Archive for Blog
Short Sales Hit Manhattan
Incase you dont know a short sale is a sale of real estate in which the sale proceeds fall short of the balance owed on the property’s loan. Search the recent sales listings and you’ll find dozens of advertised short sales, some being creative with their wording and saying something like “owner must sell.” Everything [...]
Sting’s Duplex Price Says Ouch!
After first listing it in 2006 for $24.9 million, Sting chopped the price on his 88 Central Park West duplex apartment to $19 million more recently- and the sale is now final at $17.75 million. That’s a 29% decrease from the original listing price. Someone may need to call the Police, the price dropped so [...]
The Duke Mansion Up for $40 Million
The Duke Semans mansion, one of just a handful of mansions remaining on the Gold Coast of Fifth Avenue, is about to sell for $40 million. If it goes through, the sale would be the biggest townhouse sale since the beginning of the recession. Along with the talk of an impending sale of Brooklyn’s Clock Tower penthouse, [...]
Will Record Low Mortgage Rates Keep Dropping?
Mortgage rates dropped to an average of 4.59% for a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage last week, the lowest ever recorded by Mortgage Bankers Association since they began keeping track in 1972. And they may not stop there- Zillow’s Mortgage Marketplace reported the average at 4.37% on Tuesday of this week.
While the low rates aren’t creating [...]
Is Someone Buying Brooklyn’s Clocktower Building?
Back in February I gave you the video tour of Brooklyn’s Clocktower Building at One Main Street in DUMBO. It was listed at $25 million. While the building itself is almost as amazing as the views it offers, charging 3x what any other condo has ever sold for in Brooklyn is, well, dumbo. Who’s going [...]
Manhattan: The U.S.A.’s Most Expensive Parking Space
If you park a car in Manhattan with any kind of frequency, you may find yourself walking from the lot to the office shaking your head and thinking, “It’s so expensive to park here…” And, in fact, you’re right. According to a Wall Street Journal article, parking in Manhattan is, indeed, more expensive than anywhere [...]
Are Appraisal Numbers Intentionally Lowered?
Have you had the strange feeling that lenders are lowering the numbers on appraisals? Hearing stories about deals that are all set to go- contract signed, buyers have the mortgage, you’re ready to sign the papers- until the appraisal comes back dramatically lower than the price in the contract and the lender demands the mortgage [...]
El Rushbo is Leaving New York
Rush Limbaugh has been a consistent hater of New York taxes. With shows boasting titles like “El Rushbo to New York: Drop Dead,” his feelings have about as much subtlety as the ornate decor of his opulent condo. Making good on his promise to get out of New York because of the high taxes, Limbaugh’s [...]
Manhattan Market Report for 2nd Quarter, 2010
Manhattan 2Q 2010 Market Report
The 2009 Manhattan real estate market is beginning, if slightly, to recede into the past. This year’s market is stronger than anyone could have hoped for last summer, which means we can all spend a little more time worrying about how to beat the heat than if sales are going to [...]
The Impact of Closing St. Vincent’s
When a major business closes, it’s hard to know exactly what the impact on the surrounding community will be, but there are sure to be economic and real estate ripples. St. Vincent’s Hospital closed at the end of April, and the community lost 3,500 hospital employees, thousands of visitors to patients, and hundreds of suppliers [...]