Once upon a time there was the Great Recession, and many development companies had to change strategy. Instead of building new condos to sell the units immediately on the market, they switched to renting a good portion of these apartments out after the crisis hit.
This is the case of Olive Park, in Williamsburg, where 32 out of 87 units were rented right after the Lehman Brothers crash.
Lately instead, we witness the sale of these very same apartments. The ...

Recently the New York Post has reported a new mind boggling deal at The Plaza Residences: $48 million for an apartment of about 600SF.
This is the highest price ever paid for a condo unit in New York City.

appraisals
The newly found volume of sales is positively affecting the mortgage industry.
When the market basically stalled two years ago and prices went down, the benchmarks necessary to appraisers for a solid valuation of the apartment were scarce. Therefore sometimes the ...

In the mid 2000s, particularly the period between 2003 and 2008, the hurry to buy New York City real estate was almost comparable to the California Gold Rush of the mid 1800s. As we know, everything then changed at the end of the last decade; after the 2008 financial crisis the real estate market tanked.
Nowadays, after a period of stabilization, there are several trends to note: home values are not declining anymore and had a tendency to go up ...

New Yorkers are nicer these days. It seems everyone is smiling on the streets of the Big Apple; or their faces are just frozen in a joker-like grin?
Now seriously, I think this arctic weather has affected the market in the recent months. This chill is inviting no one to venture out in search of real estate deals.
One broker even recently tweeted: “canceled our open house at our new listing at 565 Park – will reschedule in spring when ...

Do you remember Nouriel Roubini?
He is the famous pessimist-economist that correctly predicted the 2007-2009 crisis.
Well, he recently bought a $5.45 East Village condo. Who knew there even are apartments that pricey in that neighborhood?
Given he looks at the glass cup half empty, he must think the market is going up. Good to know!

One World Trade Center is halfway up. Mazel tov!

looking back at 2010
It’s not easy to interpret the 2010 residential sales market.
The beginning of ...

Here in the Big Apple, we continue to witness remarkable transactions lately.
At the beginning of November, a contract was signed for the sale of an apartment at 15 Central Park West, constructed in 2006 and considered, for its beauty, the Prima Donna of the real estate residential market. The price, $40 million, will mark, when it closes, a new record for price paid per square foot: more then $10,000.
Another recent record from the month of November involves the ...