Tag Archives: Hamiltonheights

June Harlem townhouse report

The June Harlem townhouse report is here and it shows less activity both in number of listings, and new sales. Only 3 sales were made during the month of June in the Hamilton Heights and Central Harlem market. 262 Lenox avenue was the most expensive sale which transferred for $2.625 million. Two SRO townhouses were sold. 102 Edgecombe avenue transferred for $1.7 million while 429 W 146 street sold for $1.645 million.

The least expensive Harlem townhouse in the market is 361 West 116th street which is being offered at $1,699,000 and is being delivered with 4 tenants at closing and without the certificate of no harassment.

June listing data

# new listings Low price High price Contracts Sales
8 $1,825,000 $4,700,000 3 3
#Total  listings Inventory
81 27 months

Harlem townhouse May report

In both April and May, nearly 20 houses were put in the market as sellers sprung into action but without the slow amount of sales, it will take quite a while to deal with all of this inventory. This means more price reductions on the way. 

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.

Take a VR Tour of 423 W 147th street

423 West 147th street apartment 2 is now for rent for $2300. You can see a VR Tour below. The asking rent is $2,300 for this 1 bedroom with den/office on one of the most beautiful blocks in Hamilton Heights.

Listing details here

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.

 

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

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.

Harlem Market May report

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

189 Edgecombe avenue townhouse rented

The 2 family townhouse at 189 Edgecombe avenue has now rented. It has a garden apartment 1 bedroom with washer/dryer and a triplex apartment with 4 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms. The triplex rented for $6,100 and the garden apartment for $2,200. Both apartments rented within 2 weeks of being listed.

The house underwent a full, gut renovation and restoration which took just over a year to complete.

 

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 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.

Harlem Townhouse market update

Since April 1st, 22 townhouses have been in the market. The lowest price offering was for an SRO priced at just under $2 million to a historic home asking $5.25 million on Lenox avenue. This is a pretty significant amount of townhouses put in the market. Streeteasy is currently showing 19 townhouses in contract. Most of the townhouses have gone into contract in the first 4 months of the year.  4 contracts for Harlem townhouses were signed since April 1st. At that pace it would take about 6 months to sell off just the supply of houses that came on the market in April.

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.

Is it better to purchase and renovate a townhouse or spend more for a renovated one?

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.

401 West 147th street being cleaned up

401 West 147th street, a 16′ wide townhouse that has been abandoned for the last several years, in the Historic district of Sugar Hill, is being cleaned up. A crew of 2-3 people were in the house yesterday loading up a full dumpster’s worth of materials.  No permits are filed to give an indication of what work will be done. But at least, this may be the beginning of the end of this being an eyesore of one of Manhattan’s most beautiful blocks.

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.