smart, like-minded people.

Big developer Toll Brothers is offering mortgage insurance to condo buyers

2009-03-01T07:14:00.000-08:00

Toll Brothers is pulling out all the stops to lure buyers to its New York City condominiums.

On top of recent price cuts of as much as 37% at its new Williamsburg luxury condo One Northside Piers, the big Horsham, Pa.-based developer is now offering to first-time home buyers the safety net of hard-times mortgage insurance. If a buyer loses his or her job, the developer is offering to make mortgage payments for up to a year at all three of its New York City luxury condos—Northside, 5SL in Long Island City, Queens, and 303 East 33rd in Kips Bay, Manhattan.

“In the past, these programs were not a necessity,” said Scott Avram, a senior project manager at Toll Brothers. “These are uncertain times. We are always trying to think of creative ways to help buyers make a purchase.”

At Northside Piers One, 60% have been sold, and at 5SL the figure is 85%. But Toll Brother’s 128-unit 303 East 33rd is still under construction. Sales began in October. According to real estate site StreetEasy.com, no contracts have been signed yet for the Kips Bay condo that is co-developed by The Kibel Companies. Meanwhile, Toll Brothers has two more fancy Williamsburg condos in the works—construction on highrise Two Northside Piers is 75% done, and development has yet to begin on Northside’s third tower.

Earlier this month, Toll Brothers reported dismal results for the first fiscal quarter ending Jan. 31. The national home builder’s revenues dropped 51% to $409 million from the same period a year ago. During the quarter, about 15% of its 157 sale cancellations took place in the New York market. Until very recently, the New York market had been a bright spot for the company.

Toll Brothers joins a roster of developers scrambling to sell units as more condos enter the market. To spur homebuyer interest, developers are introducing all types of incentives and perks to buyers. In the fourth quarter, the number of condo sales in North Brooklyn, which includes Williamsburg, fell 42% to 142 properties, according to real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel Inc. Meanwhile, inventory in Manhattan climbed 39.3% in the fourth quarter.

The new borrower’s protection program will be free of charge for the buyer for the first year. The annual fee for the borrower after the first year is about 3% of the monthly mortgage payment, according to Mr. Avram. If a buyer is laid-off, gets injured or is hospitalized, the insurer will pay up to 12 monthly installments on mortgage during a 10-year period.

“This is a fresh approach to marketing,” said Dawn Doherty, vice president of strategic development at StreetEasy.com. “Fear is the New York City real estate market's biggest obstacle.”
Source:http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090227/FREE/902279983

REBNY: Real Estate Board of New York Fighting For Tennant Tax Breaks

2009-03-01T07:04:00.000-08:00

The Real Estate Board of New York is lobbying the city to grant tax relief to commercial tenants who sign leases, a move that the group insists will help preserve jobs during the recession.

REBNY delivered its message to Mayor Michael Bloomberg two weeks ago but didn’t ask for any specific breaks. Instead, it is pushing the concept of lowering the burden on companies that sign leases that extend five or more years and pledge to spend money improving the space. Steven Spinola, president of the powerful landlord’s trade group, said the lower taxes will help tenants who might have been considering moving or setting up a new business elsewhere to choose the city instead. He said he believes the program won’t cost any money but instead will help maintain the city’s tax base by keeping companies in New York.

“We need to keep jobs here because it is unlikely there will be a lot of new jobs created in the next 18 months,” said Mr. Spinola.

He said relief should go only to tenants making long-term commitments and willing to spend money on capital improvements that would generate some construction jobs.

The idea is modeled on an incentive plan for downtown that started during the 1990s. Under that plan commercial rent tax for tenants in the area was eliminated, and the real estate tax was lowered by $2.50 a square foot. The commercial rent tax rate is 3.9% and real estate taxes average $12.50 a square foot, according to Mr. Spinola.

So far, there hasn’t been any been any indication from the city that it plans to make any changes to the tax code. A call to the mayor’s office wasn’t immediately returned.

The commercial real estate industry is in dire need of help. Leasing volume in January hit the lowest monthly level in at least six years as it plunged 47% from the year-ago period, according to data from Cushman & Wakefield Inc. Brokers estimate that rents are actually down 25% since the peak last September of $67.98 a square foot.

Last year, the Manhattan vacancy rate hit 8%, its highest level since the first quarter of 2006 and up from 5.7% at the end of 2007.

“We need to get people to commit to the city,” said Mary Ann Tighe, chief executive officer of the New York tri-state region of CB Richard Ellis Inc. “There is no silver bullet to retaining companies but there is a series of things we can do to make people commit long term to the city.”

Virgin Mega Store Closing

2009-03-01T07:01:00.000-08:00

The six-unit Virgin Megastore chain will close two more stores, the Union Square location in New York City at the end of May and the Market St. store in San Francisco at the end of April, sources say. As previously reported, the company announced that its Times Square store will close in April.

In August 2007, the Virgin Entertainment Group North America was acquired by two real estate companies - the Related Cos. and Vornado. Since then, the chain has been reduced from 11 units - with the industry awaiting word of the fate of the three remaining stores in Denver, Los Angeles, and Orlando, Fla.

Will Obama's Housing Plan Work?

2009-03-01T06:28:00.000-08:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Barbara Corcoran and CNBC's Dylan Radigan appeared on NBC's Today show to discuss the possible effectiveness of President Barack Obama's housing plan. Corcoran said that homeowners who are now in danger of foreclosure made the best decisions they could at the time they bought their homes, and refusing to help them now is an unnecessary punishment. She also said the housing crisis presents an opportunity to fix the country's housing system.

Mortgage rates rise slightly as home prices fall

2009-02-27T05:29:00.000-08:00

Rates on 30-year-fixed mortgages rose slightly this week amid sagging consumer confidence and lower sale prices for existing homes, Freddie Mac said Thursday.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage increased to 5.07 percent this week from 5.04 percent last week. A year ago, the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.24 percent.

Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft said consumer confidence fell in February to its lowest level since records began in January 1967. He said house prices are still falling, as are existing home sales.

“Lower house prices and affordable mortgage rates have yet to spur housing demand,” Nothaft said.

On Wednesday, the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes fell 5.3 percent to an annual rate of 4.49 million last month, from 4.74 million in December. It was the weakest showing since July 1997.

The median sales price for an existing home in January slid to $170,300, down 14.8 percent from $199,800 a year earlier and from $175,700 in December, the Realtors association reported.

Also Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its weekly application index — an indicator of refinancing activity — fell 15.1 percent for the week ended Feb. 20.

Average rates for 30-year-fixed mortgages hit a record low of 4.96 percent in January, a decline attributed to the Federal Reserve’s move to buy $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities to spur lending by banks.

This week’s average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.68 percent — unchanged from last week. Last year at this time, the 15-year rate averaged 5.72 percent.

Average rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages increased to 5.06 percent, up slightly from 5.04 percent last week. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages rose slightly to 4.81 percent from 4.8 percent last week.

The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. The nationwide fee averaged 0.7 point for 30-year and 15-year fixed rate mortgages, and for five-year adjustable rate mortgages. The fee for one-year adjustable rate mortgages was 0.6 point.

Mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were seized by the federal government in September 2008, own or guarantee almost 31 million home loans worth about $5.5 trillion. That’s more than half of all U.S home mortgages.
Source:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7148582/

Brooklyn Waterfront A Hot Spot For Deals

2009-02-27T05:25:00.000-08:00

With its proximity to Manhattan and views to die for, Williamsburg is one of the most desirable areas in Brooklyn -- and has the price tag to prove it. When the northern part of the neighborhood was rezoned, developers clamored to stake their claim, breaking ground on hundreds of new units along the waterfront. The first to come online -- Northside Piers. Sales were strong when Tower One came to market in summer of 2008, but then September rolled around.

