Last month the co-founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen, has bought a penthouse on the Upper East Side for $25 million.
Nowadays potential buyers, who are actively looking, are used to the international economic environment that still presents signs of uncertainty and they seem less affected by it, they are ready to make decisions relatively fast. The bumpy stock markets don’t influence who is really serious about buying real estate in New York City.
The real estate residential market here is recovering its full health. Low-ball offers are rarely taken in consideration by sellers if they are too low.

The Manhattan market seasonality is taking a turn over the past few years, reports the magazine The Real Deal. Historically the busiest months were October and November. Data from the website StreetEasy show instead that October sales went from 868 in the year 2009 to 371 in 2011. While the month of March jumped from 609 sales in 2009 to 1010 sales in 2011.
One of the reasons for this change could be the bonus given to employees by the corporations; this usually happens in January and February and it naturally promotes an increase in activity in the spring.
Another factor could be the young families. They prefer to move during the summer months so that the kids can settle in and get used to the new environment before the beginning of the school year.
Also the Jewish holidays affect the trending of the market. Rosh Hashanah, which this year was on September 29, brings a lower level of sales over that particular week; it is another element that might delay or postpone real estate hunting.

Drawing the plans
The philosophy behind the construction of condominiums (where units are only for sale) differs slightly from the one of rental buildings.
Who rents an apartment doesn’t generally occupy it for a very long period of time; therefore she is inclined sometimes to give up some features to save some money.
The average square footage for a one bedroom apartment in rental building in Manhattan is 600-675sf; while in a condo a one bedroom unit averages 700-800sf.
Or for example an extra bathroom missing can be a deal breaker in a condo sale, while a renter can make due without it for the time being.
Given the market situation, developers are at times still uncertain about going for a condo project instead for a rental, so they ask their architects to prepare two different projects for the two different options.
On the other hand it must be noted that differences between condos and high end rentals are getting smaller and smaller; there are many people willing to pay a higher rent for the better finishes.
In Manhattan you can give up everything but not quality.

250 West Street
This condo development is worth our attention; it is one of the few new projects in the area of Tribeca. The building was previously dedicated to warehouse for a fruits and vegetables company the recently to offices, today it is a conversion to residential in typical lower Manhattan style.
Construction began in June 2011 and the developer boldly decided to start marketing just one month thereafter, well ahead of the project completion scheduled for next summer.
The bet appears to be paying off, in a period where the offer is scarce in the section of the island; buyers are once again willing to buy off a floor plan before seeing their apartment completed.
At the end of October the sales office at the building reported 25 units sold of the 106 total.
The offer is comprised of studios, one, two and three bedroom apartments.
The amenities will include, among others, a beautiful 5000sf landscaped rooftop and a 60 feet indoor swimming pool, rare stuff in New York City.
The least expensive apartment is a large studio (1035sf): $1.15 million.
The most expensive is a three bedroom unit: $9 million.

Andrew Cuomo, the governor of the State of New York, has recently created a new section of the Department of Financial Services dedicated to the real estate sector. This section will be in charge of controlling more closely the mortgage related industries in order to enforce the new laws that have been passed over the past few years subsequent the financial crisis.
A new cop is in town.

This is it for today, dear friends.
I am always available to answer your questions and provide you with more information on your real estate needs in the New York City

Warmest Regards,
Riccardo Ravasini