Is NYC’s townhouse market undervalued? - Rava Realty

Is NYC’s townhouse market undervalued?

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The price spread between townhouses and condos is widening, thanks to the explosion of luxury condos in recent years.

On a price-per-foot basis townhouses are significantly undervalued in New York City. In the West Village, a beautiful and renovated townhouse can go for $3,000 a square foot, nearby condos range from $3,750 to $4,450 a foot.

What people can get in a co-op or condo is nowhere near what you can buy, on a square-footage basis, in a townhouse.

The condo developments have captured the attention of the masses in recent years, and that market momentum has magnified these numbers in the price differentials.

Some say there will come a time when a house will cost $100 million, or $5,000 a foot, and nobody will blink.

Still, the day for $100 million townhomes hasn’t quite arrived.

While townhouse prices are climbing, they are not rising nearly as fast as condo prices.

The median sales price for a townhouse in Manhattan was $3.59 million in 2013 versus $2.7 million in 2004, a 33 percent jump, according to appraisal firm Miller Samuel. However, median condo prices saw a far more dramatic rise, jumping from $804,418 in 2003 versus $1.25 million in 2013 — a massive 55 percent increase.

The average price per square foot of a townhouse — $1,144 — is less than the $1,484 condo average. But averages, of course, are often skewed by the astronomical sales that have been more readily defining the condo market.

Sources do point out that comparing the two types of housing can be tricky, since townhouse measurements include exterior walls and common space, while condos do not. Condos also get more expensive as they get higher in the building, while townhouses obviously don’t have that advantage.

In a condominium, you’re getting all the services that are associated with that. Some people will pay a premium for a condominium for just that reason.

A 15 percent-plus price spread (condo vs townhouse) is typical in almost every Manhattan neighborhood, and it can be higher in certain areas.

The townhouse market represents just a sliver of the whole residential sector. Overall, it amounts to less than 2 percent of residential transactions, said Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel.

Unlike new construction condos, townhouses often require extensive renovations, which can be daunting given the age, and potential landmark status, of the 19th-century buildings that make up the majority of the city’s townhouse stock. None of that matters for some buyers, especially those in brownstone Brooklyn.

The bidding wars are still going on, and the outskirt areas that weren’t as popular five years ago are definitely getting much higher prices.

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