• Studio in 4 Star Deluxe Condo in the Financial District.  Please click here for more details.

• Cozy Vacation Cottage in CT. Please click here for more details.

• Loft Like Rental in the SONO section of Norwalk CT.  Please click here for more details.

3rd Quarter New York City Market Report PRICES STABILIZE, SALES INCREASE FOR HOMES IN NYC

The 3rd Quarter was a good one for New York real estate.  Please take a look below for CPG's take on 3rd quarter activity. Citywide home prices up 4% from last quarter, sales volume increased 35% Reversing the trend that began last year, average home prices in New York City edged upward in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the previous quarter. The uptick is a sign that the market could be leveling off. Prices were down 14 percent to $670,000 from this time last year. Average home sales prices (which includes cooperatives, condominiums and one-to-three-family dwellings) increased by six percent in Brooklyn to $534,000 and by three percent in the Bronx to $367,000 compared to the second quarter of 2009. Average prices in Queens increased by one percent to $406,000 and Staten Island home prices declined by one percent to $382,000 compared to last quarter. For the second quarter in a row, Manhattan home prices declined, dropping five percent to $1,233,000 compared to the second quarter of 2009. Sales volume increased 35 percent to 9,734 compared to last quarter. Manhattan sales volume increased 59 percent to 2,840 while sales volume in Brooklyn increased 27 percent to 2,102. The residential real estate market came back to life in the third quarter and reversed the downward trend of the last several quarters. However, the trend needs to continue for at least two more quarters before we can say with confidence that a recovery is underway. Clearly, the market is not back to the high velocity of transactions and sales prices of the pre-financial crisis period. But given the sales volumes noted in this report it was a busy summer for real estate transactions, which is a positive sign In the year-to-year comparisons, the report found that the average Manhattan home sales price saw the steepest declines with a 17-percent drop compared to the same time last year. Brooklyn average home sales prices declined the least of the five boroughs, dropping five percent, while Queens average home sales prices fell six percent. Staten Island home prices were also down six percent compared to the same time last year. Other highlights: Condominiums Year to Year · The average sales price of a condominium in New York City in the third quarter of this year fell 15 percent to $1,075,000. · Manhattan experienced a 15 percent drop in the average sales price to $1,513,000. Quarter to Quarter · Average prices for condominiums in New York City increased by one percent and in Brooklyn the average price increased three percent compared to last quarter. · The number of citywide condominium sales increased 31 percent to 2,119; Manhattan sales increased 46 percent to 1,240; and Brooklyn sales increased 14 percent to 434. Cooperatives Year to Year · The average sales price of a cooperative unit in New York City fell by 11 percent to $591,000. · The average sales price in Manhattan fell 17 percent to $915,000. · In Brooklyn, the average sales price for cooperatives was up two percent to $379,000. Quarter to Quarter · Quarter to quarter, the average price of a cooperative unit increased eight percent citywide and by 26 percent in Brooklyn. · Citywide, the number of cooperative unit sales increased 52 percent to 3,145; Manhattan sales volume increased 71 percent to 1,560; and Brooklyn sales volume increased 37 percent to 499. 1-3 Family Dwellings Year to Year · The average sales price of a New York City one-to-three-family dwelling in the third quarter of 2009 fell by 14 percent to $534,000. · The average sales price of a one-to-three-family dwelling in Brooklyn declined 12 percent to $594,000; In Queens, average prices declined 10 percent to $489,000. Quarter to Quarter · The average sales price of a one-to-three family dwelling citywide increased five percent. · Average sales prices for one-to-three family dwellings increased In Brooklyn by four percent, in Queens by four percent, and in the Bronx by one percent. · Sales volume for one-to-three family dwellings also increased by 28 percent in Brooklyn, 23 percent in Queens, and 28 percent in the Bronx. Manhattan Neighborhoods · The average condominium unit sales price in TriBeCa in the third quarter of 2009 was $2,858,000, a 26 percent increase compared to the third quarter of 2008. · The average sales price of a condominium on the Upper East Side decreased seven percent to $1,933,000 this quarter compared to last year. Quarter to quarter, the average sales price increased five percent. Sales volume in the neighborhood increased quarterly as well from 183 to 225 units. · The average sales price of a cooperative unit on the Upper East Side was $1,230,000, which is a drop of 26 percent compared to last year. Sales volume increased from 237 in the second quarter 2009 to 417 in the third quarter of 2009. · The average price of a cooperative unit on the Upper West Side fell 15 percent to $946,000 this quarter compared to the third quarter of last year. Sales increased from 202 in the second quarter of 2009 to 404 in the third quarter of 2009. Brooklyn Neighborhoods · The average sales price of a condominium unit in Park Slope in the third quarter of 2009 was $716,000, an increase of 14 percent over the third quarter of last year. Sales in the neighborhood increased slightly quarter to quarter. · The average sales price of a one-to-three family dwelling fell in most Brooklyn neighborhoods in the third quarter compared to the third quarter of last year. Sales increased strongly quarter to quarter in the more traditional neighborhoods for one-to-three family dwellings. Sales quarter to quarter increased in Gravesend/Mapleton from 43 to 86, in Marine Park/Madison sales increased from 54 to 75, and in Bedford Stuyvesant sales increased from 52 to 74

