Friday September 12th
Financial Community Day Festival Series
(on Whitehall St. from Beaver – Water Street)
Saturday September 13th
The Great Irish Festival
(on 6th Avenue from 42nd – 56th Street)
Sunday September 14th
Tudor City Festival
(on Lexington Avenue from 42nd – 57th Street)
Ask 10 different people about the condition of the New York real estate market and you will likely get 10 different answers, ranging the full spectrum from “Awesome” to the ambiguous “Wild” or “Nutty,” to the downright bleak “Horrid”. Why such a disparity, you ask? And, more importantly, which response is correct? It depends who you ask, and that is the problem.
Too many real estate brokers have fallen into the salesperson trap of “perpetual perfection”, meaning, regardless of the cold hard facts, business is always great. It’s a tool that all good salespeople know – put a positive spin on things and anything is possible. The problem with this theory when it comes to real estate is, by glossing over the truth, you may be hurting business in the long run.
Sugar coating aside, the real estate market in New York has declined over the past year. And while a positive attitude is always an asset, there is no way to gloss over the fact that short sales are increasing in droves. Some brokers feel that presenting consumers with the brutal truth is depressing, and will further inhibit already leery potential sellers and buyers alike. But what happens when your tale stops spinning?
Eventually, when that overpriced listing doesn’t sell, and that mint triple plus home is still on the market after 8 months, the truth comes out: The real estate market in New York is not at its best right now. Times are tough, prices are down, and foreclosures are up – the numbers don’t lie. And your customers will figure that out, regardless of what you tell them up front.
But a downturn in the market does not mean all is gloom and doom. There is a reason why they call it a “buyers market” and buyers all over New York should be on their phones and computers snatching up those gems before it’s too late. Three years ago, buyers were completely at the mercy of astronomical prices and aggressive sellers. Now, with the situation reversed, those in the market to buy would be foolish to miss out on the chance to cash in on a great deal.
So yeah, the real estate market in New York could be better. Brokers, don’t ignore that fact because consumers are quickly catching on. But a slow market is not as grim as it sounds. While it’s true that sellers have to be more realistic, competitively priced listings are definitely selling. For buyers, now is the time to act, and to seal those golden deals before the market swings up again, which, as history has shown us, it inevitably will.
Friday September 5th
United Nations Festival
(on 47th Street from 1st – 2nd Avenue)
Saturday September 6th
Big Apple Performing Arts Festival
(on 7th Avenue from 47th – 57th Street)
Sunday September 7th
52nd Street Fall Festival
(on 52nd Street from Lexington – 7th Ave.)
Monday September 1st *Labor Day*
M.E.C.A. Family Festival
(on Lexington Avenue from 34th – 42nd Street)
Tuesday September 2nd
Welcome Back to Columbia University
(on 120th Street from Broadway – Amsterdam Avenue)
Saturday August 30th
Friends of Dag Hammarskhold Festival
(on 2nd Avenue from 45th – 57th Street)
Sunday August 31st
The 24th Annual Brazilian Day Festival
(on 6th Avenue from 42nd – 56th Street and on 46th St. from Madison – 7th Avenue)
Saturday August 23rd
Gramercy Park Neighborhood Festival
(on 3rd Avenue from 14th – 23rd Street)
Sunday August 24th
Third Avenue Merchandise Fair
(on 3rd Avenue from 23rd – 34th Street)
Saturday August 16th
Summer Seaport Festival
(on Water Street from Fulton – Broad Street)
Sunday August 17th
Lexington Avenue Summerfest
(on Lexington Avenue from 42nd – 57th Street)
Ah, New York City. There is good reason for its motto “The City that Never Sleeps”. Any day, any time, you can find something to do in NYC. One of the multitudes of amenities of Manhattan is its parks. There are 40 of them, spread out over Manhattan’s nearly 23 square miles, each with its own vibe and character.
