From the category archives:

Buyers

The summer slow-down myth exposed

by Mitchel Askinas June 17, 2011

It is considered common wisdom that the summer presents both sellers and buyers with the annual seasonal slowdown, both in the number of listings coming to market and in the number of contracts signed.  This is said to be the case due to the mass exodus of residents leaving the city for their Hamptons homes [...]

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“Things I wish I had known before buying”

by Red Delicious May 26, 2011

We were inspired by a recent list on Brick Underground on “things I wish I had known before buying”.  Often times, you don’t know what you don’t know until after the fact.  We thought we would therefore share our own thoughts, from both a personal and a client perspective, on what these nuggets of wisdom [...]

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Are co-ops going out of favor in NYC?

by McIntosh May 25, 2011

Every so often, several deals occur over a short period of time that raise our eyebrows in terms of new, developing market trends.  While we can’t call it an outright exodus, we have encountered one too many of these situations to not mention them:  owners selling their coops and strongly opting for condos in their [...]

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Why fewer listings are coming to market – some theories

by Red Delicious May 23, 2011

Are you feeling frustrated? Does it seem that there are too few new apartments coming on the market for this time of year?  Well, you are correct.  As Urban Digs points, out: April was the 7th consecutive month where we have seen fewer listings come to market compared with the same period exactly one year [...]

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Renting as a means to living beyond your means: a new rent vs. buy perspective

by Honeycrisp May 20, 2011

It’s not uncommon, every few months, to hear of the rent-buy debate pick up in NYC real estate, whether it be catalyzed by a shift in interest rates or a change in prices.  Usually, people point to the merits of one over the other based on financial ratios and long-term investment prospects.  Well, we’re here [...]

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Full-scale renovations are on the rise led by buyer frustration

by McIntosh May 11, 2011

We’ve talked a good bit about the relative lack of inventory on the NYC landscape and the buyer frustration felt at having so little from which to choose.  Alas, this frustration seems to be manifesting itself into a new trend:  if buyers can’t find what they’re looking for, they’ll create it!  We’re seeing a significant [...]

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Q1 Reports – how lagging data is affecting them

by Empire May 3, 2011

Q1 reports are out and many are pointing to the possibility of a declining market, driven by decreasing activity and prices following suit.   We found these headlines suspect, particularly based on what we’re seeing on the ground:  inventory seems tight, prices appear quite stable and buyers feel anxious.  So we did some digging and learned [...]

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Where are they now? Manhattan FHA-approved condos, revisited one year later

by Empire April 27, 2011

One year ago, almost to the day, we did some digging into the FHA market to compile a list of FHA approved condos.   FHA loans continue to attract first time home buyers due to: Lower down-payments of 3.5% versus the 10% to 25% industry norm Additional flexibility for buyers with less than stellar credit (580 [...]

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A complete pre-closing walk-through in under 45 minutes: the chronological check-list

by Honeycrisp April 21, 2011

We’re often asked for help in the walk-through process.  “What should I look for?” and “How long should it take?” are questions often asked.  We have therefore compiled what we believe to be not only a complete check-list of items, but a chronological tour of the walk-through so that it proceeds smoothly, with no step [...]

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First Quarter NYC Sales Round-up

by Empire April 20, 2011

It’s time to play the quarterly round-up game, when contestants vie for your attention by comparing much-awaited quarterly sales numbers with those of last quarter and last year.  We have picked what we feel are the highlights of each for your reading pleasure. Our first contestant is Prudential Douglas Elliman. It prefers the smell of [...]

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