As always, please feel free to contact me at 646.825.5734 to discuss anything real estate or New York Giants related.

Best,
Rich
Richard C. Bouchner
Managing Director
Commodore Property Group
www.cpg-nyc.com

Wine Tasting and Tour in Harlem

Who knew...George Washington slept in Harlem?  In the fall of 1776, Washington used the Morris-Jumel Mansion as his headquarters.  After Washington's departure, the Mansion played host to a succession of British and Hessian military leaders, served briefly as an inn for weary travelers, and finally returned to its role as country house. And that's just the beginning of the fascinating history of this stately mansion built on a hilltop in 1765.

Well, it is a bit too late to meet George, but you can tour the house and taste some wine  Friday October 23rd, 2009 at 7:00 PM:

Experience local wines in the setting of the historic Octagon drawing room. A tour of the Mansion is also included in the program. Tickets are $20 per person and $15 for members. Advanced registration is required. Call 212 923 8008. Located at:

65 Jumel Terrace

New York, NY 10032

Hope to see you there!

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Harlem is really starting to get new businesses and services that are making it much more livable.  New restaurants, coffee shops and now a Yoga studio.  Finally it has become clear as to what has been going on at 119th and Lenox Ave...a new Yoga studio called Harlem Yoga Studio.  It is located at 181 Lenox.  Welcome to the neighborhood...you are a welcomed addition!!  www.harlemyogastudio.com.

Model apartment at Harlem conversion opened

A rendering of PS 90 at 220 West 148th Street

The on-site model apartment for the new PS90 condominium building at 220 West 148th Street opened today, according to a press release. The project is L + M Development's $40 million conversion of the space, from public school to residential building, which will include 74 units. The building offers studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The model apartment opening today is a 1,484-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bathroom home, which is listed for $710,000. Sales on units began in mid-September. 

Just did some quick research on Streeteasy.com about price per sq foot in Central Harlem (see below) and of 65 active listings, the avg size is 1,000 sq feet and the avg price per sq foot is $592, so it look like at $525 a sq ft  you are getting  a fair price.  Also, when looking at qter vs qter numbers for all of Manhattan, sales transactions are way up, while prices have slowed their decline.  While I am not one to call a market top nor a market bottom, the data is pointing to stabilization.  If you like the Dover, the price and the market seem to indicate that it is a good opportunity.

Have a good night and feel free to call me tomorrow if you have questions. 

