A 3 bedroom/2 bath Battery Park City apartment in the full service Cove Club building, has now sold. The apartment featured beautiful park and harbor views, concrete floors, a large eat in kitchen, museum finishes and was wired for sound. The monthly common charges were $6250.
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.
We are starting to see VR tools move into the real estate industry beginning with new developments and then filtering their way down the pipeline to your average listing. It’s interesting with all of the technology that we have at our fingertips that the average listing does not even have a video tour and the majority of the rental listing photos are taken with an smartphone. This delay in embracing new technology by the majority of the Manhattan real estate brokers is nothing new.
With international buyers searching Manhattan properties from all over the world and in many different time zones, having a video tour or 3D tour that can be navigated by the buyer (similar to Google maps) is an ideal 24 hour sales tool. Having only professional quality photos plus a 2D floor plan is akin to putting an ad in NYT and holding open houses. It might have been the tools that worked 15 years ago but times have changed.
Take a look at the video tour that was done for 189 Edgecombe avenue, a Harlem townhouse that is in contract. Video tours are an ideal way for buyers to get to know a property before they see it in person as well.
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.
Sometimes, clients ask me why the taxes on one townhouse are much higher than others or vice versa. The City tax system is a very difficult one to understand and few do. The City has appointed Vicki Been and Marc Shaw to co-chair this new commission. 10 public hearings will be held to solicit input from the public.
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.
With approximately 6,000 units of new development in the market throughout NYC, there is an obvious glut. But some developments like 250 W 81st street are raising prices. In the Robert A.M. Stern designed building, the largest units were the first to sell and the buyers are coming from the local market with zero foreign buyers. In addition, the location on Manhattan’s upper west side, has a scarcity of new development.
Most developers believe that within 2-3 years, most of the existing inventory will be gone so now is a good time for them to begin the process knowing full well the market may swing in the favor by the time they are ready to start selling.
22 luxury contracts were signed last week at $4 million and above but only 4 of those were signed for new development according to the Olshan report. Transaction volume was down to $160 million from $225 million of the previous week.
Buyers are shopping for value at this point and we are seeing it across all market price points but especially the luxury market.
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.
NYC puts out a guide of how to understand your real estate tax bill of your property. It’s amazing how many NYC property owners do not understand their real estate property tax bill. In fairness, the system is very complicated and you might see two identical Manhattan townhouses with the same number of units yet radically different tax bills.
It is always advisable to consult with a real estate tax attorney before making any changes to your tax classification, and doing renovations especially alterations.
Generally speaking, your real estate tax bills will go up when you do an alteration to your building like changing the number of units or adding gross square footage. If you do not make a change to your building, there are caps on your assessed value which is the amount that your real estate tax bill is derived. For class 1 properties which are 1-3 family homes, it is 6% per year or 20% for 5 years. For tax class 2A (4-6 units), class 2B (7-10 units) the cap is 8% per year or 30% over 5 years. For properties that are class 2 (11 units or more) no cap exists which is one of the reasons a SRO building as classified by Department of Finance with 11 rooms(units) could see taxes climb steadily per year without cap.
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.
According to the latest reports and anecdotes from top brokers, proximity to subway access is beginning to lose it’s importance to affluent Manhattan property buyers. This is due directly to the emergence of Uber and Lyft. Riding in the car, you can continue to be productive so it’s not as important to be 3 blocks away from the subway.
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.
*Please note the below is not legal advice or meant to substitute for legal advice. If interested in approaching a tenant of your building for a buyout, it is best to consult with an attorney so that you remain in compliance for all applicable laws. *
A tenant buyout is when a landlord offers money to a tenant to vacate an apartment. For example, a landlord wants to offer a rent stabilized tenant money to surrender their apartment so that they charge market rate rent. Recently, I showed an Upper West side townhouse where the rent controlled tenant was in place for approximately 50 years. They are paying around $600 for a 3bd/2ba that would rent for around $7500. There is no amount of money that can be offered to this tenant to have them leave. They are saving approximately $80k per year in rent and are in their 60’s. This townhouse has transferred in the past with the same tenant in place.
A tenant buyout will be a function of the age of the tenant, likelihood that there is someone that can succeed them in the apartment like a son or daughter, difference between their rent and the market rent and their and the owner’s motivations.
For landlords, there are many applicable laws to this situation. See the below link for some assistance and consult with your attorney as this is a place where many landlords are running afoul of the law either intentionally or unintentionally.
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.
Many townhouse buyers like the idea of buying a Manhattan fixer upper but underestimate both the cost, time and effort involved with a renovation. If you purchase a fixer upper, the positives are that you can make the home exactly as you want from unit number, to finishes to outdoor space like a roof terrace or penthouse. But you will pay for that convenience in renovation costs which could be as low as $150 per square foot to as much as $700 or more per square for a high end renovation.
Additionally, a renovation will require approvals from Department of Buildings, as well as Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) if the building is one of the coveted Manhattan historic districts. Also there is no guarantee that if you purchase a $7 million Upper West side townhouse and add $4 million that your space is worth more than $11mm total.
I think the questions you should ask are:
1- Can you find something in a higher price range that is already finished close to what I am looking for in a townhouse?
2- Do you have all of the necessary capital to pay for the renovation including architecture fees, permits and expediters? Also, do you have the time to dedicate to supervising the work and making sure your expectations are met?
3- Do you have the patience to wait between 1-3 years or more for the townhouse to be finished while undergoing renovation?
4- Do you have enough capital to cover the cost overruns or increased costs associated with the unanticipated items?
5- Are you okay with the potential increase in real estate taxes due to the renovation and potential alteration? Speak to your real estate tax attorney for more details on that.
A townhouse renovation is not for the faint of heart and should be entered into with care and tons of research. Perhaps it might be wise instead, to purchase a Manhattan townhouse that is already renovated and ready for occupancy.
The dining area at 189 Edgecombe, a gut renovated townhouse in Hamilton Heights that is for sale for $2.525 million.The marble clad kitchen with island, dishwasher, garbage disposal, wine refrigerator and sliding doors to the deck. 189 Edgecombe avenue
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.
According to the latest market reports, the average listing price is down about 10% compared to last year, but 25 contracts over $4 million were signed last week. $849 million dollars of contracts have been signed in the $4million and up segment since the last week of March which is the best start of the Spring market since 2015. What do these seemingly differing numbers mean? The luxury/new development market has been in a buyer’s market for about 2 years now. As a result, the buyer and seller expectations are more inline with each other than lower price points. For the last year or so, new developments have been open to negotiations. Additionally, some projects have been paused or never got off the ground. So the existing inventory is being sold.
This is unlike the below $4 million price market where sellers’ expectations needs to adjust to the current reality and that they will not achieve the same prices that were reached a year ago. Manhattan buyer’s market tend not to last very long.
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.
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
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.
