It was about 1 year that NYSC closed their doors at East 86th street and Lexington avenue on Manhattan’s Upper East side. The site still remains quiet and unfortunately gives the northern side of the street a rundown quality to it. Will the developer push forward with condos in this ever changing market?
The other day, I was speaking to a potential client and offered to evaluate the property and she said that she had it appraised already. I think some sellers do not understand the difference between appraised value and market value.
An appraisal is done by a licensed appraiser and they give you a value for your home based on what properties similar to it have sold. They usually look back about 6-12 months.
A market value can be given to you by a real estate agent/broker and is typically done when you are intending to sell your property or considering it. A real estate broker looks back at the same information that the appraiser did but also looks at the current listings and may even look forward as well using the direction of the current market.
The difference is that the appraised value is based on sales that took place 6-12 months so those properties might have been listed 12 to 18 month ago. The market 12 months ago most likely in Manhattan is not the same as the current market. So while an appraised value can help you for tax purposes or an estate, when selling you really want to be able to get the market value from a Manhattan real estate broker with experience in your area/building. This will enable you to most up to date information.
Let’s say you are ready to purchase an apartment on the Upper West side with at least 3 bedrooms. Inventory is still on the low side. After doing a few searches on listing site streeteasy.com I came up with the below numbers. All of the below numbers indicate at least 3 bedrooms except where noted and the price range selected was between $3 – $4.5 million.
19 condos in the Lincoln Square section of the Upper West side
11 more listings in the UWS
8 listings with at least 4 bedrooms on the UWS
15 co-ops in Lincoln Square
9 co-ops UWS
5 co-ops on the UWS of which have at least 4 bedrooms
The range of offerings was from the luxury buildings on Riverside boulevard in Lincoln Square with tons of amenities to the Lincoln Towers co-op complex where your dollar goes further.
Only about 25% of the apartments in either co-op or condo segment up to $4.5 million had at least 4 bedrooms. Most new construction or recent conversions starts a little bit above this range.
The above is a virtual reality tour through the floor plan of 400 Central Park west apt 18N which is a rental available for $4000 monthly.
952 Columbus avenue is already almost topped off. The 6 story building condo will have 15 units with a church on the ground floor. Listing site Streeteasy.com shows 11 units for sale and 9 in contract in less than 3 months. Affordable luxury sells and sells well. The units range in size from 1 to 3 bedrooms.
In the late 90’s there was a court case involving two lawyers who tried to sublet an apartment on the East side. When their application was rejected, they brought a lawsuit and eventually, individual board members were held liable. One was held liable for over $100k personally! That was an eye opener for co-op boards who previously thought they could not be held personally liable for rejecting a potential candidate. If you are thinking of running for your co-op board make sure that your building has D & O insurance to cover you in case of a lawsuit.
Attorneys advise to also beware of what you ask in terms of questions. What might seem innocuous may in fact be discriminatory. So having counsel to review with you questions that are allowed on the Board interview is wise. In addition, make sure that if you reject a candidate it is backed up by facts like weak financials.
Note- This is not meant to be legal advice. Consult with counsel in advance. Read the Cooperator this month and there are several interesting articles on the Biondi case and also types of insurance to protect Board members.
Central Park saw 9 inches of snow today as schools were closed and many people smartly stayed home. According to the Mayor, everything should be back to normal by tomorrow.
Whether you are thinking of buying a Manhattan apartment for $300k or $100 million, a buyer’s agent is essential to your success. When you venture out to open houses, the agents that you meet are seller’s agents meaning that they negotiate for the seller and are responsible to be honest with you. The seller and his agent are looking for the highest possible price and anything that you say can tip them off to your urgency or desire to complete the purchase. A buyer’s agent among other things can advise you if and how much you can negotiate based on their market knowledge and recent sales. He or she can arrange an attorney for you and refer you a lender if needed.
A buyer’s agent is your advocate. He can look into neighboring developments to see if there are any plans for a future building that will wipe out your wonderful views. He can also advise you throughout the transactions when you have questions so that you have someone that you trust to decide if what you hearing from various sources is normal and fair.
A buyer agent can also preview properties like new developments for you and save you time to see if there are offerings that match your needs. You might not want or be able to make a visit to a new development sales office but your buyer agent can do it for you and send your photos and relay information.
There are many things that a buyer agent can do for you regardless of how much you want to spend on your Manhattan pad. Best of all, there is no additional cost to you as both the seller’s agent and your buyer agent are paid out of the proceeds of the sale. In short, just like you have a lawyer to represent you, make sure you have a good agent that you can trust to protect your interests as well.
A high floor 1 bedroom/convertible 2 bedroom has entered the rental market. The 1 bedroom condo in the sought after 400 Central Park west condo has a 19′ terrace with southern views of Central Park and the Midtown skyline. There is plenty of customization in the renovation that took place and even an interior bedroom that can be a nursery. See the gallery below. Asking rent is $4000 and is available 3/1.
I think when you are choosing a broker to sell your Manhattan apartment, it comes to 5 questions that you need to answered.
1- How long have you been working in real estate?
2- Do you work by yourself or in a team?
3- What experience have you had in my building or nabe?
4- What is your marketing plan to sell my apartment?
5- How did you arrive at your proposed listing price?
Generally speaking, you will be better off going with a broker that you get as a referral from a friend or colleague so at least there is a track record. Let’s take a look at the answers to the above questions that will give you more of a probability of success in selling your Manhattan pad.
Real estate is cyclical and brokers with more years under their belt tend to have weathered more than one cycle. To be successful and continue to make a living generally means you at least are capable in your trade. If you have a $10 million Tribeca loft you might not want to hand that over to someone with 1 or 2 years in the business.
Working in a team can be an asset because you have more agents or assistants at your disposal. However, in a team with many listings you may want to ask if the primary agent will be working with you and handling buyer showings or if it’s one of the team members possibly a newbie. That can make a big difference.
Having already had success in your building or in your neighborhood can also be a strong indication that they are familiar with both. Selling is transferring emotion and in some cases a long term owner in your building may be the best person to transfer that good feeling to a potential buyer.
As far as marketing goes, I think that listing in streeteasy, ny times or online sites, is something that everyone does. Intangibles may be important like doing a video tour of the property or a social media presence. In any market, extra service does not cost more but it might be the difference in procuring a buyer for your Manhattan apartment or having it languish on the market. I think you should also ask about the follow up. If a buyer goes for financing, will your listing agent call the bank to see how the process is moving along. Will they speak to the other attorney to help expedite closing? Typically, the answer will be no but some agents will go the extra mile.
Lastly, the asking price is very important as an overpriced listing will just sit on the market only to have it’s price chopped while delaying your plans to move. In some cases, there may be lots of similar properties and it’s a matter of calculating price per square foot and making adjustments. However, pricing more expensive properties can be almost like pricing art. It’s just not that simple.
I think if you ask some of the questions, and get a recommendation, you will definitely increase the chances that you will be successful in selling your Manhattan property.
