Monday, March 30, 2015

News: March is the Best Month to List Homes in Queens and Manhattan; Bronx Sellers Should Aim for April

According to StreetEasy, March is the best month to list homes in Queens and Manhattan. Brooklyn sellers should list in February and Bronx sellers should list in April.
NEW YORK, March 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- March is the optimal time for sellers in Manhattan and Queens to list their property to ensure the quickest sale and fewest discounts, according to a new study by leading New York City real estate marketplace, StreetEasy®. For sellers in Brooklyn, late February is the best time to list, and in the Bronx, it's Aprili. 
"Properties listed before supply and demand both peak are the ones that hit the sweet spot," said StreetEasy data scientist Alan Lightfeldt. "For New York City overall, demand is highest in April and supply is highest in June, so homes listed in March are perfectly poised ahead of those peaks. The discount rate is historically low in March as well, meaning the seller may get a greater share of their original asking price if they list now. This varies by borough, of course."
As critical as timing, listing descriptions are an important part of attracting buyers to a property that's on the market. As part of the study, StreetEasy analyzed thousands of listing descriptions to identify phrases that affect the speed of a sale, providing insight into buzzwords and themes to avoid or highlight when crafting a home's description for prospective buyersii.
The listing descriptions that contributed to a slower sale across all boroughs were uninformative, with phrases such as "large room" or "modern kitchen," along with generic calls to action like "must see" or "priced to sell." Fast-selling listings were full of descriptive phrases that tuned into details of a home, such as "kitchen cabinetry," "stainless steel appliances," or "French doors." Neighborhood conveniences or amenities such as "minutes away," "Trader Joe's," "farmers market," or "building laundry" were also popular among listings that sold the quickest.  
The phrases connected to fast-selling listings differed by borough:
Brooklyn: Classic Brooklyn Charm, Upgraded When to list: February 
Fast-selling phrases: French doors, exposed brick, white oak, wood-burning fireplace, farmers market, private storage, fitness center, air conditioning, renovated kitchen 
"Brooklyn buyers are looking for character and uniqueness of space. Homes with a shabby-chic appeal that connects to Brooklyn'sindustrial heritage resonate very well with buyers. If you are listing in Brooklyn, be descriptive in the elements that make your home unique and do not be shy in selling the charm."  - Alan Lightfeldt, StreetEasy Data Scientist
Manhattan: Storage, Amenities and Tranquility When to list: March 
Fast-selling phrases: kitchen cabinetry, closet storage, Trader Joe's, building laundry, pin drop
"The two most coveted amenities in Manhattan are location and tranquility. Manhattan buyers want to be at the center of it all, but they also want to turn it off and find reprieve when they need to. Proximity to the market, plenty of storage space and that ever-elusive quiet space are on the top of Manhattan buyers' must-have lists, so sellers who played up the calming features and conveniences of their home saw the quickest sales."  - Alan Lightfeldt, StreetEasy Data Scientist
Queens: Upgraded Spaces and Easy Transportation When to list: March 
Fast-selling phrases: Midtown Manhattan, subway lines, block away, minutes away, 7 train, one stop, short walk, sponsor unit, newly renovated, (24) hour doorman
"Getting around easily is top of mind for Queens home buyers. The borough's larger units, new development buzz and relatively lower sales prices are major draws, but buyers jump at listings that highlight a relatively easy commute to the city. There is a distinct appetite for convenience and connectivity in Queens, with homes that are 'minutes away,' a 'short walk' or close to 'subway lines' being snatched up the fastest."  - Alan Lightfeldt, StreetEasy Data Scientist
Bronx: A Home for the FamilyWhen to list: April 
Fast-selling phrases: living room, dining room, dining area, entry foyer, stainless steel appliances, eat in kitchen, windowed kitchen
"Buyers in the Bronx have families on their mind. They are searching for a home that provides plenty of space for a growing brood. Listings that play up the home's communal space, highlighting a 'living room,' 'dining room,' or 'eat-in kitchen,' tend to move the quickest in the Bronx." - Alan Lightfeldt, StreetEasy Data Scientist
Additional analysis and graphics for each borough can be viewed at streeteasy.com/blog/best-time-to-list-for-sale-nyc/. 
About StreetEasy:StreetEasy is New York City's leading real estate marketplace on mobile and the Web, providing accurate and comprehensive for-sale and for-rent listings from hundreds of real estate brokerages throughout New York City and the major NYC metropolitan area. StreetEasy adds layers of deep, proprietary data and useful search tools that help consumers and real estate professionals navigate the complex real estate markets within the five boroughs of New York City, as well as Northern New Jersey and the Hamptons. The company launched in 2006 and was acquired by Zillow, Inc. in August 2013.
StreetEasy is a registered trademark of Zillow, Inc.
i To identify the optimal time to list, StreetEasy measured supply (number of listings available on StreetEasy), demand (volume of page views of sales listings and agent contacts) and the final outcome of sales listings. Staten Island was omitted from this study due to the small volume of home sales in Staten Island available to accurately support the analysis.  
ii To identify key phrases in the fastest selling sales, StreetEasy analyzed data from thousands of listings to find the word pairs that appeared most frequently in the fastest and slowest selling listings in each borough.