“Sales really slowed down at that point. People were very wary about all the bad economic news and also having trouble getting mortgages because of the way the financial market changed, said David Von Spreckelsen, Senior Vice President of Toll Brothers City Living.

As a result, Von Spreckelsen says the company made the decision to drop prices dramatically. With sales about to open on 270 units in Tower Two, and another several hundred units being constructed directly next door at a building called The Edge, he said it was time for the company to take stock of its available stock in Tower One, 30 percent of which was still unsold.

“We had inventory that we wanted to move and we saw the changes in the market and people coming in and making offers that were considerably less than asking price and so we adjusted prices to reflect that,” said Von Spreckelsen.

The price cut averages out to about 20 percent, from roughly $900 a square foot to around $700. In a neighborhood where the sky was once the limit, two bedrooms now seem surprisingly attainable.

“Some of them were in excess of a million dollars and I would say most of them are in the seven to eight hundred range,” said Von Spreckelsen.

It’s interesting to note that the price drop has yet to create a ripple effect along the waterfront. The sales team for The Edge which is 25 percent sold say they haven't adjusted their prices and even here at Northside Piers the price cut only applies to the units in tower one not those in tower two.

“We're selling things for full price there and we're signing contracts because people came in, they looked at tower one, they looked at tower two and they wanted to be in the second tower and they're paying full price. So go figure,” said Von Spreckelsen.

While the company is not offering adjustments for buyers who moved in prior to the price cut, Von Spreckelsen anticipates that any remorse they may be feeling today will be eased when the market eventually rebounds.

“We anticipate that the value is going to return in the next couple of years so I think they'll be fine,” said Von Spreckelsen.
Source:http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1465153639777784217

Auctions to Sell Real Estate... New Condominum Units

2009-02-27T05:10:00.000-08:00

As home to the flagship locations of Christie's and Sotheby's, New York is no stranger to the auction business.

When it comes to real estate, though, auctions of new condominium units -- commonplace in cities across the United States for a few years now -- have not been seen in the city with any regularity for nearly two decades.

However, according to auction professionals, brokers and developers, the phenomenon, which the New York Times also just looked at, is likely to gain a toehold in the New York market in the coming months.

"Auctions are inevitable in New York," said Jon Gollinger, the co-founder and East Coast CEO of Accelerated Marketing Partners, a marketing firm that conducted more than 40 real estate auctions last year in cities including Boston, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.

"The New York market is in a state of stunned disability," he said. "No one knows where prices are. Those who want to buy can't buy, and it's irresponsible to buy because you don't know what to pay. Auctions are going to be one of the only ways to create movement."

Just a few condo auctions have taken place in New York City over the past couple of years and none on a large scale, according to auction professionals. A small condo auction was held in Brooklyn last September, as The Real Deal reported, when a Brighton Beach developer auctioned four units in his six-unit building, with bids starting at less than $300 a square foot.

More recently, developers have increasingly weighed bulk sales of condos or auctions of whole buildings. The developers of the Financial District's 20 Pine reportedly put 80 of the building's 413 units on the market a couple of months ago, and the 1,230-unit Riverton Houses complex in Harlem was set to be auctioned off last month, though the auction was later canceled.

Typical condo auctions, however, are different from bulk sales or full-building auctions in that their aim is to sell units to individual buyers.

Andrew Gerringer, a managing director of Prudential Douglas Elliman, said he sees auctions as "another tool in my belt to help my clients sell their inventory." The process, he said, would involve his on-site sales staff both before and after auction.

Gerringer said he was involved with New York City real estate auctions in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and said he believes that by clearing out a lot of inventory, they "helped bring the market back to health much quicker."

And he thinks the time for auctions has probably come again.

"I have been meeting with numerous developers, financial institutions and equity and mezzanine lenders, and I can definitively state that most are very receptive and intrigued by the process and are seriously considering it a very viable option for them, given today's market climate," he said.

Gerringer added: "While I believe that it's not for everyone, nor for every product type, I do know that it certainly has its place and I'm pretty sure that we will see it happening in New York City some during the next six to nine months."

'Precipice of change'

Auctions of condos typically involve a pre-auction marketing blitz with open houses. At the auction itself, units are either put on the block with a reserve price -- which assures the developer will make a minimum amount on each unit -- or through what is called an "absolute auction," where condos are sold to the highest bidder, regardless of the amount they have bid.

One potential roadblock to the auction process is pricing. According to Accelerated Marketing Partners' Gollinger, a "delicate dance" takes place among his company, lenders and developers so that auction reserve prices can be lower than a condo's prior release price.

"Our minimum bids are always below the release price, and developers and banks have been more than willing to give that to us," he said.

Gollinger said his firm "is talking with a lot of developers" in New York City who are interested in holding auctions to sell condos that have been languishing on the market, though he declined to name any of those he has spoken with.

Other auction companies and brokers confirmed that New York developers are considering auctions as a sales option.

Josh Olshin, president of Tranzon Integrated Property Group, a real estate auction company that has conducted condo auctions in major metropolitan areas across the U.S., said condo auction activity in New York is "on the precipice of a major change" and that his firm has been approached by several developers "who we know are serious about auctions because we're not the only auction guys they're talking to."

Olshin said the stagnant volume of new development sales in New York over the past couple of months is producing a market ripe for auctions.

Craig King, president of Alabama-based J.P. King Auction Company, said his company also has been holding meetings with New York developers.

Auctions tend to appeal to developers who have sold out most units in a building and are putting as much effort into, say, selling the last 20 units as they did the first 100, King said. His company takes a percentage cut of each condo auction sale. Developers pay for marketing expenses.

King said his company advertises extensively for a couple months leading up to auctions, which are usually held in hotel ballrooms. In addition to in-person bids, offers can come from telephone or Internet bidders during the auction. "Developers love the process because they have closings within 30 days," he said.

Gavel stigma

The chief draw of auctions, Gollinger said, is that they aid in determining market value for condos when almost no deals are happening, because pricing is a great unknown.

"We sell a critical mass of 30 to 40 units in an hour, an hour and a half -- that sets the value," he said. "The only way to do it is with a critical mass of sales. What we do is cause the market to be able to see the floor. And if you see the floor, you can have movement. You need to understand where the value points are."

Auctioneers concede, however, that the process is not without potential pitfalls, and that auctions are sometimes not successful at selling condos.

"Local knowledge is very important," said Olshin. "A lot of auctioneers try to come into a new place and just repeat what they've done in other cities, and it doesn't work."

Gollinger noted that the few unsuccessful auctions his company has presided over involved marketing a product to the wrong demographic.

"If we misunderstand or misread the product -- like, say, thinking young people would want to live on East End Avenue -- then we fail to deliver the correct kind of response," he said.

Jon DiFiore, a senior vice president with Real Estate Capital Partners, a New York-based investment advising firm that also provides equity for developers, said auctions have worked well in several instances for condos that his firm has financed.

As an example, DiFiore pointed to an Accelerated Marketing Partners auction in mid-November for a West Palm Beach condo his firm funded, where the goal was to sell 80 units.

"We sold 37 at the auction, and we have been selling more since then," he said. "We use auctions to break a logjam."

DiFiore said that while his firm has not yet sold any New York City projects via auction -- Real Estate Capital Partners has invested in such properties as the 47-unit Chelsea Modern, on 18th Street, which was nearly sold out as of late last month -- it might consider it in the future.

"When sales come to a standstill, that's when the auction can be used effectively," he noted. "That really hasn't started until recently in New York."

Although residential sales in New York have slowed dramatically in the past several months, the city hasn't experienced a protracted standstill coupled with devaluation, as places like South Florida have.

Gollinger said auctions are easier to set up in other cities, as New York is unique in that "the market has just stopped abruptly."

