All posts by Brian Silvestry

I have been in the real estate industry first as a licensed agent and as a broker since 1999. I have sold in every Manhattan neighborhood though do work a lot on the Upper west side where I live and upper Manhattan. I speak French,Portuguese, and Spanish.
Harlem, Store Openings

Shake Shack opening soon on Harlem’s 125th street

As Shake Shack prepares to open their Harlem store on 125th street, some residents are excited and some local burger joints are concerned. Harlem Shake and Harlem Burger Co which are both located nearby. are hoping their clientele will continue to come. Some of the offerings are similar. There is no set date yet for the opening of Shake Shack in Harlem but there is partnership with a local bakery, Lady Lexis pies to produce an item only available at the Harlem store. Also 5% of the custard sales will go to a local charity, Harlem Grown.

AMNY full coverage

The Author-  Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.

BuyingtipsforManhattanproperty, HamiltonHeights, Harlem, Marketreports, Selling tips, Townhouse

Harlem townhouse August market report

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In the month of August the Central Harlem,Hamilton Heights market was quiet with only 4 new listings coming to the market.

Among the 4 new listings, there is an SRO sold without the certificate of no harassment for $2.1 million looking for cash buyers according to the listing which is the least expensive listing. Also listed this month is a home at 210 W 122nd street which appears to be renovated though the DOB records indicate SRO as well asking $3.995 million. Rounding out the new listings are an 8 unit for sale near Fifth avenue and a 3 family with side yard at 517 W 152nd street which was listed previously.

On the sale side(see table below), there were 5 sales and some properties went to contract or were removed from the market which resulted in a decrease of inventory from 82 available listings in July to 70 in August. This led to a corresponding decrease in inventory levels to only 14 months from 21 months in July.

Sold properties for August
Sale Price # Units
160 W 130 ST $2,400,000 8
37 W 126 ST $2,544,000 4
127 W 120 ST $3,451,000 3
106 W 120 ST $3,375,000 3
17 W 120 ST $3,750,000 6
# Active listings Inventory (months)
70 14
<$2mm 5
$2mm-$2.99mm 33
$3mm-$3.99 mm 25
$4mm + 8

July Harlem townhouse report

June Harlem townhouse report

The Author-  Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.

Co-ops, Condos, Manhattan, Real estate

What are the main differences between a NYC co-op and condo part 1?

This is the first in a 3 part series of the differences between Manhattan co-ops and condos. 

There are many differences between a Manhattan co-op and condominium and in this first installment we will explore 2 of them.

1- Co-ops can turn down the application of a prospective purchaser without any reason given and that’s it, the buyer can not complete the purchase.  Any fees or costs incurred are not reimbursed and that’s it. A condo grants a waiver of the right of first refusal when they take an application from a prospective purchaser. The only time that they may exercise the right of first refusal is when an apartment is being sold far below market. Instead of letting the sale go forward, they can purchase the apartment.

2- Co-ops more closely scrutinize the financial wherewithal of prospective buyers than condos. So you need to have a down payment of 20-25% plus a debt to income ratio of no more than 28% plus stable job history, and excellent credit. A condo may run credit but they are satisfied with you obtaining a loan commitment or purchasing cash. They are not going to turn you down because you do not make enough money.

The Author-  Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every Manhattan market from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.

Harlem, Subway

West 110th street subway station to open this Saturday

After 5 months of being closed for repairs and improvements, on Saturday southbound service will begin again and on Tuesday northbound service will resume. The MTA announced that the project was completed on time and on budget. The station had closed April 9th.

Curbed coverage

The Author-  Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.

 

 

Marketreports, Rentals, Soho, Tribeca

Most expensive zip code for renters in US is…Battery Park City

The most expensive zip code in the US for renters according to a recent report by RentCafe is Battery Park City, 10280. The average rent is just over $5657 according to the report. This is down from the previous year’s average of $6,000. 26 of the 50 most expensive zip codes in the US for renters were in Manhattan. Three of the top 12 most expensive zip codes were on Manhattan’s Upper West side.

Soho/TriBeca was the area that experienced the largest increase in rent year over year. 10013’s average rent was up over 10%.

Coverage from 6sqft

The Author-  Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.

Luxury, Manhattan, Marketreports

24 Luxury contracts signed last week in Manhattan

Last week, 24 contracts for $4 million and up were signed. This was an increase from 15 contracts signed for the same week, last year. The most expensive contract was a co-op at the Pierre at 795 Fifth avenue which had an asking price of $22.5 million.

The Author-  Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.

Celebrity real estate, CentralParkWest, LincolnSquare, Luxury, Real estate

Jennifer Lopez and ARod have an apt on Upper west side

According to Architectural Digest, Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez have been renting an upper west side apartment in 15 Central Park west, the limestone condo near Lincoln Center on Manhattan’s upper west side. Apparently, the lease will be up and the apartment,  will be for rent for $11,500 come September 1.  The apartment is 1,079 sqft with a 111 sqft private terrace.

The Author-  Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.

