Many U.S. home buyers operate in the dark (Flickr photo by SP8254 - Catching Up)
As a New Yorker, of course I believe that we’re smarter than anyone else in the country. So, I don’t necessarily subscribe to our sharing the same deficiencies that home buyers who live elsewhere suffer.
But I do think that a recent survey for Zillow bears scrutiny.
Astonishingly, it found that 42 percent of polled prospective home buyers believe Continue reading
Weakness emerges in Manhattan market during first quarter
Reports issued today showed price declines as much as 23 percent from the same time last year, according to the New York Times.
One of the reports, prepared by the Miller Samuel appraisal firm, had the median sale price down by 9.9 percent to $782,071. According to that document, a new index of sales that have yet to close recorded a 7.1 percent increase over the same time last year, suggesting an upswing in the current quarter.
Explanations for the dip included the artificial bump caused last year by the federal homebuyer tax credit and a boost this year in the sales of co-ops, which are generally less expensive than condos, as the result of a crimp in condo inventory.
As Noah Rosenblatt, a blogger, broker and data provider, points out on UrbanDigs.com, the figures on which the reports are based are flawed because of the way they are gathered.
Says he: “. . . you MUST understand that you are seeing an incomplete report with a ton of Q1 sales not yet publicly released! Especially March, whose sales will continue roll in over the course of the next 4-8 weeks. . .”
Price of studios suggests it’s a good time to buy one
The studio market has gone soft again–just as it did in the last recession, says the New York Times.
Prices have dipped to 2005 levels, making it possible to find studios in Manhattan in the $200,000s–lots of them. And they don’t all face a brick wall or involve a lengthy hike to the subway.
The average price for studios dropped to $404,326 in 2010 from a high of $500,479 in 2008.
A recent search of Manhattan listings on the Times real estate site and on Streeteasy.com found close to 200 studios available for $300,000 or less. An article about studios in The Times in 2009, before the market had bottomed out, found only a handful of studios in that price range.
The Times provides Continue reading
Depending on news volume, this Friday feature may not–but probably will–return before Jan. 7. Please do check back between now and then for occasional posts.
Meantime, here’s your chance to catch up with real estate developments included to inform, enlighten and perhaps even entertain you. To read about The Big Apple, check out another of today’s three posts.
MAISONETTE OWNED BY LATE UPPER-CRUST FAMILY FINALLY FINDS BUYERS SLICED FROM THE SAME LOAF
AN ACTING COUPLE SLIPS AWAY IN THE CITY AFTER THEIR OFFER IS ACCEPTED
WRITER OF MONEY SPENDS A BUNCH OF IT TO BUY A BROWNSTONE IN BROOKLYN
PRIZE-WINNING IRISH NOVELIST WHO IS LOVED BY OPRAH MOVES UP IN THE WORLD
RATHER FAMOUS BARD’S HOME ON THE RANGE IS ON THE MARKET
Here’s your chance to catch up with news included to inform, enlighten and perhaps even entertain you. To read about The Big Apple, check out another of today’s three posts.
IMAGINE WHAT IT WAS LIKE LIVING IN AN APARTMENT BUILDING WITH Continue reading
Appraisal contingencies, a buyer protection sometimes used elsewhere, is rarely seen here in the Big Apple.
For buyers in a market where they still have some heft, such a contingency is especially helpful in addition to a financing contingency. Continue reading
According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), it’s not the economy, stupid. It’s not those avaricious lenders of sub-prime loans to unqualified buyers. It’s not exotic hedge funds. Nor is it government regulators.
No, it’s. . . appraisers!
Get this from an NAHB press release this week (and just wait until you read the last paragraph of the release, in boldface way below):
“Using foreclosed and distressed sales as comparables with appraisals on single-family homes without adequately reflecting the differences in the condition of the respective properties is needlessly driving down home values.”
That’s the lead paragraph. The release then quotes its chairman of the board, whose photo is below. Says Joe Robson, a home builder from Tulsa, Okla.:
“Any home buyer can recognize the difference between a well-kept home and a distressed property that is damaged or not properly maintained. So it only makes sense that an appraiser should be required to consider the overall condition of a property and the specific factors related to a foreclosure or distressed property sale when selecting and adjusting the value of comparables.”
If you are buying or selling real estate, this is an issue that you’ll discover runs close to home. One reason Continue reading
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