In terms of buyer financing, auctioneers said they work to ensure their events draw qualified buyers before auctions, typically by involving bidders who can either engage in all-cash transactions or having them pre-qualify for mortgages before the auction.

"Auctions are for qualified buyers only, and we usually have a 5 to 10 percent nonrefundable deposit," King said.

For buyers who do need mortgages, King and others said they usually make bidders pre-qualify with lenders before an auction, and they have bank representatives on hand during the event.

While auction professionals acknowledge that the process may seem like bad publicity for developers because it indicates that typical sales strategies have not been effective, they say auctions can be win-wins for buyers and sellers.

"Auction has a certain undeserved stigma," said Tranzon's Olshin. "Even if developers are going to get decent pricing through them, it's kind of a public acknowledgement that your project has stalled. But what they allow you to do is avoid mounting carrying costs."

Olshin said brokers also have tended to be wary of auctions. "Brokers for the most part have been very resistant and have accentuated the stigma of auctions," he said.

But he says this is changing, and that more brokers are reaching out to auction companies.

The process does not necessarily signal the end of broker commissions, since most auction companies allow brokers to represent bidders. In addition, in many instances brokers continue to represent developments post-auction and can have a hand in sales of units that did not sell during an auction.

End of the Recession?

2009-02-27T05:03:00.000-08:00

Nearly everyone is preaching doom and gloom about the economy and the state of the residential and commercial real estate markets. I realize that over the past few months, many would consider me as one of the preachers. Nevertheless, based upon recent comments by the who's who of business and economy, followed by negative reports and index surveys, one might say I am wearing rose-colored glasses.

Just listen to some of the comments recently made by prominent investors and economists. As reported last week, investor George Soros said at a Columbia University dinner, "We witnessed the collapse of the financial system. It was placed on life support, and it's still on life support. There's no sign that we are anywhere near a bottom."

Economic adviser to President Barack Obama and former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker said that overseas industrial production was declining even more rapidly than it was in the U.S. which is itself under severe strain.

"I don't remember any time, maybe even in the Great Depression, when things went down quite so fast, quite so uniformly around the world," Volcker said.

Last week, the New York Times reported that values of Manhattan office buildings have declined by as much as 50 percent. As soon as this report hit the street, I confirmed that at least a half a dozen real estate lenders decided it was time to critically evaluate the underwriting for mortgage financing of Manhattan office properties.

On Tuesday, it was time for the conference board to announce that the consumer confidence index dropped more than anticipated to 24, the lowest level since 1967, when the data was first collected. On the same day, the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index reported a drop in home prices reflected in 20 metropolitan regions, reaching levels not seen since 2003. For the fourth quarter, the national price index fell 18.2 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2007, the widest decline in the study's 21-year history. Since peaking in the second quarter of 2006, average home prices are down 26.7 percent.

The day before, a reporter at Barron's -- who probably has no idea about the real estate market -- screwed up any potential sales of residential condominium and cooperative units in New York City by saying that city home prices will likely fall between 30 and 50 percent, and recovery is not in the near future.

Yesterday, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes in January fell 5.3 percent, the weakest showing since July 1997.

In the midst of the turmoil, Ivy Zelman, CEO of Zelman & Associates and a former managing director at Credit Suisse Group, said the city's housing bubble was particularly frothy, and she foresees a 46 percent decline before prices become "normalized" again.

Still, instead of predicting the next Great Depression, I am finally listening to some of the smartest real estate and business leaders who agree that the best time to go into business and make investments is in the worst bear market.

A developer of residential and commercial properties in the region, who prefers to remain anonymous, said: "When everyone thinks the world is coming to the end, this is the time you want to be a buyer."

Gregg Winter, the president of W Financial, said, "Perception trumps reality, and then can soon become the new reality. Even now, before a certifiable bottom can be marked, some real estate players will decide to shake off their 'downer fatigue' and start trying to deploy some of their long sidelined capital. Brutal contraction will give way to sustainable recovery."

The truth is that condos continue to sell throughout the city at lower prices. Even though the Barron's article noted that units are selling for bargain basement prices of $600 per square foot in the Financial District, sales continue to take place for prices ranging from $900 to $1,200. Developers are selling units at discounts of 5 to 12 percent, rather than the 30 to 50 percent reported by many publications.

In conclusion, while today may be a difficult time for many investors and owners, history repeats itself. The best bargains were available in the early 1990s and buyers can expect a rebound in the foreseeable future

Michael Stoler is a columnist for The Real Deal and host of real estate programs "The Stoler Report" and "Building New York" on CUNY TV and on WEGTV in East Hampton. His radio show, "The Michael Stoler Real Estate Report," airs on 1010 WINS on Saturdays and Sundays. Stoler is a director at Madison Realty Capital as well as an adjunct professor at NYU Real Estate Institute, and a former contributing editor and columnist for the New York Sun.

Source:http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel

A-Rod shopping at 15 CPW

2009-02-25T12:35:00.001-08:00

ALEX Rodriguez has finally found a place at 15 Central Park West. The Yankee slugger, who's selling his apartment at Trump Tower, has been spotted checking out a number of places in the tony building, which is two blocks away from his sometime gal pal Madonna. A source told us Rodriguez found a 2-bedroom, 2.5-bath apartment to rent for $30,000 a month. A-Rod's broker, Adam Modlin, had "no comment."

Mortgage applications dip as rates rise

2009-02-25T12:18:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- U.S. mortgage applications decreased last week, reflecting a sharp drop in demand for refinancing as mortgage rates ticked higher, an industry group said on Wednesday.

The decline followed recent robust gains, and came amid the unveiling of the strongest government action yet to aid homeowners since the housing market's meltdown began.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications , which includes both purchase and refinance loans, for the week ended Feb. 20 decreased 15.1% to 743.5 after surging 45.7% the previous week.

The MBA's seasonally adjusted purchase index fell 2.6% to 250.5 after rising 9.1% the previous week, and was down 30.1% from its year-ago level. It hit an eight-year low of 248.5 in November.

Overall mortgage applications last week were 11.8% above their year-ago level. The four-week moving average of mortgage applications, which smoothes the volatile weekly figures, was up 0.4%.

The Mortgage Bankers' seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications plunged 19.1% to 3,618.0 after soaring 64.3% the previous week, and it was up 47.1% from its year-ago level.

President Barack Obama last week announced a plan designed to provide much-needed support to the housing market. It aims to support refinancing for good quality borrowers; help distressed borrowers avoid foreclosure; and stimulate new housing demand through the expansion of Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500).

Lawrence J. White, professor of economics at New York University's Stern School of Business, said if he were to grade the housing plan he would give it a "B" or a "B-plus."

"The housing plan leaves out a major piece, which is the problem of what to do with somebody who holds a second mortgage, a substantial problem, especially on a lot of these foreclosure or close to foreclosure mortgages," he said on Tuesday. "The housing plan does not go far enough."

Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 5.07% in the latest week, up 0.08 percentage point from the previous week. Six weeks earlier, mortgage rates hit the lowest level recorded in the MBA survey's history, at 4.89%. Interest rates were well below year-ago levels of 6.27%.

The U.S. housing market is in the worst downturn since the Great Depression and its impact has rippled through the recession-hit economy. Economists contend the economy might not emerge from its slump unless the housing market stabilizes.

"No question about it, buying a home is a riskier proposition right now than it was four years ago, but it can still happen," White said.

"The fact that there is now much more explicit government attention at the mortgage level, rather than just at the bank or troubled securities level, is valuable and can help turn things around," he said.

The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity increased to 1.9%, up from 1.7% the previous week.

Fixed 15-year mortgage rates averaged 4.71%, up 4.66% the previous week. Rates on one-year ARMs increased to 6.13% from 6.10%.

"With the continued debate over the stimulus package, people are still lacking the confidence to commit and are waiting to really pull the trigger once they are comfortable that prices and rates aren't going to change drastically anymore," said Leif Thomsen, CEO of Mortgage Master in Walpole, Massachusetts.

