A number of other condominium developments are holding back from publicly announcing that they are offering discounts for new units. According to real estate sources, if a buyer really wants to make a deal, he can negotiate price reductions for as much as 20 percent off the purchase price for condo units in some neighborhoods in Brooklyn. In Manhattan, the bidding and asking prices for sincere purchasers can range from 7 to 15 percent.

One thing is certain, local developers had hoped the stimulus proposal compromise between the House of Representatives and the Senate reached last Wednesday for a $15,000 tax credit for first-time homeowners would aid in the sale of condo units. On Thursday, the credit was scaled back to a more modest $8,000 — or 10 percent of the purchase price, whichever is less.

Under the stimulus package expected to be signed into law, first-time home buyers would receive an $8,000 tax credit if they purchase a home this year before November 30. This would be an actual tax credit and receipt of it is contingent upon the home buyer owning the property for at least three years. If the home is sold in less than three years, the tax credit must be repaid to the government.

There is an income cap for recipients of the full tax credit — under $75,000 income for individuals and less than $150,000 for couples who file their taxes jointly.

Unfortunately, the bonus won’t apply to many first-time homebuyers in Manhattan and trendy sections of Brooklyn and Queens because their incomes exceed the qualification level, and yet their incomes are not great enough to enable them to qualify for a mortgage.

By Michael Stoler – The Real Deal.com

The median price of a one- to three-family house dropped 6.9 percent to $427,388 from a year ago, New York-based appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and broker Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate said today in a report. The median for all properties, including condominiums, dropped 6.2 percent to $415,000. The report excludes the Hamptons resort towns.

The threat of a recession and tight credit contributed to the decline in Nassau and Suffolk counties, Miller Samuel President Jonathan Miller said in an interview. Citigroup Inc. forecasts that the U.S. economy will contract every quarter next year, according to an Oct. 21 note to clients, and 75 percent of loan officers surveyed by the Federal Reserve in July said they had tightened home lending.

“The declines, within reason, are relatively equivalent across all markets of Long Island,” Miller said. “That essentially says that it’s external influence.”

In addition to the price drop, the number of sales for all types of residential property on Long Island declined 16 percent to 5,292.

Sales of previously owned homes probably will drop to 5.01 million in the U.S. this year, 29 percent less than 2005’s all- time high of 7.08 million, the National Association of Realtors said in a Sept. 9 forecast.

Manhattan Holds Up

Nationally, sales of previously owned homes fell more than forecast in August. Transactions dropped 2.2 percent to an annual rate of 4.91 million units from 5.02 million the prior month, the National Association of Realtors said Sept. 24. The median price declined 9.5 percent from August 2007.

While the suburbs are showing price declines, Manhattan has yet to see a drop in values. The median price of a condominium or co-op in Manhattan climbed 7.4 percent to $928,263 in the third quarter, according to Miller Samuel data released Oct. 3. Transactions fell 24 percent to 2,654.

Miller Samuel said today the median price of homes sold in the New York City borough of Queens dropped 11.4 percent to $400,000, while the number of sales fell 35 percent to 3,240.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sharon L. Lynch in New York at sllynch@bloomberg.net

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)

Before, foreign companies doing business in New York would have to put their employees in temporary housing while visiting, but now they are buying condos and having the company serve as the landlord. This is saving foreign corporations thousands of dollars. Temporarily housing an employee in New York City used to be a very expensive aspect of doing business. Many companies used to pay upwards of $4,000 a month in rent for employee housing.

When a firm owns real estate in New York, they are not only saving money each month, but they also hold an investment. New York City real estate has the potential for growth regardless if an employee is currently living there or not.

During recent years, the New York real estate market has remained on a rise, making property even more desirable. However, in international real estate, property in the Big Apple is almost considered cheap. According to a recent survey, New York is the 15th most expensive city in the world, falling behind Moscow and London. And as foreign currencies continue to hit record highs, owning property in NYC seems like an even better deal. When a European buys into Manhattan real estate, they are almost instantly doubling the value of their money due to the exchange rates.

Investing in New York City property is the best option for so many international companies. This growing foreign interest in Manhattan property is actually helping to keep New York’s real estate market alive. Even with a nationally recessing economy, New York City’s economy and housing market remain above the national trend.

If you are looking for a higher education, New York City is definitely a great place to look. No matter what program you are looking for or what degree you are looking to earn, there is a college or university that can meet your educational needs in all five boroughs.

Manhattan is home to many prestigious universities including the ivy-league Columbia University as well as specialty schools such as SUNY Optometry and the Fashion Institute of Technology. Many different law schools, medical schools, and other post-graduate schools are also located in New York City.

The prestigious Fordham University is located in the Bronx and St. John’s University can be found in Queens. Brooklyn is the home to Brooklyn College and Brooklyn Law School. If you are looking for a school with a more suburban feel, you can find that in NYC too by jumping on the ferry to Wagner College, a small liberal arts college in Staten Island.

If you enjoy educational activities, but aren’t looking to attend college, the Big Apple is still the place for you. The city offers museums that display all subject areas. There are museums for all types of history, art, entertainment and culture. No matter what your interests are or what you looking to learn about, you will be able to find a museum that suits your every need.

You can also learn so much just by living everyday here. New York City is filled with diversity. This allows you to experience different cultures just by walking to work or spending a spring day in a park. There are also organized annual events for many of the different cultures that can be found with the city, such as the Chinese New Year celebration or the Puerto Rican day parade. The diversity and culture that can be experienced while living in New York City allows New Yorkers to gain a unique education that cannot be found anywhere else in the world!

Regardless of the type of education that you are looking to gain, New York City is the best place to do it. All the culture, museums, colleges, and universities that lie within the city provide educational opportunities that are like no other.

You can visit a world famous history museum, such as The Museum of Natural History and learn about all the different groups and cultures throughout time. While this museum is well known for its excellent dinosaur and outer space exhibits, you can also find fascinating exhibits displaying cultures of the past. The Museum of Natural History is located in the Upper West Side of NYC near central park. During a day at the museum, it is always nice to leave for lunch and take a walk through the neighborhood, eat at a local restaurant, or spend some time in the park.

Other world famous museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art, can also be found in Manhattan. Both of these museums have world famous art displays. The Metropolitan Museum of Art also hosts events in the museum. For example, once a month the museum hosts an event that is only open to college students. They also hold a ball for students twice a year.

The American Museum of the Moving Image is another very popular New York museum. It is located in Astoria, Queens and it focuses on film, television, digital images and the affect that they’ve had on society and culture.

If you are with children, there are also plenty of museums that appeal to them too. Most museums have exhibits that children find entertaining, but there are also museums that are designed specifically for them in mind. There is the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, which has five floors of literature, science, media, and art exhibits designed just for children. Kids also tend to enjoy the zoos and aquariums that can be found throughout the city.

In addition to the world class historical and cultural museums that are located in the Big Apple, there are also lesser-known museums that are just as rich with culture and entertainment. Whatever type of museum you are looking to spend your day at, you will be able to find it in New York City. With all the museums located in the city to visit, it is just another benefit to living in Manhattan. All the culture, history, art, and entertainment are right at your doorstep.