Chelsea, Highline, HudsonYards, Luxury, New Developments

Hudson Yards effect on nearby condo and rental buildings

As Hudson Yards continues it’s march towards completion in 2025 and many amenities are open or near open including the Culture Shed, and the Vessel, the development is effecting nearby development.

According to Real Estate Weekly, brokers in nearby developments- both rental and sale are seeing increases in activity. These new developments include 515 West 29th street aka Five One Five, a boutique condo building with 3 listings on streeteasy starting at $4.375 mm for an 1895 sqft(172m2) 2bd/3ba. Also listed on the same block is 550 West 29th street which features a 3290 sqft(306m2) penthouse with a huge outdoor space  in a 19 unit boutique building.

Neaby rental buildings are also seeing increased activity due to the influx of new commercial tenants to Hudson Yards. According to brokers representing those luxury rentals, some do not want to live exactly where they work but with a 5-10 minute walk and as a result are choosing nearby Hell’s Kitchen developments like Sky and The Oskar.

Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard rents in Sky

The Author-  Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.

 

LincolnSquare, Listings, Luxury, New Developments, RiversidePark, Upperwestside

50 Riverside boulevard aka One Riverside Park availability

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The Extell Development building built in 2015, with a 20 year tax abatement, and 50,000 sqft of amenities currently has 9 units for sale. They are all resales, averaging approximately 10-20% more than their sold prices in 2015. The averge price per square foot is $1,878 per square foot. The average days on the market is 181 and if you remove one listing that has been for sale for 451 days, it goes down to 150 days on market.

There have been 4 sales this year and none in the last 3 months. That’s an average of 1 sale every 2 months which means the inventory would last about 18 more months.

The two resales sold this year were sold for a 100,000 or 6% profit and a $1.2 million loss, suggesting the building is roughly valued very close to the 2015 levels or less in the case of the larger apartments purchased from the sponsor.

Given that there are many more years left in this tax abatement, this might be the right time to get into this building with it’s amenity suite including the La Palestra athletic club, bowling alley and lounge, rock climbing wall and 75 foot lap pool.

The Author-  Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.

Buying tips for your NYC apartment, Investment, Luxury, New Developments, Real estate

Thinking of buying a Manhattan luxury property for investment?

This is 3rd part of the series focusing on the purchase of Manhattan properties for investment. In this part, we take a look at the luxury market and it’s opportunities.

According to the latest study from streeteasy.com 2018 is the year of the discount for luxury property, roughly defined as $4mm and up by the study. 59% of the properties that closed were discounted and median discount was $980,000. This is up from 36% of the properties in 2016 and also up from 2017’s number of 54%.

One way to take advantage of the Manhattan luxury market is to buy and hold the property. Right now, the luxury market is in the 3rd year of buyer’s market. Less product is coming on the market, and land sales have slowed. Once this inventory is absorbed, then we will again see a shortage of inventory in the luxury market and the prices will rise again.

Also, luxury rentals will be more and more in demand. Take for example 1 Hudson Yards. It is a building with luxury amenities, liklap pool, salt water pool for children, cold plunge pool plus a bowling alley and lounge with kitchen, penthouse party room, and tons of outdoor space. In addition, there is an gym similar to an Equinox, a basketball court, and plenty of outdoor grills for barbecuing. In a neighborhood that is developing with construction everywhere, take a guess how many rentals are available in this 178 unit building. Zero! All rented. 1 bedrooms were $4800, 2 bedrooms $9,000 + and 3 bedrooms $15k and up. The rental market also for the last 2 years, has been oversupplied and this will change in the next 1-2 years. In 20 years of real estate brokerage, I have seen several cycles.

Take an apartment in Waterline square as an example. A 3bd/3ba in 1 Waterline Square aka 10 Riverside boulevard is asking just over $5 million. Due to the tax abatement, the monthlies for this 1824 sqft (169.4m2) apartment is $3,642 including the taxes.  A 3 bedroom/3bath of about the same size rented for $14,000 in 50 Riverside boulevard back in June of this year. Let’s do the numbers on this purchase assuming an asking price purchase.

$5,000,000 purchase
$14,000 rent monthly
$3,642 monthly charges
$10,358 net or $124,296 annually
2.5% return 

The 2.5% return does not take into account the market price of this apartment in the future as well as tax benefits such as depreciation. Let’s say in 5 years, the apartment is worth $6 million. Your rate of return then would be 5.6%.

Additionally, the monthly net income could support approximately $2 million in mortgage which could lower your necessary cash outlay to $3 million from $5 million. This would raise your rate of return in 5 years to 15%!

The luxury market is full of these type of deals where you can take advantage of the slowdown in demand and get in on the market before the market turns up again. If you understand that the tech and finance sectors are not going anywhere and also understand that Millenials might find it harder to purchase and many may decide to rent luxury instead of buying then you can take advantage of the opportunity that not everyone sees.

 

Part 1 of the Manhattan investment buying series

Mansion Global coverage

The Author-  Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.