From the category archives:

Investors

How to make sure your rate lock doesn’t expire when you need it most

by Honeycrisp June 6, 2010

With closings taking longer and longer, often up to three months for co-ops, it can be very difficult to manage locking in a good interest rate without growing new gray hairs.  This is because there are penalties associated with extending that rate lock AND a higher price for locking in a rate at longer than [...]

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The 101 on the 1031 Exchange

by Honeycrisp June 3, 2010

Why this tax deferment tool may soon be on the rise We have a sneaky suspicion that 1031 exchanges will be increasing in popularity over the coming years (you read it here first, folks smile).   Before we dive into explaining what a 1031 actually is, let’s take a look at the capital gains backdrop that’s [...]

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Fixing an ARM: should you refinance to a fixed rate mortgage?

by Honeycrisp May 23, 2010

With interest rates hitting fresh lows due to the Greek solvency crisis, many home owners are wringing their hands anew over the decision on whether or not to refinance their ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages).  Most ARM holders are in a great position, having had their mortgages reset lower and lower every year for the last [...]

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A Manhattan Real Estate New Year’s Jingle for 2009

by Honeycrisp January 1, 2010

T’was the night before New Year’s, when for seconds so brief All in the world of real estate breathed a sigh of relief. Events that unfolded in 2009 Could have been so much worse for Manhattan’s skyline. Thinking back to last year, markets frozen as ice, It seemed sellers and buyers were way off on [...]

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Commercial Market Fears are Justified: The bearish argument

by Honeycrisp December 26, 2009

The flip side of the bullish argument in the sister piece to this post is that the real commercial tsunami is coming, probably in the second quarter of 2010 and it will be deeper than most think. The theory goes: We won’t see a rebound until 2013 or 2014 because the massive wave of mortgages [...]

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Up Close with Robert Shiller (Part 2)

by Honeycrisp November 17, 2009

We were lucky enough to hear Robert Shiller speak at the Distressed Real Estate Summit a few weeks back. (Read Part 1) We had the opportunity to ask him the following question. Question: Since we are living in anomalous times, as you noted, based on your background in behavioral studies, how would you characterize the [...]

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Extending the Pretending: Why banks are not yet lending and extending credit

by Honeycrisp November 7, 2009

Otherwise said, “delay and pray.”  Unfortunately, there is no real way of incentivizing banks to sell or move assets at a loss because it erodes their capital base and affects their capital requirements (not to mention having a down-ward ripple effect on the rest of their assets). Therefore, banks are still not lending much.  Since [...]

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Take-aways from the Distressed Real Estate Summit: Give’em a Xanax:

by Honeycrisp October 29, 2009

We were amused at the Distressed Real Estate Summit in September hearing “there’s no such thing as distressed property, only distressed lenders and loans; the property did nothing wrong.“  Here are some bite-sized take-aways regarding the NYC area worth sharing: Multi-family: properties have not been hurt as bad as other asset classes as they’re not [...]

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Q3 Breakdown: Third quarter home sales data for Manhattan

by Honeycrisp October 27, 2009

Third quarter data is hot off the press with not too much hoopla surrounding it. Here are the overall takeaways, courtesy of Streeteasy: Co-op price declines: The $575k median price of co-op resales decreased 2% from Q2 and 12% from last year, on the market for 120 days on average (up 19% from last year) [...]

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Moving away from the sub-prime crisis into the prime crisis

by Honeycrisp August 25, 2009

As we anticipated, the prime market is beginning to show material signs of stress.  Although sub-prime delinquency rates still hover in the mid-20% range, their growth was only 1.8% as compared to 5.8% in the second quarter.  (Keep in mind that prime loans represent almost 80% of bank exposures.) How does this relate to Manhattan?  [...]

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