New York City real estate market, economic insights & opinions

New York City’s vacancy rate continued to fall in May, going below 1% for the first time in 2.5 years, (to .98% from ~3.5% in 2009). National vacancy rates however average ~7%, according the National Multi-Housing Council.   Economics could explain the shift: What’s behind the uptick? Locally, th...

Manhattan, New York City: Is Manhattan the Greenest Town on Earth? Earth Week 2010 is officially over, but many of us are still in the environmental consciousness swing-of-things. And with the green movement more popular than ever, you may consider Manhattan an environmentalist’s nightmare. After...

Happy New Year everyone, I hope your 2010 is off to a good start! An eventful 2009 is behind us, so let’s catch up on Manhattan’s residential real estate market’s performance and explore what 2010 may bring.  Manhattan Real Estate Market 2010 Outlook: A Bumpy Road to Recovery? A sustainable surge...

One of my clients observed, after our day of Manhattan apartment tours, that living in a New York City   co-op (cooperative apartment building), as opposed to a condo or condominium, is a little like choosing to swim in a pool, rather than the ocean! t's an analogy worth considering if you're try...

What Options May a Person Facing Foreclosure Consider? The financial crisis has taken a huge toll on American families: among U.S. homeowners with mortgages, a record 7.58% were at least 30 days late on payments in August according to Reuters, the latest available data. So far in 2009 more than 1...

Now that the summer season winding down, I wanted to share my thoughts on how the Manhattan (NYC) real estate market has performed so far in 2009, what key factors are impacting it, and give you a sense for what price action we're likely to see going forward. Feel free to share your feedback! Man...

The $64,000 question: The Manhattan residential real estate market is down about 17% since 2008, but we agents have seen a pickup in buyer traffic & contract activity lately. Is it sustainable- and are we out of the woods yet?  A fly in the ointment: No doubt, higher unemployment is weighing on o...

Context:At this point market sentiment in Manhattan is cautious at best, maybe even a little apprehensive, like waiting for the other shoe to drop. In other words to see if the market afflictions around the country will come home to roost here in Manhattan's parallel universe.  After all, contrac...