To cash or not to cash: should you purchase a property with cash if you can or finance a portion of it?

by Red Delicious on July 28, 2010

We have encountered many buyers out there who are hemming and hawing as to whether they should pay all cash for a purchase or take advantage of today’s low interest rates.  Even if you have the wherewithal to purchase a property outright, you may still value your liquidity over any purchase discount you may receive and avail yourself of low interest rates, nonetheless.

You may wish to ask yourself the following questions to help you determine the best course for you:

  • What percentage of your assets are liquid vs. illiquid?
  • Can you get / are you getting a better rate of return on your assets than the interest rate on your mortgage?
  • What is your 5-year horizon in terms of making large purchases?
  • How stable is your job situation?
  • How much of a discount can you achieve from the particular seller with an all-cash offer versus a mortgage-contingent one?

To avoid losing deals to other potential all-cash buyers, waive the mortgage contingency of your offer. This move should make your bid as competitive as all-cash offers in the seller’s eyes, unless time to closing is their top priority.  This will also allow you to opt for the finance route first and foremost, and use your cash on an as-needed basis only, should you not qualify for your desired loan.



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Why low interest rates have lost their impact on buyers

by Honeycrisp on July 25, 2010

With all the talk of continued low interest rates, we’re asking the question: have low interest rates lost their impact on the housing market? Certainly in the first half of this year, even beginning in Q4 of last year, the name of the game was the low cost of financing.  At that time, everyone was counting on inflation rearing its ugly head by Q3 of this year and pricing out wanna-be home owners by raising the cost of purchasing a property.

Lo and behold, the markets moved against conventional predictions, prodded by a European debt crisis and double-dip worries here in the US.  We now find ourselves with old inflation expectations having been substituted by deflationary concerns, all of which have taken the sense of urgency out of the buy-side psychology. Yes, interest rates may well stay at such historically low rates for some time to come, but the previous positive impact felt in the housing market has been greatly diminished.   We believe this is at least partly responsible for some of the transaction slow-down we’ve been hearing about:  if buyers believe low rates will continue for some time, they can take it easy along their purchasing journey.

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Why some landlords are listing apartments available months away

by Honeycrisp July 23, 2010

During a time of the year when inventory is quickly flying off the shelves, you would think that the only properties on the market today are those with immediate or close to immediate move-in dates … and you would be wrong.  We are finding that, particularly in the co-op and condo segments, properties are popping [...]

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Should you list your apartment for sale now or take the Summer off and wait post-Labor Day?

by Honeycrisp July 21, 2010

Summer time is perfect for weekend getaways to the Hamptons or that long-deserved vacation away from the city’s smoldering pavements.  Not surprisingly, therefore, it’s also historically known for being one of the slowest sales period of the year.   The question is:  is this year’s seasonality trumped by local market dynamics? In other words, if [...]

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Rental market overview: June/July

by Honeycrisp July 19, 2010

For those of you who can’t get enough of data and statistics, here are three rental market reports for Q2, each with their own unique flavor: Elliman, TREGNY, and Citi-Habitats.  The takeaways that we have based on aggregating this data are:

Prices are up: not a shocker.  It’s the Summer, people!  This is when 75%+ [...]

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Yet Another Round-up of Q2 Sales Data

by Red Delicious July 16, 2010

The second quarter of 2010 showed precisely what everyone thought it would:  that activity was still robust coming off an exciting Q1, not too difficult an improvement to show on a year-on-year basis.   Listings were on the market for a shorter period of time and sales volume is now in line with NYC’s 10-year average.  [...]

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Do you feel like you’ve missed the market? Why every day, week and month of your listing counts

by Mitchel Askinas July 13, 2010

Today’s real estate market is moving faster than ever, it seems, with a new narrative at our fingertips every couple of months, versus every other quarter in previous years.   I am seeing many sellers out there whose properties are languishing on the market.  These sellers fall into two categories, those who listed at right time [...]

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Relocation nation: sub-market segment seeing plenty of volume

by Red Delicious July 8, 2010

The relocation sub-market in Manhattan seems to be alive and well, according to numerous relocation specialists with whom we’ve spoken.  They note not having been this busy in over five years.  Much of the activity appears to be coming from larger corporations looking to relocate their overseas professionals to the Big Apple, mostly via lateral [...]

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Summer Renting 101: Tips on how to survive this season

by Red Delicious July 6, 2010

Now that we are well into the summer months, we are seeing lots of media coverage noting the dwindling of concessions and the return of broker fees.  This is indicative of  healthier rental market and the effect of seasonality, marked by 75% of leases turning over between April and September.  Here are some tips for [...]

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How much is a mortgage contingency worth?

by Honeycrisp July 2, 2010

Weighing all-cash versus mortgage-contingent offers
Put another way, how should a seller compare and respond to an all-cash offer versus one requiring bank financing?
In these days of increased competition over well-priced properties, it’s not uncommon to receive a flurry of offers in the first few weeks of a listing.  Aside from following the tried and true [...]

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