"We'll still see better movement on the refinancing side but look for it to be more drawn out," he said.

Other data on Wednesday painted a poor picture of the U.S. housing market.

The National Association of Realtors said the pace of sales of existing homes in the United States fell 5.3% in January to a 4.49 million-unit annual rate while home prices and inventories dropped.

Economists polled by Reuters were expecting home resales to rise to a 4.79 million-unit pace from December's 4.74 million rate.
Source: http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/25/news/economy/mortgage_applications.reut/index.htm

Is The Bottom In Sight? ....The end of the Recession!!!

2009-02-24T14:43:00.000-08:00

by Kenneth Harney (his credientials are noted at the bottom)

Signs of a cyclical turnaround for housing are on the upswing. Sales are up sharply in many of the hardest-hit markets, and prices are firming in many others.

And now, even some of the country's previously most-bearish economists and media outlets are seeing the light.

Last week, Dr. Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com, surprised analysts by announcing that "the bottom of the housing downturn is in sight for the nation."

Just days later the Wall Street Journal -- which had been among the most pessimistic of major U.S. dailies -- ran a prominent article with this headline: "For some, it's finally time to dive into the housing market."

The article focused on purchasers in Phoenix, Seattle and Connecticut who recently found that lower prices and affordable mortgage rates made ownership possible for them. They got what appear to be great deals.

The Journal quoted one Phoenix buyer who had just picked up a bargain-priced first home as saying, "six months ago, I didn't think I would ever own a home. Now I do. It's so perfect."

It's obviously good news that doom and gloom economists like Zandi and the Wall Street Journal are picking up on what's happening in local real estate markets. More important for the larger market, though, is that they are in the position to spread the word to consumers that it's now not simply a "good time to buy," it's also a safe time to buy.

Mortgage rates continue to hover near historic lows. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, thirty year fixed rates last week averaged 5.2 percent, down from 5.3 percent the week before. Fifteen year rates average a flat five percent.

But don't mistake the message here: The economy as a whole still is facing huge problems -- unemployment at 7.6 percent, banks taking billions from the government, a stock market that's still pumping out losses, household consumption down.

None of that is positive for real estate.

But here's what may be developing: Just as housing's troubles preceded the rest of the economy on the way down, there are increasing indications that housing could be out ahead on the national economic recovery.

Why? Because pent-up demand is strong, affordable financing is there for buyers with decent credit and a downpayment, and improved federal tax credit incentives make the equation even better.

Once more consumers grasp the fact that the worst is over for real estate, we just might see some very encouraging numbers in the months ahead.

Published: February 17, 2009

Kenneth R. Harney writes an award-winning, nationally-syndicated column on housing and real estate from Washington, D.C. He is also managing director of the National Real Estate Development Center, a professional education company. He is a past member of the Federal Reserve Board's Consumer Advisory Council, a committee that by federal statute reviews all Fed actions on home mortgage, consmer credit and banking industry regulation.

He served as a member of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Working Group on Computerized Loan Origination (CLO) systems, and is a member of the Editorial Board of the Fannie Mae Foundation's journal, Housing Policy Debate. He is the author of two books on mortgage finance and real estate.

Taxpayers pissed off about footing bill for foreclosure plan, analyst says

2009-02-24T14:08:00.000-08:00

NYC BILLIONAIRE, IGNORING RECESSION, SHOPS FOR BARGAINS

2009-02-23T06:56:00.000-08:00

One of New York City's wealthiest residents, shrugging off the deepening recession, has been on a real estate buying spree - buying up parcels across the country at depressed prices.

Len Blavatnik, a Russia-born oil tycoon-turned-New York billionaire, and companies he controls have snapped up multi-million dollar houses and parcels of land in Florida, Nevada, California and Texas, apparently hoping to turn a pretty profit once the real estate market turns around.

Blavatnik, the founder and president of Access Industries, a conglomerate of industrial, chemical, real estate and media properties, already owns three trophy Manhattan properties, including a $27 million Fifth Avenue condo.

The 51-year old tycoon, who declined to comment on his purchases, broke Big Apple real estate records in 2007 when he bought a townhouse on East 64th Street near Fifth Avenue for $50 million from Warner Music boss Edgar Bronfman.

In that same year, the naturalized US citizen was part of a consortium that bought a $625 million tract of land in Las Vegas just down the street form the Planet Hollywood Hotel, records show.

Blavatnik, who also owns a $31 million East Side residence, on 63rd Street, has spent more time in the past two years looking for cheap, some would say odd, deals in California and Florida as the foreclosure crisis has forced prices into the bargain basement.

For example, in Los Angeles county, Access teamed up with a small mortgage firm, called Anchor, to buy numerous properties out of foreclosure, including a $150,000 ranch in Compton and other modest homes in less desirable areas of Oakland.

In Texas, meanwhile, Blavatnik-related entities have bought millions of dollars worth of agricultural land.

Blavatnik's real estate buying spree appears to have petered out at the end of 2008, however, as the billionaire - a prominent philanthropist who gives millions to countless Jewish charities all over the world - ran into trouble. Last month Blavatnik's Lyondell Basell, a large chemical company, was forced to file for bankruptcy.

While he is the sixth-wealthiest New Yorker, worth about $7.2 billion according to Forbes, Blavatnik has managed to fly largely under the media radar screen. A man of very few words with a deadpan sense of humor, Blavatnik is said to be a fan of the Eddie Murphy comedy, "Trading Places."

At a company conference in 2005, quoting a line from the 1983 film, Blavatnik told senior executives: "Basically the idea is we buy low and sell high, we are here to make money," a former employee told The Post.

"To him this was a great joke," the ex-employee said. "The people in the room did not get it, but that makes it even funnier for Len."

Blavatnik considers himself an American, despite having been born in Ukraine. He came to New York in 1978 at the age of 21 and earned a degree in computing at Columbia and then an MBA from Harvard.

He is often referred to an "oligarch" but bristles at the name, insisting he is not one of them, despite having made his early fortune in the Russian oil business.

"He is very different from the oligarchs," the former employee said. "He does not like to be seen or to be heard and he has the ability to make everyone who works for him feel like they are doing something very important."

Source:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/02222009/business/nyc_billionaire__ignoring_recession__sho_156381.htm

Record Sale in TriBeca, New York City 34.5 million

2009-02-23T05:44:00.000-08:00

A NEW duplex penthouse built on top of a converted loft building in TriBeCa has sold for $30 million, setting a record for the highest-priced Manhattan apartment sold to date south of Columbus Circle.

The apartment, a two-story glass box with views of the Hudson and Lower Manhattan, is perched on a 14-story Art Deco loft building that dates to the 1920s at 145 Hudson Street, near Hubert Street. The building, known as the Skylofts, has been in the midst of a conversion to residential and commercial condominiums for several years.

Sean Murphy Turner, a vice president at Stribling Marketing Associates, said that the four-bedroom penthouse went into contract last August before a wave of failures on Wall Street soured the real estate market.

The apartment has nearly 8,000 square feet of space, spread over two floors connected by an elliptical glass-and-steel staircase. There is a 4,500-square-foot terrace as well.

While many recent deals in Manhattan have been renegotiated, the penthouse closed at the full contract price, or 13 percent below the asking price of $34.5 million.

Ms. Turner would not identify the buyer, except to say that he already lived in the neighborhood and was not an investment banker or the manager of a hedge fund.

“It is a remarkable home that will probably never come along again,” she said.

At the Skylofts, the first six floors were converted to commercial condominiums, and the 11th through 14th floors were sold as loft apartments. Another 12 lofts on the 7th through 10th floors are scheduled to go on the market later this year.