When people hear New York City Parks, the first thing that usually comes to mind is the infamous Central Park. The reason is obvious – Central Park is indeed central to Manhattan and huge. Its 843 acres include woodlands, lawns, water, stages and extends for 6 miles. Since the 1960’s, it has been Manhattan’s hub for cultural and political activity and a venue for political rallies, festivals, and huge public concerts.
But alas, Central Park is just one of the many great parks in NYC. Take Washington Square Park, located in Greenwich Village and surrounding New York University’s campus. This park’s greatest architectural point is the Washington Arch, built in 1889 to honor our first president’s centennial anniversary. Once a meeting place for artists, writers and activists, it has settled into a more college-like atmosphere of nonconformity and rebellion.
If the political scene doesn’t appeal to you, no worries, there is Hudson River Park, located in midtown Manhattan and loaded with adventurous activities. This 550 acre hub has several restaurants, a boathouse and pier for canoeing, swimming, and, of all things, a trapeze school.
And that is just the beginning. Manhattan offers parks for readers, parks for skaters, nature lovers, and party goers. Yes, New York City, the city that never sleeps, truly does have a park for every person.
Friday July 18th
Civic Community Day Fair
(on Lafayette St. from Walker – Franklin Street)
Saturday July 19th
East Side Summer Festival
(on Lexington Avenue from 42nd – 57th Street)
Sunday July 20th
NYC Unfolds Street Fair
(on Broadway from Houston – Grand St.)
Of all the places around the city that the young, the professional and the hip have found to nest, the neighborhood that has proven most resistant to change might be Brooklyn’s Greenpoint.
Walking along Nassau Avenue you will see a restaurant called “Pyza” which does not serve pizza – it serves Polish food (far and away the dominant cuisine of the neighborhood.) If you turn a corner, there’s a flag-bedecked chapter of the American Legion. And the low-rise, vinyl-sided houses appear no different from how they looked 30 or 40 years ago.
“It’s got a very village feeling,” says Dewey Thompson, who has lived in Greenpoint for the past 12 years and is co-chair of the Greenpoint Waterfront Association for Parks and Planning. “I don’t think anyone would have dreamed that people were going to sell luxury condos in [this] neighborhood.”
Well, the unthinkable has happened.
New condominiums along the Greenpoint side of McCarren Park are fetching prices that were once unheard of in the neighborhood. Take the Robert Scarano-designed Loftology at the intersection of Driggs and Manhattan avenues.
“Everything is super modern,” says David Maundrell, president of Aptsandlofts.com, of the condo.
And the prices are super modern, too. A 600-square-foot, one-bedroom is getting between $850 and $900 per square foot.
Or Manhattan Park, next door, where a few of the upper floors have seen units go for as much as $1,000 per square foot.
And this phenomenon is not limited to the area around McCarren Park. Last week, the Viridian, a 130-unit luxury building on Green Street near the waterfront, began sales. The six-story building (one of the developers is Magic Johnson) will feature all the luxury bells and whistles, including a pool, a gym, a courtyard with a skylight and even rooftop cabanas. Three-bedrooms at the Viridian are going for more than $800,000.
This is a huge jump for a neighborhood where you can still buy an entire house for less than $600,000, and where a one-bedroom can be rented for as little as $1,300.
Most of Greenpoint has remained largely unaffected by this new development. Rents have remained much lower than they have a few blocks south in Williamsburg. And the majority of condos that have popped up in the last few years have been six-to-eight-unit buildings with low price points.
“I actually think I like it better than Williamsburg,” says Laura Gensinger, who began looking there for an apartment to buy but decided instead on an 850-square-foot, one-bedroom duplex in one of the Belvedere boutique buildings that have been cropping up all over Greenpoint. Her condo was big enough to share with a roommate, and she paid less than $650 per square foot.
“One of the things I like is that there’s a better sense of family,” Gensiger says.
Mom and pop grocery stores, flower shops, pharmacies, butchers and bakeries can be found all over Greenpoint in abundance.
“It’s got the stuff Williamsburg doesn’t have,” says Bill Ross, director of development for Halstead Property. “Greenpoint always had infrastructure.”
By MAX GROSS (NYPost.com)
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