Category Archives: Townhouse

Investment, multifamily, Selling tips, Taxes, Townhouse

How to minimize the taxes on the sale of your Manhattan property

One of the easiest way to save money on the sale of your Manhattan investment property is to do a 1031 exchange also known as a like kind exchange. The gist is you sell an investment property, and purchase a property of similar value. The property must close within 6 months of the sale of the first property and you need to identify it within 45 days of the closing of the sale.

Let’s take a look at an example.

You have an investment condo worth $2 million that you have owned for 20 years that you bought for $500,000. Instead of paying tax on the profit, you buy another property worth $2 million and roll over the gain. The purchase can be another condo, multi-family, vacant land etc… When you close the sale of the condo, you have 45 days to identify potential purchases and 6 months to close or you lose the opportunity to do the 1031 exchange. Speak to your CPA and attorney for details on how to execute this process. But once you execute the purchase, you trade one property for the other and have deferred the taxes. With the typical Manhattan condo investment property returning 2-3%, you can probably buy another property either in New York or another statement that will return two to three times the net cash flow. In addition, if you have owned an asset for a number of years, it is likely you have depreciated it possibly even to the max. By starting over, you can begin depreciating anew. Again, speak to your CPA.

Keep in mind that a 1031 exchange is not for your primary residence but rather a property that you have rented it as an investment with one exception. The 1031 exchange can be used for your primary residence if you own a townhouse where you live it but rent other apartments. So in the case of a 3 family, your primary residence is the unit you live in and if you rent the other two units, the 1031 exchange can be applied to the rental portion of the building.

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.

BuyingtipsforManhattanproperty, HamiltonHeights, Harlem, Townhouse

Why does a Harlem 2 family sell for more than a 4 family?

If you examine listings on the market in Harlem, you see a price difference between a 4 family and a 2 family.  Why is that?

One reason is that the buyer for a 2 family is typically look at the purchase to gain more space and perhaps live on 3 floors and rent the garden level apartment. In a 4 family, the most common layout is a floor thru and that might be a 1 or 2 bedroom which is not going to address the space needs of a primary residence buyer. It is going to be an interesting offering for an investor or someone who wants to buy instead of renting. But these are not need based buyers so they will shop for a better price.

Another reason is that a 4 family may have been converted from SRO or some other use and the historic details that make a Harlem townhouse so appealing may not be present. Certainly, that is not always the case but many times it is. For example, I evaluated a solid 4 family townhouse in Hamilton Heights for an owner and it was 4 well maintained 1 bedrooms with a value of around $2 million more or less. A similar 2 family home in the same area that has many original details in place but in inferior condition is asking $2.3 million, or 15% more.

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, Harlem, Renovation, Townhouse

Take a look inside a Harlem renovated townhouse

The Baker family bought their townhouse in 2015 and it was a four family home. Their design team turned it into a 1 family home with floor to ceiling windows at their rear and exposed steel beams, duct work and sprinkler systems. The renovation created a lofty home with plenty of light and a guest room at the garden level. Their architect was Opera studio.

Curbed coverage

HamiltonHeights, Harlem, Listings, Marketreports, Townhouse

Only 7 new Harlem townhouse listings for sale so far this month

With only 1 week left in the month, only 7 new listings for Central Harlem and Hamilton Heights townhouses have been brought to the market in June, so far. Two of those listings were for under $2 million.

The most expensive June listings are two Hamilton Heights homes which have the same price tag of $4 million each. This is in stark contrast to the months of April and May where there were nearly 20 new listings each month and very few contracts. Full report coming next week.

May Harlem townhouse market report

HamiltonHeights, Harlem, Inventory, Listings, Marketreports, Townhouse

Harlem townhouses price reductions becoming more frequent

According to the latest data, there are 85 active listings in the market on the listings website streeteasy in Central Harlem and Hamilton Heights. 36 of these listings have at one point or another been reduced from their original asking prices and some more than once. This data shows that seller’s expectations were not in line with the current market and as a result, adjustments have been made to price sometimes not once but twice. In this market, buyers are even more hesitant to get involved with buildings that have issues or are expecting more of a discount to do so.

Between April and May we saw approximately 40 new townhouse listings and few contracts. Halfway through June, only 4 Harlem townhouses have been brought to the market.

Harlem townhouse May report

Harlem townhouse April 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.

Listings, Marketreports, Townhouse

Harlem Market May report

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In the month of May, the townhouse market for Harlem continue to show steady inventory increase but with limited sales. See below table. 19 new listings came into the market and there were 6 closings. The high price for new listings was a renovated property which is asking $4.725 million and the low price is an SRO building at 361 W 116 street which is asking $1,850,000.

The total # of listings available in the Central Harlem,Hamilton Heights market is 85 with an average asking price of $3.156 million. Days on the market is an average of 116 and inventory is on the rise as we have over 14 months of supply available as of now.

Continue reading Harlem Market May report →

BuyingtipsforManhattanproperty, Investment, Propertytaxes, Real estate, Townhouse

Manhattan townhouse owners-understanding your property tax bill

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.

 

Harlem, Listings, Marketreports, multifamily, Townhouse

Harlem townhouse updated market report

According to analysis done today, there are 78 townhouses for sale in Central Harlem and Hamilton Heights ranging from $1.7 million to $5.7 million. There are 20 buildings in this area in contract bringing the total number of active plus contract to 98.

Most but not all of these 20 contracts were signed within the first four months of the year. 34 listings closed since the beginning of the year. That means there is approximately 10 months of existing supply in the market at this time.

Active listings Contracts Sold
78 20 34

For that reason, even listings in Central Harlem and Hamilton Heights that look to be very attractively priced are languishing on the market and price reductions are pretty steep these days.

April new listing data

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, Harlem, Investment, Townhouse, Upperwestside

Why are the taxes so high in some Manhattan buildings but not so in others?

Understanding NYC’s archaic and often inequitable system of real estate taxes might be a life long pursuit but for the purposes of this blog, let’s take a look at a couple of the items that influence your real estate taxes of a Manhattan townhouse.

One of the influencing factors is how recently the property transferred. You have some long time owners in Manhattan whose properties are now worth several million dollars yet their assessed values are artificially low due to the lack of a recent sale. However, once the property changes hands, the Department of Finance might be right there adjusting the value and raising your taxes.

Continue reading Why are the taxes so high in some Manhattan buildings but not so in others? →

BuyingtipsforManhattanproperty, Townhouse, Upperwestside

Upper West side townhouse report

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In the month of April, 9 new listings for townhouses on the Manhattan’s Upper West side came on the market.

331 W 78th street 5.3 million
52 W 85th street 9.95 million
248 CPW $29 million
42 W 70th street $14.2 milllion
49 W 94th street $6.288 million
22 W 90th street $8.150 million
129 Manhattan ave $5.25 million
164 W 81 street $5.35 million
305 W 78th street $7.95 million

Overall, there are 55 townhouses in the market on Manhattan’s Upper west side ranging from $4.35 million to $29 million for a high end renovation at 248 Central Park west.

Two contracts were signed in April for townhouses on the Upper West side. At this rate, it would take more than 2 years to sell all of the supply that currently exists in the 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.