Until now, brokers said, the highest price paid for a downtown apartment was $24.675 million, paid in 2005 by Elie Tahari, the fashion designer, for a 9,300-square-foot triplex apartment at 141 Prince Street. The seller was Rupert Murdoch, the media mogul.

That’s just a bit more than the $24 million paid by Jon Bon Jovi, the singer, for an apartment at 158 Mercer Street in 2007.

The highest price to date for any downtown residence was for a town house on West 10th Street in Greenwich Village, which sold in 2007 for $33.15 million.

Source:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/realestate/22deal2.html?ref=realestate

Top 10 Most And Least Affordable Cities

2009-02-20T17:15:00.000-08:00

The National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo have put together an index of the most and least affordable metro areas. The index was created by calculating what percentage of a city's residents making the median income can afford a house in that city.

Not too surprising — the Midwest offers a good value with Indianapolis topping the charts as the most affordable city in the US. New York, of course, is the least affordable, followed by San Francisco, which is no shock to anyone who has lived in, or even visited those two cities.

In order to qualify, each metro area had to have over 500,000 people.

Top 10 Least Affordable Cities
New York City, NY
San Francisco, CA
Nassau/Suffolk Counties, NY
Los Angeles, CA
Miami, FL
Santa Ana, Anaheim, Irvine, CA
El Paso, TX
Newark, NJ
Honolulu, HI
Seattle, WA

Top 10 Most Affordable Cities
Indianapolis, IN
Warren, Troy, Farmington Hills, MI
Youngstown, Warren, Boardman, OH-PA
Detroit, MI
Grand Rapids, MI
Syracuse, NY
Dayton, OH
Akron, OH
Cleveland, OH
Scranton, PA

Corcoran says stimulus package doesn't have enough incentives

2009-02-20T12:11:00.000-08:00

Carlos Justo--The Rise & Fall Of Miami's Luxury Realtor To The Stars

2009-02-20T11:55:00.000-08:00

Tax Credit to Aid First-Time Homebuyers; Must Be Repaid Over 15 Years

2009-02-20T09:10:00.000-08:00

First-time homebuyers should begin planning now to take advantage of a new tax credit included in the recently enacted Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

Available for a limited time only, the credit:

Applies to home purchases after April 8, 2008, and before July 1, 2009.

Reduces a taxpayer’s tax bill or increases his or her refund, dollar for dollar.

Is fully refundable, meaning that the credit will be paid out to eligible taxpayers, even if they owe no tax or the credit is more than the tax that they owe.

However, the credit operates much like an interest-free loan, because it must be repaid over a 15-year period. So, for example, an eligible taxpayer who buys a home today and properly claims the maximum available credit of $7,500 on his or her 2008 federal income tax return must begin repaying the credit by including one-fifteenth of this amount, or $500, as an additional tax on his or her 2010 return.

Eligible taxpayers will claim the credit on new IRS Form 5405. This form, along with further instructions on claiming the first-time homebuyer credit, will be included in 2008 tax forms and instructions and be available later this year on IRS.gov, the IRS Web site.

If you bought a home recently, or are considering buying one, the following questions and answers may help you determine whether you qualify for the credit.

Q. Which home purchases qualify for the first-time homebuyer credit?

A. Only the purchase of a main home located in the United States qualifies and only for a limited time. Vacation homes and rental property are not eligible. You must buy the home after April 8, 2008, and before July 1, 2009. For a home that you construct, the purchase date is the first date you occupy the home.

Taxpayers who owned a main home at any time during the three years prior to the date of purchase are not eligible for the credit. This means that first-time homebuyers and those who have not owned a home in the three years prior to a purchase can qualify for the credit.

If you make an eligible purchase in 2008, you claim the first-time homebuyer credit on your 2008 tax return. For an eligible purchase in 2009, you can choose to claim the credit on either your 2008 (or amended 2008 return) or 2009 return.

Q. How much is the credit?

A. The credit is 10 percent of the purchase price of the home, with a maximum available credit of $7,500 for either a single taxpayer or a married couple filing jointly. The limit is $3,750 for a married person filing a separate return. In most cases, the full credit will be available for homes costing $75,000 or more. Whatever the size of the credit a taxpayer receives, the credit must be repaid over a 15-year period.

Q. Are there income limits?

A. Yes. The credit is reduced or eliminated for higher-income taxpayers.

The credit is phased out based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). MAGI is your adjusted gross income plus various amounts excluded from income—for example, certain foreign income. For a married couple filing a joint return, the phase-out range is $150,000 to $170,000. For other taxpayers, the phase-out range is $75,000 to $95,000.

This means the full credit is available for married couples filing a joint return whose MAGI is $150,000 or less and for other taxpayers whose MAGI is $75,000 or less.

Q. Who cannot take the credit?

A. If any of the following describe you, you cannot take the credit, even if you buy a main home:

Your income exceeds the phase-out range. This means joint filers with MAGI of $170,000 and above and other taxpayers with MAGI of $95,000 and above.

You buy your home from a close relative. This includes your spouse, parent, grandparent, child or grandchild.

You stop using your home as your main home.

You sell your home before the end of the year.

You are a nonresident alien.

You are, or were, eligible to claim the District of Columbia first-time homebuyer credit for any taxable year.

Your home financing comes from tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds.

You owned another main home at any time during the three years prior to the date of purchase. For example, if you bought a home on July 1, 2008, you cannot take the credit for that home if you owned, or had an ownership interest in, another main home at any time from July 2, 2005, through July 1, 2008.

Q. How and when is the credit repaid?

A. The first-time homebuyer credit is similar to a 15-year interest-free loan. Normally, it is repaid in 15 equal annual installments beginning with the second tax year after the year the credit is claimed. The repayment amount is included as an additional tax on the taxpayer’s income tax return for that year. For example, if you properly claim a $7,500 first-time homebuyer credit on your 2008 return, you will begin paying it back on your 2010 tax return. Normally, $500 will be due each year from 2010 to 2024.

However, some exceptions apply to the repayment rule. They include:

If you die, any remaining annual installments are not due. If you filed a joint return and then you die, your surviving spouse would be required to repay his or her half of the remaining repayment amount.

If you stop using the home as your main home, all remaining annual installments become due on the return for the year that happens. This includes situations where the main home becomes a vacation home or is converted to business or rental property. There are special rules for involuntary conversions. Taxpayers are urged to consult a professional to determine the tax consequences of an involuntary conversion.

If you sell your home, all remaining annual installments become due on the return for the year of sale. The repayment is limited to the amount of gain on the sale, if the home is sold to an unrelated taxpayer. If there is no gain or if there is a loss on the sale, the remaining annual installments may be reduced or even eliminated. Taxpayers are urged to consult a professional to determine the tax consequences of a sale.

If you transfer your home to your spouse, or, as part of a divorce settlement, to your former spouse, that person is responsible for making all subsequent installment paymentsYou may need to adjust your withholding or make quarterly estimated tax payments to ensure you are not under-withheld.

