Renovations Factoring into Pricing

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the majority of this article fly directly in the face of other reporting (in the same paper, by the same firms being quoted, etc.)?

Well, yes, but I tried to look past that. I think anybody with a brain has known that broker estimates on the market are generally worthless.... particuarly in an advertising (not a news) section.

It was just the concept that got me thinking. That $$$ put into reno will mask even larger price declines.

Gotcha. Interesting point. But do you think brokers really can get people to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in reno's without any evidence of it actually working? just to make prices "seem" they aren't as bad? The person selling, in general, couldn't give a crap about how their sale effects the market; they care about how it effects their own pocket.o

ny10022,
this is my dream. I find the apartment of my choice and the last owner just finished renovating eveything to my exact taste under the premise that they could spend any amount of money on the reno because they could easily take it out with profit. In my dream two other apartments(in the same line) have recently sold for very tiny amounts of money. The seller panics and I get it for even less than the comps.
we all have to dream a little...

Personally I generally steer clear of apartments that scream "sale reno". I would far prefer to buy a place with an ancient kitchen and original bathroom and redo it to my own taste than pay top dollar for someone else's cheesy low-rent "updates" that'll only have to be ripped out and redone anyway.

"this is my dream. I find the apartment of my choice and the last owner just finished renovating eveything to my exact taste under the premise that they could spend any amount of money on the reno because they could easily take it out with profit"

To some extent, this has been our business model for the past couple of decades. I have particularly gotten a kick out of people coming to my open houses and telling me "this apartment isn't in the size range we are looking for, but we had to see it after viewing the pictures. if you even get an apartment in our size range, please call us after you have finished the renovations but before you put it on the market". (yes, this is empty boasting, so humour me for once).

Falco, I hear you.

We might not get the dream scenario, but I have to figure at minimum its just great news overall for those who waited. Maybe you don't get the cool comp statistic to brag to your friends about, but you end up getting even more of a discount (granted, you can brag about the free reno).

How would you describe recent renos that you are doing, 30yrs? Kitchen? Baths? Flooring? Doors...

We bought an apartment that a Lehman managing partner had just spent a year renovating, then he lost his bonus, then his job, and had to sell in a hurry. True story. In 1991. He was so leveraged out, five banks came to our closing, and the guy from Chase was called Rocco.

nyc10023: totally depends on the unit, but in general its trying to make the place look like it did when it was first built, except for the kitchen which we usually do middle level stainless appliances and black granite counters.

The photos are very limite4d here, but give some idea: http://dgneary.com/BrokerWebsite3/Code/sales_detail.asp?listing_id=96064

30yrs, that's the way to do it. Neutral (but not that bright-white landlord-y look,) very nice attention to the hardware, etc.

it's funny what spending a couple of thousand hours picking out details can get you ;). (thank you)

"and the guy from Chase was called Rocco."

He probably came over from the Manny Hanny deal. :)

Our bathrooms are very similar to the ones you picked out - major diff. is the replacement the pedestal with a vanity for storage, and marble instead of ceramic hexagon floor tiles. I find white subway tile, with a neutral basketweave mosaic in a bathroom to be timeless. I see original 1920s baths in prewar apts, and they don't look dated to me at all. I am not a purist, so I didn't go for the reproduction Victorian flat subway tiles - we have "pill box" white subway tiles instead.

For a less utilitarian look, you can paint the walls a funkier color (ours are Benjamin Moore Summer or Silvery Blue).

Kitchens are a little harder to make neutral. But pick up a book called Classic Bungalow Kitchens and you'll get the picture. The original St. Charles kitchens in 1920s buildings & the oak cabs in older buildings are classic.

Dangerous move. Our old neighbours gut renovated a place and sold it as soon they were done to someone who redid the whole thing all over again. They made money on the deal because it during a boom but I don't see that kind of thing flying now. People are pricing in the renovations they want whether they are absolutely necessary (outdated apartment) or purely a question of taste. I would save myself the money and hassle and take some kind of a haircut on the sale price instead.