According to NYPOST, the Real Madrid soccer star has bought a 2509 sqft condo in Trump Tower at 721 Fifth avenue. Speculation is that Ronaldo may be coming to play for the New York City FC or the Red Bulls. He purchased the apartment for $18.5 million from one of Donald Trump’s partners Alessandro Proto.
The Trump Tower was built in 1983 and has 238 units spread over 58 stories. Currently, the most expensive listing is 3725 sqft and being offered for $23 mm and the least expensive listing is a 1058 sqft 1bd/1.5 ba apartment for $2.4mm.
The Williams sisters, champions on the court are adding to their winnings after selling their apartment at 28 W 38 street for a cool $750k profit about 10 years after buying it. They never really got around to furnishing the apartment according to NYDN. The apartment was set up as a 1 bedroom but could have been converted to a 2 or even 3 bedroom apartment is located in the Wheeler building which is a co-op that allows pied-a-terres and pets.
More and more Manhattan towers are being built on narrow pieces of land and as a result there is a little sway at the upper floors. According to NYT though, this is mitigated by installation of dampeners on the upper floors. Some dampeners add weight to the higher floors and some systems act as a shock absorbers. How much sway is there? The analogy used is having a wine glass and with high winds that are rare you can see the glass move. This would be what would happen without the dampeners. There isn’t a building code that requires this but all new development condos have them and it is not in anyway to make the building safe but rather for the comfort of the owners.
The Whole Foods coming to 125th street and Lenox avenue is progressing towards completion. The 6 story structure will include a Burlington Coat Factory, and Olive Garden and over 160,000 of retail. All spaces are already leased.
A reporter from NYPost, shares his experience is searching for his first apartment in Manhattan. He points out some of his early mistakes like going from broker to broker and neighborhood to neighborhood without first getting a pre approval. In the end, he had an accepted offer and backed out on that property before purchasing in a condo conversion in Upper Manhattan.
He advises with the help of real estate brokers cited in the article to
1- Decide on a nabe
2- Get a pre approval
3- Find a buyer broker
Also I would add to choose your real estate attorney well. Usually your buyer broker can help you with that. A real estate attorney usually chages around $2500 or so but some that do excellent work can be found for as little as $1250-$1500.
Additionally, beyond getting the pre approval make sure that the bank will finance in the building that you choose. Some buildings have sponsors that still own more than 10% of the shares(co-ops) or the apartments(condos) or a higher than usual percentage of tenants. This can complicate financing and is an area very often overlooked by many real estate brokers. This as a buyer can cost you time and money and add streess. So vet the building with your lender to avoid all of that! What are your tips for a first time buyer?
According to The Epoch Times, a survey that was done by the Real Estate Board of New York(REBNY) of about 400 real estate brokers showed that about 10% of the brokers had concerns about a slowdown of Chinese buyers for Manhattan real estate. The survey was compiled prior to the stock market crash in China so that was not a factor. Some experts feel that options for Chinese investment became fewer with the market crash.
Since 2013, the Chinese government has been making it harder to get money out of the country. Additionally, EB-5 visas were delivering green cards in exchage for a $500k investment in about 1 year but due to demand, green cards are now being received in about 3 years.
According to some experts who deal with wealthy Chinese, some of the deals that are now being consummated for luxury residential Manhattan real estate are being purchased with money that was already taken out of the country in prior years.
One loophole is to purchase collectible items like art in China and then sell it overseas since there isn’t a limit on personal property being moved out of China.
What do you think the impact will be on Manhattan’s real estate market if any?
The former home of the dive bar- Subway Inn is reportedly in contract according to Bloomberg, for $300 million. Kuafu Properties LLC will close on the purchase from the World Wide Group in October. They plan to add about 60k sqft of retail space in a ground-up project. The same New York based Chinese firm has also purchased One MIMA Tower, a luxury rental on West 42nd street which it will convert to condos. They are also the purchasers behind the property at East 86th street and Lexington avenue which currently houses a NYSC.
What is widely considered the oldest house in Harlem has sold for $3.6 million to Jack Stephenson who will lease it to a friend who will use it as a practice facility for musician. The famed opera singer Lauren Flanagan will operate the not-for-profit Music & Mentoring House at the location. The house is a clapboard house, landmarked in 1982, and believed to have been built in 1864. This sale while not a record, is one of the most expensive residential sales in Harlem to date. See NYDN.
Due to a dearth of inventory in Harlem,prices have continued to rise for townhouses. Recently, our brokerage went to contract on 517 W 179 street and 522 W 142 street. 522 W 142 street was an SRO in shell condition that went over the asking price of $1.3 million. It will be conveyed without the certificate of no harassment which is needed before a purchaser can get their building permits. Interest was instense and it went to a CASH purchaser. Similar SROs are trying to push even higher than $1.5 million depending on width and condition of the building.
According to NYPost, many renters as well as purchasers priced out of not only Manhattan but also LIC, and Williamsburg have turned their attention to Roosevelt Island. Known for slower moving traffic, Manhattan views and green space, rentals can be had for about a 30% discount compared to Manhattan according to Brokers. Additionally, there is a co-op conversion (Island House) of a rental building that saw 100 visitors to their opening day. Two 3 bedroom duplexes which monthly maintenance of under $1800 are already spoken for at this time. There were asking just north of $1 million. Island House listings
Cornell’s $2B tech campus is already in the construction phase and if all that wasn’t enough, Starbucks has opened an outpost on the Island. A short tram ride over the East River or one stop on the F train awaits commuters who are much closer to Midtown than parts of Upper Manhattan or even parts of LIC and Williamsburg.
What’s your opinion? Is now the time to get something here before the prices rise like it did in LIC?
I am not sure why but it seems to be every Manhattanites’ (myself included)dream to buy their neighbor’s apartment and combine the two. According to NYTimes, there may be some basic considerations to mull over. I would add that it’s a good idea to do an analysis with the costs to combine of your contractor/architect and see if it might not make more sense to just sell your current Manhattan pad and buy a bigger apartment given the inconvenience of either moving out or living through construction.
News about the NYC real estate residential and commercial markets provided and interpreted by an industry veteran licensed since 1999. Brian Silvestry of BSRG Inc. Licensed real estate broker