Stop Forclosures

2009-02-19T06:48:00.000-08:00

A coalition of 143 New York nonprofits called for a moratorium on foreclosures to give a $275 billion mortgage relief plan unveiled Wednesday by President Barack Obama a chance to work.
New Yorkers for Responsible Lending wants mortgage lenders and servicers to halt foreclosure actions on all primary residences in the state until at least eight weeks after the Obama administration’s proposal takes effect early next month.
“Even if Obama’s plan is put into place quickly, it’s going to take time for lenders to do modifications,” said Josh Zinner, co-director of the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project. “It’s absolutely critical that there be a foreclosure freeze to give this plan a chance to work.”
More than 32% of all subprime adjustable rate mortgages were seriously delinquent or in foreclosure in New York at the end of 2008, according to Mr. Zinner’s organization, meaning thousands of residents are in jeopardy of losing their homes.
Citigroup Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. have already pledged to halt foreclosures until at least early March 2009. Industry groups say such moves should be left to the financial institutions.
“Some banks have already announced voluntary action, and that is a decision that should be made freely by each institution,” said Michael Smith, chief executive of the New York Bankers Association. “New York law already has the longest foreclosure period in the nation.”
Mr. Obama’s strategy, known as the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, is expected to launch March 4. The initiative could help up to 9 million Americans avoid foreclosure. It will especially target some 5 million homeowners who may owe more on their mortgages than their homes are currently worth and whose mortgages are owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, refinancing their home purchases into new 15- or 30-year loans with fixed interest rates.
The plan also includes a $200 billion increase in the Treasury Department’s funding commitment to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—an attempt to strengthen the mortgage market.
It also offers $75 billion in help to borrowers who are already behind on their mortgage payments or who are struggling to keep their loans current. Under this part of the plan, which could help as many as 4 million homeowners, lenders will receive financial incentives from the federal government of up to $1,000 per loan to modify existing first mortgages, plus other potential payments. Homeowners would also receive incentives for staying current with payments.
Another key component of the plan would allow judges to modify mortgages in bankruptcy court, though this provision requires approval by Congress.
The financial services industry has lobbied heavily against the proposed changes in bankruptcy law.
Yet Mr. Zinner says the proposed changes are necessary to pressure lenders to take modifications seriously.
“If changes in bankruptcy law are put into effect, it will lead servicers to do more modifications through this plan,” he said. “It’s the critical stick that’s needed for this to have a chance of being effective.”
source http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090218/FREE/902189974

The Top New York City Attractions

2009-02-18T17:42:00.000-08:00

Statue of Liberty
Empire State Building
Rockafeller Center
Central Park
Russian Tea Room
5th Avenue
Ellis Island
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York Public Library
Times Square

Prudential Douglas Elliman Contract Signed Reports released 2/18/09

2009-02-18T16:46:00.000-08:00

Median sales price has now increased to $855,000 from $650,000

Average sales price has now increased to $1,336,351 from $984,903

Discount from Last Asking Price continues to increase to 13.6% from 9%

Discount from Original Asking Price continues to increase to 21% from 16%

Transactions sold at ask or above increased to 21% from 7%

Majority of transactions, under $1Million, decreases to 65% from 73%

Median number of days on market to C/S since last ask continues to increase to 72 days from 63 days

Should I buy now? The answer is yes!!! Now is the time to buy

2009-02-18T10:25:00.000-08:00

WHY BUY NOW?

1. interest rates @ 5% or lower

2. prices down 20-30 % or more!

3. increased inventory...30% or more

4. negotiation opportunities are excellent (highly motivated sellers)

5. builders are anxious...some are desperate

6. the best time to upgrade is in a "down" market

7. Donald Trump..."if you're waiting for the matket to hit bottom, it will already be too late".

DO NOT HESITATE.... CALL ME IMMEDIATLY

Now that is what I call a discount!!! 15 Central Park West

2009-02-17T09:10:00.000-08:00

15 Central Park West

Condominium
Original Listing: $80 million
2009 Listing: $47.5 million
Discount: 40.6%
At this exclusive address, the neighbors include Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and former Citi CEO Sanford Weill. This condo on the 40th floor with 5,276 square feet boasts sprawling views of Central Park and 14-foot ceilings. The price tag does not include the $5,425 in monthly maintenance fees.

New York's Million-Dollar Property Steals

2009-02-17T08:28:00.000-08:00

Attention bargain shoppers: The late Brooke Astor's duplex at 778 Park Ave., with 14 rooms, six terraces and a brass-trimmed library with red lacquer walls, would have cost more than $40 million just three years ago. But today, less than a year after the listing debuted, the trophy property has a new broker and a new price tag: $29 million--a 37% discount.

All across Manhattan, but mostly concentrated in the Upper East Side, owners of luxury residencies are cutting prices by 20% to 25% on average, according to Stribling Executive Vice President Kirk Henckels, the broker of Astor's estate.

"Tables have rather turned. For many years the luxury end of the market ruled and supported the rest of the market," he says. "On the sell side, they are now realizing that the market has a pattern, that the market is off and that this is what they can expect."

High Supply, Low Demand, Tight Credit

Manhattan's luxury real-estate market, which is closely tied to the bonuses of Wall Street, had outperformed the rest of the market for two years--until it reached a tipping point in September 2008. The collapse of Lehman Brothers (nyse: LEHMQ - news - people ) on Sept. 15 and the cascade of bailouts signaled the beginning of a steep decline.
"After the Lehman bankruptcy, all the bailouts, all those criteria effectively brought the upper end of the market into the fold. You finally saw a universal impact on housing across all price strata," says Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel, a real estate consulting firm.

Source:http://tinyurl.com/c8feah

Daily Updates

2009-02-14T06:58:00.000-08:00

Anglo Irish files to foreclose on Rector Sq.
Biggest price cut of the day
This Week in Comments
Ratner gets loan extension on Atlantic Yards, no sales at 14 Hope Street ... and more
Q & A with Michael Sichenzia, con artist-turned-mortgage pro
Yankee Stadium tester has license restored
Priciest, cheapest homes to hit market
Six NYC Catholic schools get reprieve
Debts could force early hotel check-outs
Durst moves to One Bryant Park
New loan tool challenges old prices

Google 411... and its free

2009-02-13T13:20:00.001-08:00

Here is something you will want to have and use! Still remember when the telephone company charged $1.50 to get a phone number from information. Just leave it up to Google to come up with something like this!!! Here's a number> worth putting in your cell phone, or your home phone speed dial: 1-800-goog411. (1-800-466-4411) This is an awesome service from Google, and it's free -- great when you are on the road. Don't waste your money> on information calls and don't waste your time manually dialing the number. I am driving along in my car and I need to call a Restaurant, Doctor, Appointment or whatever and I don't know the number. I hit the speed dial for> information that I have programmed. The voice at the other end says, "City." I say, " Garland , Texas .." He> says, "Business, Name or Type of Service." I say, Firewheel Golf Course." He says,"Connecting" and Firewheel answers the phone. How great is that? this is nationwide and it is absolutely free!

For Some, It's Finally Time to Dive Into Housing Market

2009-02-11T08:39:00.000-08:00

The housing bust is creating a new group of winners: first-time home buyers. People who sat on the sidelines -- often watching wistfully as their friends became homeowners -- are suddenly in a position to grab some great deals. Indeed, first-time home buyers made up 41% of all buyers at the end of 2008, up from 36% in 2006, according to a recent survey from the National Association of Realtors.
The new buyers are being lured in by home prices that are down about 25% from their peak levels in mid-2006, according to the S&P/Case-Schiller Index. In some markets, prices have dropped even further -- slumping around 40% in Phoenix, Miami and Las Vegas. Lower mortgage rates have also helped make real estate more affordable, and as houses languish on the market longer, more homeowners are willing to negotiate. With Congress considering plans to sweeten a tax credit for first-time home buyers, the picture could get even brighter.
"Buyers are now coming back into those hard-hit markets to take advantage," says Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors' association. "It's a buyer's market."
Ululani and Scott Larson looked for a house in the Seattle area several years ago, but held off from buying, deterred by the high prices. "I felt like we were missing out, because everyone knows it's the American dream to buy a home and build equity," Mrs. Larson says.
The couple was shocked to discover recently that they could afford a four-bedroom home in Federal Way, Wash. The assessed value of the home in January was $400,000, Mrs. Larson says. Their offer of $315,000, with a down payment of $15,000 was quickly accepted by the relocation company, which had had the property on the market for six months. "Honestly, I didn't think we'd get as nice of a house as we did," Mrs. Larson says.
Of course, would-be buyers need decent credit scores and the money for a decent down payment. Also, finding the right property can be a challenge for first-time buyers, who tend to be seeking less-expensive homes. The typical first-time buyer purchased a home costing $165,000 last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. Yet some of the best bargains right now are in luxury condos and sprawling single-family houses.
"The disproportionate McMansion inventory doesn't work," says Shari Olefson, a real-estate lawyer who works in southern Florida. "Even if you qualify for the loan, there are huge overhead costs to buying a larger home."
Still, real-estate agents and mortgage lenders are banking on first-time buyers to help stimulate the otherwise dreary housing market. Many are holding workshops and information sessions designed specifically for first-time buyers, addressing federal and state tax incentives for homeowners, local prices and ways to take advantage of low mortgage interest rates. Tim Epps, a mortgage adviser in Tulsa, Okla., runs rent-vs.-buying simulations for would-be buyers and recommends that other prospective buyers do the same long-term calculations.
Mr. Epps and many mortgage lenders recommend that buyers come up with as big a down payment as possible, even though Federal Housing Administration loans will allow some first-time buyers to enter the market with as little as 3% down. (Hud.gov has more information about FHA loan programs designed for first-time buyers.)
"Even if [a home owner] loses some paper equity, in the long run, there are some tax benefits," says Mr. Epps, referring to the deduction for interest paid on mortgages and the credit for first-time home buyers.