SOURCE StreetEasy
                     Douglas Elliman Realty, Long Island City Office                   
   47-37 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City, NY 11101




Harvey's Long Island City Real Estate Blog


           
            “Queens is the new Brooklyn. People are seeking affordability and Queens is benefiting.”


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Friday, March 27, 2015

News: Here’s what the $10M-$20M NYC investment sales market looked like last week

From left: 94-00 Ditmars Boulevard in Queens, 397 Bridge Street in Brooklyn and Albert Laboz
1.) Hotel operator Shimmie Horn purchased the 172-key Clarion Hotel La Guardia Airport at 94-00 Ditmars Boulevard in Queens for $18 million. The three-story hotel spans just over 46,000 square feet. The seller, LNR Property LLC, purchased the property for $13.9 million in 2013.
2.) An East Williamsburg warehouse at 1150 Metropolitan Avenue sold for $16 million. The one-story facility off Grand Street and Varick Avenue is 91,000 square feet, but can can be developed up to 160,000 square feet. HB NYC Realty LLC is listed as the buyer. The sellers are 221 Realty LLC, and Shifra Rivka LLC.
3.) United American Land picked up a nine-story commercial building at 397 Bridge Street for $14.7 million. Located between Willoughby and Fulton Streets in Downtown Brooklyn, the 38,000-square-foot building is home to office and retail tenants. The seller, Bridge Management Corp., owned the property since 2010.
4.) BCB Property Management is the new owner of a Williamsburg apartment building at 218 South Third Street. The management company partnered with Pacific Industrial Partners to purchase the 41-unit rental building for $12.7 million. The six-story apartment building spans nearly 39,000 square feet. The seller was 119 Realty Corp.
5.) Adre Real Estate purchased a pair of multifamily buildings at 315 and 317 East 74th Street for $12.5 million.  The adjacent buildings, located between First and Second Avenues on the Upper East Side, hold a combined 34 residential units, two ground-floor retail units and 17,546 square feet of total space. The seller is 316 East 74th LLC.
6.) Alrose Group sold a retail unit at the Downing Court Condominium in the West Village for $11.3 million. Quality Capital USA Retail LLC purchased the 11,398-square-foot retail space at 63 Downing Street, which was home to the New York University Occupational and Industrial Orthopedic.  The unit is located on the ground-floor of the 10-story, 34-unit condo building.
7.) Prana Investments Inc. purchased a six-story walk-up apartment building at 2304 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx for $10.5 million. The mixed-use building, located on the corner of West Fordham Road, holds 65,000 square feet of residential space, including 57 apartments and another 3,800 square feet of retail space among six units. The building was last transferred to the sellers, Naipaul Towers LLC and New Dawn Holdings LLC, from Royal Assets LLC, which purchased the property in 2012 for $6.7 million.
8.) Simon Blitz of 47-33 5th Street Corp. paid $10 million for a five-story rental building at 74 Pearl Street in the Financial District. The 27,660-square-foot mixed-use building holds four residential and two commercial units. Coenties Slip & Pearl LLC is the seller.
9.) Scottish Inn Partnership sold the Howard Johnson Inn Jamaica JFK Airport at 153-95 Rockaway Boulevard in Queens for $10 million. The 14,800-square-foot hotel last traded for $8.1 million in 2005. The buyers are listed as  American Prosperity, LLC and Huron American Prosperity, LLC.
Written By Kyna Doles 
                                              Douglas Elliman Realty, Long Island City Office                    
                                               47-37 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City, NY 11101




Harvey's Long Island City Real Estate Blog


           
            “Queens is the new Brooklyn. People are seeking affordability and Queens is benefiting.”
 
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Thursday, March 26, 2015

News: Queens No.1 in property sales surge

CAIRO, JOEL : FREELANCE NYDAILY /CAIRO, JOEL

Real estate investment in Queens was up in a major way in 2014, a new study shows.

