Buyers Guide

What happened in 2018 – End of Year Report

2018 was very much a buyers market.  The trifecta of increased availability, more ability to negotiate and a decrease in buyer demand led to a softening in price across all price points.

Transactional Market

Despite this classification of a “buyers’ market”, it is important to know that not all buyers markets are created the same.  This one we would also categorize as a “transactional” buyers market. What does that actually mean? Despite all the typical signs of being in the midst of a buyers market and having been here for awhile now , plenty of people are still buying.  When an apartment is well priced people WILL show up, you will not see the numbers of buyers looking that we did in the peak of 2014-2015 and you will likely have fewer offers to look at, but the best apartments are selling.

What is different in this buyers market than the one we experienced in 2008? This one did not happen all at once, like we saw in 2008.  In 2008, the stock market crashed, the great recession hit and prices fell sharply (about 35%). Buyer demand pretty much dried up completely.  Even if a seller adjusted their price dramatically, it was still very hard to do anything. Banks did not really want to lend, the stock market had a massive correction, liquidity dried up along with any buyer confidence.  

Slow Drip Correction

This buyers market was like a slow drip correction.  Looking back now, most people agree that this real estate cycle peaked in 2015.  In 2015, we saw bidding wars, barely any new inventory coming on the market and new construction was hot.  Then in 2016, we saw this transition that buyers started to feel more uncertainty in the market, it was an election year and those bidding wars from 2015 started to disappear, the fever of a hot market had definitely worn off.  Then transitioning into 2017, lots of uncertainty seemed to be the name of the game, with changes to tax laws. We saw that inventory was creeping up, the high end of the market was starting to shift and buyer demand was continuing to cool.  

So why is this buyers market a “Slow Drip” Correction?  There is a couple of reasons, first reason is more of how the NYC market works, it takes a long time for listings to typically close even once a contract is signed, there was a lot of new construction condos that had contracts that were signed in 2013 and 2014 that close years later, so we are constantly looking in the rear view mirror to get an idea of the actual market.  Even today, when something closes, it probably went into contract 90 days ago, and it might have first come on the market anywhere from 90-180 days ago. Comparing to the market today to what it was 6 months ago, is not going to help you. Basically, it takes a longer time to see what is actually happening, spreading out the decline over time.

The other major reason that this was a slow drip correction is that most Real Estate correction are tied to a stimulus from their local economy or a national recession. In 2008, we experienced the great recession, the local economy in NYC was shedding lots of finance jobs and the Real Estate market suffered.  Back then it was easy for sellers to look around and see why they should adjust their prices, it was beyond obvious that if you wanted to sell you needed to entice the buyer with a lower price.

Mixed Signals?

This time, while the Real Estate market has been correcting over the last 18-24 months, the stock market was going in the opposite direction.  For many sellers it just didn’t make any sense, why drop your price, when all you see is strong unemployment numbers, stock market records, and larger bonuses.  We get that, though what we were seeing on the ground was that you’d have fewer people show up at the open houses, multiple bids in the first two weeks were pretty much gone, and only the best priced and nicest apartments were getting the action.  The feedback emails we’d receive were something like, “We are waiting to see if anything else comes on the market.”

The buyer demand side of the equation was shifting quickly, buyers were making it quite clear they didn’t feel like engaging in bidding wars anymore and the escalation of prices had gone too far.  

It wasn’t until this year in 2018, when the headlines about the local Real Estate market seemed to finally catch up to the reality of the market.  

Looking into 2019

As a seller, just understand that buyers are pricing in future uncertainty when they make their bids.  This is a market where buyers are going to be very careful and they are going to take their time. They will take their time in making offers, coming back to the apartment on multiple occasions before making an offer and the due diligence process is taking longer as well.  

We feel it is important to note that even though we talk of a buyer’s market, we see plenty of transactions taking place, if you price well the buyers will show up.  As a seller, having realistic expectations to the pricing and how long it will take to secure a buyer need to be considered.

As a buyer, definitely one of the best times to be looking for a home.  You have more choices, you will have fewer people bidding on the same properties and prices are very attractive.

We welcome you to have a discussion with us based on your needs so we can develop a personalized Real Estate plan for you in this market place.   

Read about our 2019 Upper West side one bedroom condo report

Amazon Headquarter coming to Long Island city

Before buying in New York city Cooperative Must Know

Whether you are international foreigner or United States citizens, before considering in buying in a co-op, here are few items one should consider in buying in a coop.

Buyers or Investors to buy an apartment in a co-op building are not easy for several reasons:

Co-op purchaser approval takes weeks — if not months — and is a rigorous and notoriously difficult process. The majority of co-ops only approve buyers with New York employment, US income tax and excellent credit history in the US. The law does not require a co-op to provide an explanation for a potential buyer’s rejection.