The $7,500 tax credit for first-time buyers, which Congress passed last year, has had little effect on the market so far. Because the credit has to be repaid, buyers are viewing it as another loan, industry experts say. But the stimulus package that Congress is working on is likely to repeal the provision that requires buyers to pay the credit back and possibly enlarge the tax credit as well.
For many buyers, the biggest question is whether to hold out for even better conditions. Historically, recoveries in the housing market are slow, and most experts expect the prices to stay low for some time. That means people can take their time shopping for the right property, real-estate experts say.
John Stratton, an agricultural engineer in Lisle, Ill., was serious about buying last summer but held off from making a bid. Some of the money he planned to use for a down payment suffered losses from mutual-fund investments. He's also waiting for prices in his area to go down further. "I can do better investing in things other than real estate," he says. "Right now, I'm not diving in."
Patience can pay off. Jen and Drew Rocky spent over a year tracking their prey before the price was right. In the summer of 2006, they saw the four-bedroom, 2½-bathroom home of their dreams in Sherman, Conn. The asking price was $565,000, "completely out of our price range," Mrs. Rocky says.
But they didn't give up. The Rockys kept driving by the vacant house. They had online alerts to notify them of changes in the property's listings. They went to town hall to research the home's public records. As they suspected, the home was in foreclosure. "There were liens all over the place," Mrs. Rocky says.
They bought the home in December 2007 for $410,000. "I felt so vindicated," Mrs. Rocky says. "We got a good deal, but I'm sure there are even better deals out there."

source:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123431356988570855.html

Free.... 3 day 2 Night Vacation For You and a Guest

2009-02-10T16:02:00.000-08:00

Ok Folks... I know you are excited about this, and so am I. So lets cut to the chase. I am giving away a certificate which entitles you to an exciting a 3 day 2 night resort vacation for you and your guest. Actually.... I lied! I am giving away "7", yes I said SEVEN vacations, all of which are 3 day 2 night. Take your pick. Go on all, go on some. It's up to you.

Your Resort Destinations:

1. Orlando

2. Florida Beaches -Destin or Daytona or Ft. Lauderdale

3. Hawaii

4. St. Thomas- US Virgin Islands

5. Eastern USA- Gatlinburg,TN or Nashville,TN or Myrtle Beach, SC or Williamsburg, VA or New Orleans, LA or Wisconsin Dells, WI

6. Western USA- Lake Tahoe/Reno, NV or Aniheim, CA or Las Vegas, NV or Sedona, AZ or Branson, MO or Pagosa Springs, CO

7. Mexico - Cancun or Puerto Vallarta

Ok ....Now here are the details. I have 2 Certificates to give away by Feb. 28 I am giving away 1 to a random subscriber to my blog. You must enter your email in the box "subscribe to my blog and win a vacation" By Feed Burner

Since real estate is about building relationships and referrals, I am giving another certificate to anybody who refers me a customer that leads to a signed contract. It can be a rental or a sale.

So if you have a friend or family member anywhere in the USA that needs my help, please do not hesitate to give them my contact information!!!

The winners must be willing to write a short statement on how you received the certificate and it will be published in my blog.

If you are in the real estate industry and send a referral, you will be paid your referral fees on top of getting a vacation certificate for a successful referral transaction.

Alternatives to foreclosure

2009-02-10T10:05:00.000-08:00

1. A workout: this involves restructuring the loan with the loan holder; this can be done many ways which usually involves either lowering interest rates (don't count on it), accruals of interest, or extended maturity dates. Ultimately, most lenders don't want to have a mortgage in default and have to foreclose; they would prefer to work something out with the borrower.
2) Transfer of the mortgage to a new owner (transferability is dictated by the mortgage signed at closing); Mortgagors that are unable or unwilling to meet their mortgage obligations may be able to find a purchaser who can purchase the property from them before foreclosure happens. Of course, this may come at a huge loss of equity and possibly the mortgagor having to bring some funds to the closing, but it is more attractive than a foreclosure that ruins credit. I have also seen someone buy the place and leave the mortgagor in place as a rental tenant; it all depends on the price, etc.
3) Friendly foreclosure: This is a mortgagor who submits to the jurisdiction of the court and any right to assert defense or claims. This shortens the time a foreclosure takes. As a mortgagor, this should be one of the last resorts, next to a bankruptcy.
4) Prepackaged bankruptcy; This is very detailed and I would advise someone speaking with a Bankruptcy attorney.
5) Voluntary conveyance of the title to the mortgagee. Still ruins credit. The best possible alternatives to foreclosure are the first two options above.

Lenny Kravitz Pulls Pad Off the Market

2009-02-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

Lenny Kravitz has been trying to sell his penthouse at 30 Crosby Street for the past few years; most recently, he slashed the price of the loft from $18.75 million to $14.995 million. Is he now planning to give up entirely? Over the weekend, the listing for Kravitz's 6,000-square-foot pad was pulled down from the Corcoran website, although whether the rocker plans to try again with a new broker is anybody's guess. Source:http://cityfile.com/dailyfile/4307

Toll Brothers Slashes Brooklyn Condominium Prices by Up to 37%

2009-02-10T07:44:00.000-08:00

Toll Brothers Inc., the largest U.S. luxury homebuilder, is slashing prices on its Brooklyn condominiums by as much as 37 percent to spur sales after its unsold inventory spent two years on the market.
Prices at the eastern tower of the waterfront Northside Piers project in Williamsburg were reduced starting Feb. 3 for all types of apartments, said Florence Clutch, the sales manager.
“We wanted to get them into a price range that made sense to people,” David Von Spreckelsen, a senior vice president in Toll’s New York City urban division, said in an interview.
The national housing slump is starting to hit the New York metropolitan area. Manhattan apartment sales fell 9.4 percent in the fourth quarter and in Brooklyn prices tumbled 7.5 percent in the period as Wall Street job losses reduced demand, according to data from appraiser Miller Samuel Inc.
Toll is now selling two-bedrooms starting at $690,000, down 21 percent from $869,000 at the beginning of last week. Three- bedrooms now start at $860,000, down 20 percent from $1.075 million. Penthouses now cost $950,000, down $1.5 million.
Units at One Northside Piers have been on sale since January 2007, said Von Spreckelsen. Toll wants to clear the inventory to make way for sales at Two Northside Piers, which opened for sales in October 2008.
Few Sales Earlier
Sixty of the earlier tower’s 180 units had not been sold as of last week when the sale was announced, Von Spreckelsen said. Since then, five units have contracts pending, he said.
Buyers are so cautious right now the only way to lure them is to cut prices, said David Michonski, chief executive officer of Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy, a commercial and residential brokerage.
“There is a stirring going on in the market, but only at a lower price point,” Michonski said. “Once prices reach a certain level there is a market -- and a robust market.”
More price reductions are likely, he said, “especially if this works, which I think it will.”

