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Manhattan Residential Market Snapshot January 2010

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:45:11 -0500

» download the complete report as a pdf (156 kb) Here is a snapshot of the Manhattan real estate marketplace based on Corcoran's "in contract" sales data. We report that, "Marketwide sales activity slowed in January compared to December 2009. However, condominium sales are up 110% and co-op sales are up 118% versus January 2009. As is typical at this time of year, listed available inventory...

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'Grave Dancer' Sam Zell, Takes Manhattan

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:40:37 -0500

Sam Zell--the self-proclaimed "grave dancer" with a history of swooping in on the carcasses of struggling businesses--is now picking at the Manhattan real estate market. Yesterday, Mr. Zell's company Equity Residential fleshed out its plans in Chelsea, which were reported by the NY Post. His company Equity Residential said it plans 111 market-rate apartments and nearly 10,000 square feet of...

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Housing Recovery? 'Strategic Defaults' Tell a Different Tale

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:28:12 -0500

This is an investment-led recovery. Asset prices have rallied strongly from their March 09 lows and corporations have done a phenomenal job of quickly cutting costs and returning to profitability. The casualties reside with the U.S. Government and the U.S. consumer. Housing Recovery? 'Strategic Defaults' Tell a Different Tale

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Jobless Rate Falls to 9.7%, Giving Hope Worst Is Over

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:53:49 -0500

The unemployment rate unexpectedly dipped to 9.7 percent in January, from 10 percent in December, the government reported Friday, buoying hopes that the worst job market in at least a quarter-century is finally improving. Growth in manufacturing and part-time employment raised hopes, despite the loss of 20,000 more nonfarm jobs in January. Jobless Rate Falls to 9.7%, Giving Hope Worst Is Over

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Finding Hope in the Jobless Numbers

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:50:07 -0500

If you were worried the job market was starting to deteriorate again, today’s employment report lets you stop worrying. The job market is still improving. Among the other positive signs, the workweek increased, and the average hourly wage growth picked up a bit. The number of people working part-time because they couldn’t find full-time work dropped by more than 800,000. These are all signs that...

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Feds say Gluck is gouging I.P.N.

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:06:49 -0500

Tenants of Independence Plaza North have been arguing for years that their apartments should be rent-stabilized — and now U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is taking up the cause. Bharara’s office wants to recover tens of millions of dollars the federal government paid I.P.N. owner Laurence Gluck to support the Tribeca apartment complex’s low-income tenants. Bharara, in New York’s Southern District,...

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Tribeca and Lower Manhattan public schools zoned

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:28:53 -0500

Months of speculation, controversy, and debate ended last Friday as the District 2 Community Education Council voted 6-4 for "Option 2" as the temporary public school zoning for lower Mahhattan including: Tribeca, Battery Park City, The Financial District and Seaport area. Downtown Express reported that, "all Tribeca children west of Church St. will be zoned for P.S. 234. Children in east Tribeca...

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Coop application foiled by Facebook page

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 07:17:50 -0500

I heard a story about a coop Board turn down last week, when I went out with a customer to look at some Greenwich Village apartments. We dropped by to see a "Gold Coast" property off Fifth Avenue near Washington Square Park, which had just come back on the market. It was a lovely place, in a converted townhouse, with just five units in the building. As we were about to leave, I asked the listing...

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Lower Manhattan's Public Schools are Rezoned

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:37:03 -0500

Ending months of speculation and battles that divided Lower Manhattan, the District 2 Community Education Council voted Wednesday night for school zoning Option 2. The board’s vote means that all Tribeca children west of Church St. will be zoned for P.S. 234. Children in east Tribeca and the Seaport will attend the Spruce Street School; the Financial District south of Liberty St. and Battery Park...

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J. D. Salinger, Author of ‘The Catcher in the Rye,’ Dies

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:11:45 -0500

J. D. Salinger, who was thought at one time to be the most important American writer to emerge since World War II but who then turned his back on success and adulation, becoming the Garbo of letters, famous for not wanting to be famous, died Wednesday at his home in Cornish, N.H., where he had lived in seclusion for more than 50 years. He was 91 J. D. Salinger, Author of ‘The Catcher in the Rye,’...

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Throwing In the Towel at Stuyvesant Town

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:47:32 -0500

A group led by Tishman Speyer Properties has decided to give up the sprawling Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town apartment complex in Manhattan to its creditors in the collapse of one of the most high-profile deals of the real estate boom. The decision comes after the venture between Tishman and BlackRock Inc. defaulted on the $4.4 billion debt used to help finance the deal. Throwing In...

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manhattan market equilibrium?

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:33:13 -0500

--> Has the Manhattan residential real estate market found its footing again? Prices have generally dropped about 15% from the fourth quarter of 2008 when the financial crisis began to apply downward pressure. The uncertainty of the economy in the first half of 2009, has lead to a release of pent up demand in the second half. In December of 2009 signed contracts for condos were up 48%, and...

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Crosby Street - A Quiet Pocket of SoHo

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:32:10 -0500

One of my favorite blocks in Soho. Against some odds, Crosby Street has managed its revitalization without losing its character. Crosby Street - A Quiet Pocket of SoHo

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Mortgage Modifications Are Seen as Adding to Housing Woes

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 12:13:55 -0500

The Obama administration’s $75 billion program to protect homeowners from foreclosure has been widely pronounced a disappointment, and some economists and real estate experts now contend it has done more harm than good. Mortgage Modifications Are Seen as Adding to Housing Woes

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Sohoho Nohoho (replay)

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:02:29 -0500

I was surprised to find out that my Christmas postcard from 2004 was being auctioned on ebay, by an outfit named Sensual World, "Purveyors of sensual items from around the world". While I fail to see how exactly I fit in there, I'm somewhat flattered nonetheless. These were both mailed out and distributed on postcard ad racks around downtown Manhattan that year. It was free then, but can be yours...

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