There were 26 contracts signed last week at $4 million and up according to the Olshan Realty’s weekly report. The most expensive was a co-op on Fifth avenue that was asking $20 million. This is an especially good week considering the recent snowstorms and that it was Easter week.
Tag Archives: Manhattan
Is a renovation necessary to sell your Manhattan property?
Many times, prospective sellers ask if a full or partial renovation will help them to sell their Manhattan apartment? It really depends on several factors.
1-What is the competition like at your price point,neighborhood and building?
2-What is the age of your kitchen, bathrooms and flooring.
3-How long will the renovation take?
4- How much will the reno cost?
5- What is your current market value completely as is?
Let’s look at each one by one.
Competition- If there are several properties for sale that are similar to yours and many of them are renovated, you might have no choice but to do some work in your Manhattan pad before selling. However, if there is a shortage as can be the case for 2 bedroom/2 baths under $2 million for example, the prospective buyer probably will be willing to do the work themselves.
Age of kitchens and bathrooms. If it’s been 30 or more years since the last renovation, you probably will benefit by doing the renovation. If it’s only been about 10 years then the answer is not as clear. Talk to your real estate broker to get an idea of how the apartment will be perceived by a prospective buyer given the age of the renovations.
Length of time for renovation to be completed-If it’s going to be a one year process due to building approval and contractor availability, it might be wise to forego it or scale it down a bit so that it can be completed in less time. Also, timing is an issue here. If the renovation completion date puts you right in the middle of the December holiday season, it might not be the best time to start marketing.
Cost of renovation- If you decide to complete a 6 figure renovation, it might or might not lead to a dollar for dollar return. It most cases it does not. For example if you have a studio apartment of 600 square feet with a value of around $800,000, a renovation of the kitchen, bathroom and flooring of around $50,000 may return dollar for dollar and also lead to a quicker sale. However, a $100,000 reno on the same apartment probably will lead to a quicker sale but not return dollar for dollar.
Sell as is? When you sell as is, you do not complete any renovation and just sell what you have. What you see is what you get and in some cases this might even be the best strategy depending on the above factors and your personal situation. Consult with your real estate broker. Normally, they can recommend a good contractor to do work if that is needed as well as advise you as to what will yield a return and what will not.
If you examine your current market value as is, then you can see if it makes sense to do a renovation, knowing the cost and time involved. For example if the current market value is $2,500,000 and you want to do a $500,000 renovation that will lead to a $3 million sale, it obviously does not make sense. But also consider the time of the year now, market conditions and the time of the year when the renovation has been completed. The purpose of any renovation, large or small prior to selling your Manhattan property is to widen the buyer pool, and make it easier to sell and this has to lead to at least a dollar for dollar return, otherwise save your money and sell as is.
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 Spring time the best time to sell Manhattan residential property?
Many times, I am asked this very question by potential sellers and the answer is it depends. Right now we are heading into the spring and a shifting market.
In the beginning of the year, sales usually start to slowly build momentum as we climb out of the winter/holiday doldrums. We are seeing that right now as activity has picked up but with the threat of rising rates, who knows?
In the Spring, more sellers tend to enter the market also due to their desire to move during the summer when children are off from school. More competition is not necessarily good for sellers. I usually like to start working on a listing right before the Spring rather than wait. My advice is to look at your needs as a seller, current market activity and not position your listing to be forgotten because there is a major holiday in one week. I would like to also add that assessing the competing properties for yours will help too. For example, a few years ago, there was a glut of 2bd/2ba apartments in 400 Central Park west. This rarely ever happens. As a result, buyers had more choices. My recommendation was that if the seller could wait 1 month or so, some of these other properties might be in contract and as a result we would have less competition.
Two years ago, I sat down with another seller and there was only 1 similar property in the market in Park West Village on Manhattan’s Upper west side. I advised them to go for it. They did and as a result, we got a very high price due to the lack of competition.
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.
70% of New Yorkers say Tax reform has no or positive impact on home ownership plans
According to an Apartment List survey, 53% of those surveyed say that the new tax law will have no impact on their home ownership plans and 17% said it will impact them positively. Along party lines more Democrats feel that they are negatively impacted by the tax reform than Republicans. Also, 31% of Democrats surveyed in impacted counties said they will wait longer before purchasing.
Snowstorm blankets New York City
I think it finally stopped snowing now. Central Park was turned into a winter wonderland and many people stayed at home. I had a chance to take the train to Harlem and it was nearly empty.
How to avoid taxes on the sale of your Manhattan investment 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. But with this technique in your arsenal, you have the ability to sell and defer the taxable gain!
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.
Why the NYC market will continue to attract foreign investors
There are many reasons why the US market and specifically gateway cities such as New York will continue to be attractive to foreign investors. The Commercial Observer takes a look at the investment goals of foreign investors and explains which markets should continue to be attractive to them. Basically, they are looking for stability in both political and the economic sense. Some other markets such as South Africa or China might have a higher rate of return but they come with a higher potential of risk. While rate of return of investment may be slightly up or down depending on the point in the cycle, high net worth individuals according to the article are looking at their overseas holdings as a bank account. The Manhattan market continues to be attractive as that bank account and liquid. As such, Manhattan continues to attract foreign investors.
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.
Manhattan rental and sales market update
According to the Real Deal reports, the rental market stayed flat in February which is not that unusual given the time of the year.Full story here The sales market saw over 800 contracts signed with roughly half being co-ops and half being condos. The $1 to $2 million range continues to do well, accounting for nearly 30% of all deals.
Full coverage from The Real Deal
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.
As Manhattan new development sales slow, developers offer incentives
Developers do not like to lower prices in their Manhattan offerings so when sales slow, they offer incentives. A TriBeCa condo with an unsold penthouse is offering a free parking space to go along with their nearly 5000 sqft penthouse. At 71 Laight street, the only unsold unit is offering a 12 by 24 spot below the lobby as an enticement.
At 1 West end avenue (1WEA) 80% of the units are sold and the developers is offering $25,000 in custom closets for potential buyers on the remaining units to entice buyers. 1 WEA launched about 1 year or so ahead of the Waterline Square development just to it’s west which has a shared amenity space called the Waterline Club, a starchitect pedigree, and better views of the Hudson due to it’s location.
At the Beekman Residences downtown, the condo connected to the famed Beekman Hotel, the sponsor is offering $10,000 towards services in the adjacent hotel.
Developers in buildings with unsold units prefer to offer these incentives (instead of reducing prices) which are not recorded on a deed so that it will not affect the future sales of other units in 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.
Differences between co-ops and condos part 3
In this continuing series we will take a look at a couple more differences between co-ops and condos.
1- Co-ops tend to be located in prewar buildings while condos tend to be newer, shinier and more full of amenities. So if you love prewar lobbies, crown moldings and other details of prewar buildings, you probably will be looking at more co-ops. Almost all new offerings in the last 10 years plus are condos so condos tend to satisfy the wants of Manhattan buyers who are looking for newer buildings with amenities like swimming pools, roof decks, bowling or golf simulators. Some co-ops will have nice amenities as well but very few co-ops have been built in the last 20 years or so.
2- If you are a foreign national or US based investor, condos will most likely be your choice. Co-ops tend to examine a plethora of documents as previously mentioned including US credit. Since a co-op can turn down someone without providing a reason, if you are foreign national purchasing as a primary residence or a pied-a-terre, your safer bet will be a condo. Also, if you are purchasing for investment, almost all co-ops will require you live there first then there will be restrictions for how long you can rent.
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.