Source:http://tinyurl.com/b7dxto

New York City Buildings with a Pool

2009-02-09T15:19:00.000-08:00

165 Charles Street

200 Chambers Street

15 Broad Street

2000 Broadway

2770 Broadway

1 CPW

15 CPW

25 Columbus Circle

80 Columbus Circle

325 Fifth Avenue

425 Fifth Avenue

630 First Avenue

7 Hubert Street

421 Hudson Street

1 Irving Place

79 Laight Street

3 Lincoln Center

40 Mercer Street

280 Park Avenue South

200 Rector Place

280 Rector Place

380 Rector Place

200 Riverside Boulevard

220 Riverside Boulevard

240 Riverside Boulevard

845 United Nations Plaza

200 WEA

25 West Houston Street

2 Worldwide Plaza

3 Worldwide Plaza

143 E 34

415 E 37

330 E 38

250 E 40

235 E 40

240 E 47

250 E 54

60 E 55

117 E 57

151 E 58

340 E 64

200 E 65

220 E 65

304 E 65

422 E 72

524 E 72

530 E 76

300 E 77

404 E 79

171 E 84

350 E 82

455 E 86

120 E 87

170 E 87

200 E 89

350 W 42

635 W 42

500 W 43

150 W 56

146 W 57

301 W 57

161 W 61

20 W 64

43 W 64

201 W 72

225 W 83

250 W 90

275 W 96

Staten Island and Queens lead city in foreclosures, still NYC fares well

2009-02-09T12:15:00.000-08:00

Staten Island and Queens continue to lead New York City in foreclosures, but the Big Apple still compares favorably to other parts of the country, according to a January 2009 foreclosure report released today by PropertyShark.com.As in previous months, Queens had the most foreclosures of any borough, with 170, up 26 percent from 135 in January 2008. That means one in every 4,559 homes is scheduled for foreclosure auction. Staten Island followed with 58 auctions, up 7 percent from last year, but had more foreclosures per capita, with one in every 2,845 homes scheduled for auction.The Bronx had 33 foreclosures, up 38 percent from last year. Manhattan and Brooklyn, on the other hand, had fewer foreclosures than last year, with the number in Manhattan dropping 44 percent to 5, and the number in Brooklyn dropping 73 percent to12 foreclosures, down from 44 in January of 2008.In the entire city, there were 278 foreclosure auction scheduled in the five boroughs in January, up 64 percent from December 2008 and 4.5 percent from January of 2008, said the report, which measures foreclosures in four key metro areas: New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Seattle.The December numbers reflect seasonality more than market conditions, said Brian Scully, the vice president of marketing at Property Shark."Typically we would expect an increase from December to January," he said, "as holiday schedules -- and probably some sense of collective guilt about scheduling an auction around the holidays -- mean less auctions are scheduled."Still, New York had far fewer foreclosures in January than Los Angeles, which saw 2,605 auction scheduled, and Miami, which had 1,188. Miami also had the highest rate of foreclosures per household compared to the other metro areas. In Miami, one in every 654 homes is scheduled for auction, followed by Los Angeles, with one in every 1,205 homes. By comparison, one in every 10,856 homes in New York is scheduled for auction. Lastly, in Seattle, there were 104, 41.6 percent fewer than last year.The zip code with the most foreclosures was 11433 in Queens, an area which includes Jamaica, South Jamaica, Hollis and St. Albans. Single and two-family dwellings were the most common property types for auctions in New York.

(source: http://tinyurl.com/ag4sxq)

FHA Loan Guidelines

2009-02-09T07:15:00.000-08:00

New changes in FHA loan guidelines, effective January 1, 2009, have created exciting new opportunities for qualified clients who may have been waiting for the right time to buy. These opportunities include:

Loan amounts up to $625,500
Down payments as low as 3.5%
Gift funds allowed
Flexible qualifying guidelines
Fixed- or adjustable-rate loans
Low, competitive rates
Loan protection

The Downside for Condos in a Downturn

2009-02-09T07:10:00.000-08:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/realestate/08COV.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Decline in Demand... Long Island Ctiy Office Market

2009-02-08T18:27:00.000-08:00

The office market in Long Island City, Queens, weakened slightly in the last quarter of 2008 as vacancy rates rose and average asking rents dipped, according to a quarterly report released today by Newmark Knight Frank.The market across the Queensboro Bridge from Midtown has about 6.8 million square feet of office space and is home to top New York firms such as Citigroup. Barclays recently subleased 66,600 square feet from Metropolitan Life Insurance at 27-01 Bridge Plaza North. The vacancy rate in Long Island City rose to 8.6 in the fourth quarter of 2008 from 7.8 percent in the third quarter and 6.7 percent in the last quarter of 2007, the report showed. Average asking rents were down slightly to $25.11 in the fourth quarter 2008 from $25.25 the quarter before, but had fallen from a high of about $25.80 in the first quarter of 2008, it said.The report said Class A office space was hard to find in the submarket. However in all office classes, Long Island City saw negative absorption of 55,000 square feet for the quarter and 128,000 square feet for the full year.
Source:http://tinyurl.com/dk5xkq

Jan. spike in NYC foreclosures spares some areas

2009-02-08T16:24:00.000-08:00

Home foreclosures citywide spiked in January -- and the worst may be yet to come.
Foreclosures in New York City rose 64% from December and 5% from a year ago, according to a report from PropertyShark.com scheduled to be released Monday. Foreclosures in Staten Island and Queens once again showed the sharpest increases, ballooning by 56% and 76%, respectively.
“I don’t think we have seen the worst yet,” said Bill Staniford, PropertyShark’s CEO. “People are still losing their jobs and credit is still not available. These issues will be problematic for the market.”
Among the five boroughs, Queens and Staten Island also continued to suffer the highest rate of foreclosures per household in January. In Queens, one in every 4,559 homes is scheduled for foreclosure, while in Staten Island one in every 2,845 homes are.
Within Queens, once again the neighborhoods of Jamaica, South Jamaica, Hollis, and St. Albans recorded the most new foreclosure filings. Many families in Queens took out subprime loans at the peak of the market and are now facing huge mortgage bills, according to Mr. Staniford.
The clear exception to the deepening gloom was Brooklyn, where foreclosures actually dropped by 14% in January from the previous month and were down a whopping 73% from January a year ago, according to the report.
Manhattan too enjoyed a bit of a respite last month. Foreclosures in the borough in January were down 44% from a year ago, and remained at the same levels from the previous month. In January, Manhattan had only one in every 146,400 homes up for foreclosure.
“Brooklyn is a good sign, but I don’t think it will hold up,” said Mr. Staniford, adding that he could not immediately explain the anomaly. “I think it will rise in Brooklyn due to macro economic reasons.”
(source:http://tinyurl.com/bd9nvt)

Major Price Drop at Northside Piers

2009-02-08T14:42:00.000-08:00

With the second Northside Piers tower rising fast on the Williamsburg waterfront, the nearby Edge providing stiff competition and the rent-to-own thing having perhaps run its course in terms of marketing bang, developer Toll Brothers is relying on an age-old strategy to clear out inventory: pure, uncensored PriceChoppage. While the penthouses and most-expensive units at One Northside Piers were left unharmed, a large crop—over 30 units—are a bloody mess. A quick scan of StreetEasy to survey the wreckage shows reductions up to 25 percent in some cases, including this 11th-floor 3BR unit, marked down to $894,990 from an ask of over $1.2 million. For any cautious Northside Piers observers, dare we say that now is the time to buy?

Source:http://tinyurl.com/ahyeph