There are often restrictions on how much financing a buyer can use (for example, no more than a certain percentage of the unit price).
Almost all co-ops restrict the right to sublet your apartment, which makes it unattractive to investors and many buyers. Usually, co-op apartments cannot be rented out at all or can be rented out for one or two years after a certain number of years of owner occupancy.

Co-ops regulate your use of the apartment in many other ways, including having guests or performing renovations.

When selling (or renting it out when allowed) a co-op, the next buyer or perspective tenant will be subject to co-op approval AND interview as well, which reduces the number of qualified buyers and therefore reduces the price of your investment.

There are often additional “flip taxes” on the resale of a co-op to discourage speculators.
Regardless if this is an ALL CASH or FINANCED purchase, full financial disclosure is required. This means perspective purchaser will have to provide tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements and other supporting documents to verify the assets and meet the requirement of the coop.

Every co-op is different in regards to if they will allow the apartment to be used as a part time residence(pied a terre), allowing a parent to buy the apartment with or for their own child, allowing a guarantor or co-purchase structure to buy the apartment.

Co-op buildings are governed by Co-op Boards where there is a Board of Directors reviewing, evaluating and discussing each decision made by the co-op. These decisions range from coop policy, budget expenses, future renovation/repairs, surround neighborhood concerns, maintenance fee projection and approval of other shareholders’ sale or lease of the apartment just to name a few.

With all that being said, some of the most prestigious buildings in Manhattan New York are cooperatives with similar of rules or format as mentioned above. Each cooperative building has its own house rules and policies, many buildings along Central Park on Central Park West and Fifth Avenue are cooperative buildings. If you are looking to live on one of these prestigious and desirable streets, you will more than likely be looking at cooperative residences for sale.  There will be a few condominium buildings along Central Park West, Fifth Avenue, Park Avenue, but the supply is very limited.

If you are looking to buy an apartment in Manhattan New York and not sure where to start, I encourage to give us a call today at 917 837 8869 to strategically plan your search.

Checklist for New York city Condo Buyers

We are Manhattan New York Condo specialists, we work with many out of town first time investors and buyers that would like to acquire a Manhattan New York condo as part of their investment portfolio.

We often have a check list of basic steps to educate the buyers as to how to get started. Here is a good check list:

Consult with a reputable lender or mortgage consultant to see how much can you finance in today’s market. In today’s market, lending guidelines are changing by the day, it is in your best interest to see what will it take to qualify for a loan.

Do speak to your banker if you have money in bonds and money market. Find out how many days will it take to liquidate your funds so you know once we have a verbally accepted offer. Often in Manhattan New York market place, the seller seeks 10% of the sales price as downpayment at the time of signing contract. With that being said, if you are buying $1M Manhattan condo, you will need $100,000. at contract signing.

Do your homework on finding an Real Estate agent to work with. What is it that you are looking to buy? You want to find an agent that is familiar with the product that you are interest in buying. We are very well versed in Manhattan New York market, we have sold many Manhattan New York condos to first time home buyer, first time investors, foreign internationals, parents buying for children and many serious and motivated buyers. A Condo or Co-Op? Uptown or Downtown? Do you speak specific language that you preferred the agent speaks your mother tongue? Do you need an agent that work specifically with foreigners? Go on a search engine such as Google, try type in what you are looking for, and see if any agent shows up on the search result.

Do Have a realistic budget of what you are looking for. Manhattan New York condo is approximately $1,000 per square foot, so unless you are looking for a 500 SF one bedroom, you will need more than $500K to buy a one bedroom condo. (the price will also depend on the building amenities, such as fitness center, residents lounge, roof deck, basketball court, swimming pools and etc.)

Do speak to an accountant to see if you need to structure the purchase in a specific way to enjoy the tax deductible benefits of buying a Manhattan Real Estate. If you are a first time home buyer, is it beneficial to co-purchase the condo unit with your parents or alone; If you are an foreigner, is it better to buy it under your own name or start an LLC?; If you are an out of town investor, is this purchase going to be an investment property or?

Do have a Manhattan New York Real Estate attorney ready. Manhattan Real Estate transaction requires each buyer and seller to have an attorney representing them in drafting and finalizing the contract. A good attorney can save you headach, money and risks, ask your agent to refer you (3) attorneys so you can call and interview. Explain to the attorney what you are planning to do, and see which attorney you feel most comfortable to work with.

If you would like to find out more information or learn about more Manhattan New York investment opportunities, contact us today.