Buying, Holding Pays Off
Buying during the recession may seem like a daunting prospect but for one group of investors who purchased the Worldwide Plaza office in 2009 it was a risk worth taking. The deal, for an office building which had forty six percent occupancy cost them $600 million but now the skyscraper has an estimated value of $1.1 billion. This has been helped by a huge deal with Nomura Holding’s American arm now renting nine hundred thousand square feet of office space helping boost occupancy to ninety six percent.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304803104576426051784656600.html?mod=WSJ_NY_RealEstate_LEFTTopStories
Monday, July 11, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
The Corcoran Report: Second Quarter
It is my pleasure to inform you that Corcoran has released its Second Quarter Corcoran Report, our quarterly survey of residential real estate sales in Manhattan. This report compares data based on deals that closed in 2Q 2011 (April 1 through June 30) with those closed in the prior quarter and in the same quarter one year ago.
Manhattan continued to enjoy significant sales activity in the Second Quarter of the year as market-wide sales increased 15% over the First Quarter. Renewed levels of competition led prices higher as buyers took advantage of lower pricing in the resale market. Manhattan’s median price in the Second Quarter reached $790,000, up 9%, and the average price per square foot was $1024, an increase of 4% from a year ago.
In many ways, the Second Quarter was the most relentlessly average period of sales activity in several years: it displayed typically active sales for the spring season, with prices driven modestly upward by competition, but without breaking any records. While Corcoran found itself working with many all-cash and foreign buyers, large numbers of New Yorkers of all kinds found their homes in Manhattan with us in the Second Quarter.
If you have any questions about the Corcoran Report or about sales activity or trends in the residential real estate market, I am always happy to discuss it with you. I hope you are having a good summer and look forward to speaking with you soon.
It is my pleasure to inform you that Corcoran has released its Second Quarter Corcoran Report, our quarterly survey of residential real estate sales in Manhattan. This report compares data based on deals that closed in 2Q 2011 (April 1 through June 30) with those closed in the prior quarter and in the same quarter one year ago.
Manhattan continued to enjoy significant sales activity in the Second Quarter of the year as market-wide sales increased 15% over the First Quarter. Renewed levels of competition led prices higher as buyers took advantage of lower pricing in the resale market. Manhattan’s median price in the Second Quarter reached $790,000, up 9%, and the average price per square foot was $1024, an increase of 4% from a year ago.
In many ways, the Second Quarter was the most relentlessly average period of sales activity in several years: it displayed typically active sales for the spring season, with prices driven modestly upward by competition, but without breaking any records. While Corcoran found itself working with many all-cash and foreign buyers, large numbers of New Yorkers of all kinds found their homes in Manhattan with us in the Second Quarter.
If you have any questions about the Corcoran Report or about sales activity or trends in the residential real estate market, I am always happy to discuss it with you. I hope you are having a good summer and look forward to speaking with you soon.
Loan Limit: Will It or Won't It Hurt Housing?
It is unknown how the upcoming change to the loan limit will affect the housing market. The initial prediction is prices will go down as fewer people will be able to buy high cost housing because they have less purchasing power. However, new research from the George Washington University indicates there will be little change as 95% of people will be able to loan and buy in exactly the same way. Many economists have given varying opinions on the matter and only time will tell of the long term effects.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/43643094
It is unknown how the upcoming change to the loan limit will affect the housing market. The initial prediction is prices will go down as fewer people will be able to buy high cost housing because they have less purchasing power. However, new research from the George Washington University indicates there will be little change as 95% of people will be able to loan and buy in exactly the same way. Many economists have given varying opinions on the matter and only time will tell of the long term effects.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/43643094
Another residential conversion on deck for Williamsburg's Kent Avenue
The lively area of Kent Avenue in Williamsburg is set to get another housing development. Plans for the warehouse, located at 484 Kent Avenue which is between South 10th and 11th streets, have now been filed for the building. It will comprise of 30 residential units being constructed on the second and third levels. The previously bankrupt developer Isaac Rosenberg has proposed these plans although it remains unclear whether he will sell the remaining units or rent them out.
http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/another-residential-conversion-on-deck-for-williamsburg-s-kent-avenue-by-isack-rosenberg-at-484-kent-avenue
The lively area of Kent Avenue in Williamsburg is set to get another housing development. Plans for the warehouse, located at 484 Kent Avenue which is between South 10th and 11th streets, have now been filed for the building. It will comprise of 30 residential units being constructed on the second and third levels. The previously bankrupt developer Isaac Rosenberg has proposed these plans although it remains unclear whether he will sell the remaining units or rent them out.
http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/another-residential-conversion-on-deck-for-williamsburg-s-kent-avenue-by-isack-rosenberg-at-484-kent-avenue
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Transformation of Tiny Spaces
Imagine owning an 8,250 square foot apartment in the heart of any neighborhood you want for less than 1M. While this may seem unrealistic an architect in Hong Kong found a way to make it possible.
Many of us understand what it is like to live in small spaces. Hong Kong is no different. They are very familiar with cramped living – to the extreme! The population there is enormous, and there simply isn’t enough living space to house everyone comfortably. Large apartments are extremely expensive and only available to a small number of people. Thus, entire families are forced to live in tiny apartments.
For one man, however, living in a 344 square foot apartment with his parents and sister was simply not an option. He transformed his apartment into… well… a transformable apartment. Through careful use of wheels and tracks, the entire apartment can be customized into 24 distinct designs. 344 square feet, 24 different designs, 8,250 distinct square feet.
You have to see the video for yourself:
Imagine owning an 8,250 square foot apartment in the heart of any neighborhood you want for less than 1M. While this may seem unrealistic an architect in Hong Kong found a way to make it possible.
Many of us understand what it is like to live in small spaces. Hong Kong is no different. They are very familiar with cramped living – to the extreme! The population there is enormous, and there simply isn’t enough living space to house everyone comfortably. Large apartments are extremely expensive and only available to a small number of people. Thus, entire families are forced to live in tiny apartments.
For one man, however, living in a 344 square foot apartment with his parents and sister was simply not an option. He transformed his apartment into… well… a transformable apartment. Through careful use of wheels and tracks, the entire apartment can be customized into 24 distinct designs. 344 square feet, 24 different designs, 8,250 distinct square feet.
You have to see the video for yourself:
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