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.
Thinking of buying a high floor luxury Manhattan condo?
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.
Whole Foods Harlem construction progresses
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.
Thinking of buying your first Manhattan apartment?
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?
More celebrities headed to Harlem
According to NYPost, Steven Pasquale best known for his role in Rescue Me has purchased a penthouse in Harlem’s 1 year old building Uptown 58 for $1.56 million. The aprtment located at 58 West 129 street just off Lenox avenue has 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths and was on the market for a little over a year. The 7 story building features only 19 units and has a bike storage, package room, a garden and roof deck.
Recently as well Alex Trebek of “Jeopardy” bought a $2 million Harlem brownstone for his sone Matthew, who plans to open a restaurant there. That townhouse located at 310 West 140 street sold for $1.92 million. The townhouse had a 2bd/3ba duplex plus 2 floor through one bedroom apartments for rental income.
Some Brokers fear less Chinese buyers for NYC real estate
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?
Lowe’s to open first stores in Manhattan
According to CNBC, Lowe’s will be opening two stores in Manhattan in the next couple months. The first on Manhattan’s Upper West side will have a soft opening in the next few weeks and though about a quarter of the size of their normal locations, will feature lots of merchandise for Manhattanites. Shortly afterwards, their new Chelsea location will open up as well. The Upper West side location will be at 2008 Broadway in the ground floor of the Copley condo in a space formely occupied by Food Emporium.
This move comes roughly 10 years after Home Depot opened their two locations in the city. Expect urban merchandise like foldable brooms and lots of technology to showcase merchandise not found in the store.
400 Central Park west apt 10C SOLD
Today, apartment 10C, a south facing 2bd/2ba in 400 Central Park west sold for $1.688 million. The apartment had bright southern exposures as well a western exposure. The monthly charges of taxes and common charges totalled roughly $1300. Park West Village is a cluster of 7 buildings – 4 of which are condos and 3 remain rentals. The condos are located at 372,382,392 and 400 CPW. 400 CPW just like the other buildings has 19 floors, a concierge, gym, childrens’ playroom, laundry room and a parking lot.
400 Central Park west is a postwar condo, located on the corner of 100 street and Central Park on Manhattan’s Upper west, and features studios to 2bd/2ba with some combination units being even larger. There are roughly 414 apartments and yet there is only one apartment available for sale which is a studio that is rented and being offered with the market rate tenant to potential investors. There aren’t any other 2 bedroom/2bath apartments available right now in 400 CPW.
Subway Inn property in contract to Chinese investor
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.
17 E 128 street-Oldest house in Harlem sold
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.