Large scale property sales in Queens were booming in 2014, according to a new study released Wednesday.

The borough was home to more than $3.65 billion worth of investment-related sales, as real estate insiders looked to take advantage of Queens’ growing population and development potential.

“Queens presents developers with an opportunity for large scale development,” said Daniel Wechsler, vice president of Ariel Property Advisors, which conducted the study.

“Manhattan and Brooklyn have become nearly impossible to get a yield out of,” he added.   

There were about 700 large real estate sales in Queens last year — a 29% increase that was the highest in the city, according to the study.

About one-third of the money spent on sales in the borough were related to development sites.

Wechsler pointed to increasing prices that have spread from Long Island City and Astoria to neighborhoods like Sunnyside, Woodside and Elmhurst.

The value of sales in Queens still lagged far behind the more high-profile real estate markets in Brooklyn ($6 billion) and Manhattan ($31.8 billion).    


Written By  ELI ROSENBERG erosenberg@nydailynews.com      
                                       
                                        Douglas Elliman Realty, Long Island City Office                    
                                         47-37 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City, NY 11101




Harvey's Long Island City Real Estate Blog


           
            “Queens is the new Brooklyn. People are seeking affordability and Queens is benefiting.”
                                                                       
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Wednesday, March 25, 2015

News: Cuomo Knocks De Blasio's Sunnyside Yards Development Again

Back and Forth Between De Blasio and Cuomo Over Sunnyside Yard Continues
 WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Despite Gov. Andrew Cuomo saying that his relationship with Mayor Bill de Blasio was great, he continued to knock the mayor's plan to build 11,000 units of affordable housing over Sunnyside Yards.
Just a few days after the city's Economic Development Corporation released a request for proposals to conduct a yearlong feasibility study to develop the rail yards — which are partially owned by the state-controlled Metropolitan Transportation Authority — Cuomo once again said he doesn't see any chance for the site to be developed.
"What the MTA has said is they need it for the East Side Access, so short term they don't see any redevelopment possibilities," Cuomo said, referring to the massive project to bring the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central.
It's the second time Cuomo has knocked de Blasio's plans to build affordable housing on the site. The first came shortly after de Blasio made the proposed affordable housing project a signature piece of his second State of the City address earlier this month.
A few hours after de Blasio's speech at Baruch College, Cuomo's spokeswoman sent out a statement saying that Sunnyside Yards was "not available for any other use in the near term" and that the MTA was studying the site from a "long term planning perspective.”
The city responded that they did not need MTA's permission because of the 200 acres encompassing the site, Amtrak owns 113 acres on the eastern half of the site and was enthusiastic about the proposal.
"What Amtrak wants to do is Amtrak's business," Cuomo said Monday.
Of the 66 acres owned by the MTA, the city has air rights to 44 acres. City officials had been meeting with the MTA about the project before the statement from Cuomo's spokeswoman raised concerns.
Another 23 acres on the eastern edge is privately owned.
The city's request for proposals seeks "a comprehensive evaluation of specific factors such as the existing and planned configuration of the rail yards" and "ongoing requirements to maintain all and accommodate future rail operations."
The language is an indication that de Blasio plans to launch the project, which could take years to get off the ground, regardless of what Cuomo says.
In a statement announcing the feasibility study, de Blasio said he was pleased to be "working with partners like Amtrak and local stakeholders on a thoughtful and thorough review" of the proposal.
“This is the first step in understanding whether development of the Sunnyside Yards is possible, and what it could contribute to the city and surrounding communities," de Blasio added.
As Cuomo made his latest comments on Sunnyside Yards on Monday, he also tried to silence talk of a rift between himself and de Blasio, saying that he and de Blasio will have the "best relationship between a mayor and governor in modern political history."
De Blasio demurred when asked about the comments, saying that he didn't know enough about the modern political history between mayors and governors. The mayor characterized his affiliation with the governor as a "good working relationship."
Experts say de Blasio's Sunnyside Yards proposal is no slam dunk because of associated costs and local concerns regarding infrastructure such as transportation and schools.
At the same time, large proposals such as this are a big part of reaching de Blasio's goal of 200,000 new and preserved units of affordable housing over the next 10 years.
Written By Jeff Mays 
                                      Douglas Elliman Realty, Long Island City Office                    
                                         47-37 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City, NY 11101




Harvey's Long Island City Real Estate Blog


           
            “Queens is the new Brooklyn. People are seeking affordability and Queens is benefiting.”
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