Thanks, Rich

Real Estate for Sale

In Central Harlem

We found 65 listings around $574,000.00

Median price: $579,000     Median size: 1,000 ft²     Median price per ft²: $592

Richard C. Bouchner | Managing Director
Commodore Property Group
Real Estate | Sales & Marketing | Mortgage | Investment
12 Desbrosses Street | New York, NY 10013
T 646 825 5734 | F 800 721 6551 | C 917 627 3459
rich@cpg-nyc.com | www.commodore-group.com

Significant findings in Q3 2009

Streeteasy.com as always, does a solid job of summarizing the New York City real estate market.  To view the full report, click here.

So what does the report mean?  From my little corner of the NYC real estate world, I am seeing much more activity.  Units that are coming to the market priced correctly are selling.  Buyers that are realistic with their offers (ie: doing their research and making offers that are based on reality, not on pie in the sky hopes and dreams), are getting accepted offers.  High end apartments that require jumbo mortgages are taking longer to sell as result of the tight mortgage market.  New developments that still have inventory are offering major incentives to move units.  New condos that have received FHA approval are moving units.

Please see below for a recap of Streeteasy's report.

CLOSING PRICES CONTINUE TO DECLINE FROM A YEAR AGO. Condo and co-op resale median prices have declined since last quarter and are still significantly down from a year ago. The overall average Manhattan sale price (which includes: condo resales, co-op resales, and new development closings) decreased by 2.3% to $1.254M since last quarter, and by 16.4% since last year. Similarly, the overall median Manhattan sale price declined by 0.3% since last quarter to $760K, and by 11.6% since last year.

• Condo resale median prices increased by 5.3% since last quarter to $937,500, but decreased by 14.6% since last year. Average price ($1.471M) is up 11.1% for the quarter but down 26.2% since last year.
• Co-op resale median prices decreased by 2.1% to $575K compared to last quarter and by 11.5% since last year. Average sales price ($878K) decreased by 4.3% since last quarter and by 21.3% since the prior year.
• New Developments median sales price increased by 1.8% since last quarter to $1.212M and by 24.3% since last year. Average sales price ($1.77M) also increased by 1.8% since last quarter and by 23.1% since last year.

VOLUME OF RESALE CLOSINGS INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY. The number of closings has increased by 68.4%, from the 2,040 closings of last quarter, but is down by 21.7% from a year ago. Co-op resales have increased by 85% since last quarter and condo resales have increased by 75% since last quarter. The number of new development closings increased by 31% since last quarter but is still down by 65.3% since a year ago. New development closings made up 18.8% of the closings while co-op resales dominated activity at 54.9%.

INVENTORY STEADILY DECLINES. Inventory of available listings in Manhattan declined steadily since it peaked around 11,800 units in mid-May. At the time of this report, inventory is currently at 10,163 units. According to our listings database, an average of 314 new listings came onto market every week in this quarter, a decrease of 13.5% since last quarter, which averaged 363 new listings per week. Condos made up 52.1% of all available listings on market this quarter (co-ops 47.3%, townhouses 0.6%). Inventory levels this quarter are 24.6% higher than they were a year ago.

CONTINUED INCREASE IN NEW CONTRACTS. This quarter, there were 2,632 listings that went into contract, a 6.3% increase from last quarter’s number of new contracts (2,477). Additionally, there were 142 broken contracts, a 7.6% increase compared to last quarter’s 132.

FEWER PRICE CUTS. This quarter, 36.1% of all Manhattan listings had price cuts, a total of 5,363. Of all available listings for condos this quarter, there were about 2,400 condo listings with price cuts, a 1.9% decrease since last quarter but 72.4% more cuts since last year. Co-ops had about 2,900 cuts, a 4.4% decrease in the number of price cuts since last quarter but 77.2% more cuts than a year ago. The average price cut this quarter for condos was 8.4%, and for co-ops, the average cut was 8.1%.

LISTINGS SPEND A LONGER TIME ON MARKET FROM A YEAR AGO. The average time on market for condo resale listings decreased by 3.7% since last quarter but increased by 9.1% since last year, while co-ops sat on the market for 1.7% longer than last quarter, and 19.4% longer than the prior year. This quarter, condo resales stayed on the market for an average of 126 days, while co-op resales were on the market for an average of 120 days.