Open Houses Sep 27

i'm a terrible speller, let me just start with that.
mediorcre turn out. i think i might have missed out on some really low acceptable offers from the summer, looked mainly in willyb (manhattan is still delusional). places are nice, but still too much for what i feel they are worth. i think i'd be ready to close in about a week if these sellers would be ready to close at about 20% below asking (roughly $500/sf in prime willyb) but they think i'm crazy. i think i'm staying out of the market, sorry sellers, was totally ready to close in the next 3 months, but i think i'm done wasting time with them. theres about a million places coming up there, who are these suckers that think asking is final price?
sorry if more than you asked for.

Thanks for the color. Anybody been looking in Manhattan today?

I was not looking today as other obligations, but have been hoping someone would post an OH thread.

Recently saw a large 1-bedroom at Greenwich Court. The renovation is beautifully done, although the kitchen is now bumped out far enough into the living space that the alcove could not be easily turned into a second bedroom. Turnout was good; lots of interest in the unit even 5 minutes before the end of the open house. Broker was completely professional and very open with answering my questions about the unit and the building (lives in the building), which sounds well run.
http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/445605-condo-275-greenwich-street-tribeca-new-york

Also saw #11E in the next building over was also nice, although it needed some updating. Loved the river views, but it was too small and the broker was a total fruitcake. Pushy, uninterested in asking me what I was actually looking for in an apartment and determined to sell me on 20 Pine despite my repeated statements that I was not interested in new dev. A little traffic at this apartment, but difficult to say whether prior visitors were simply better at extracting themselves from her conversational clutches - didn't get to check the sign-in sheet. Only one popped in during my (unfortunately extended) visit; I took the opportunity to make like a jackrabbit for 6C while she buttonholed the new victim.
http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/329236-condo-295-greenwich-street-tribeca-new-york

Given that there are now rentals in the building, both units seem overpriced. 11E has carrying costs of $5,384 monthly but you can rent the same layout plus a balcony for $3300 a month. Or, you can rent the larger Jr-4 layout of 6C for $3200 (no extra half bath and doesn't seem to be renovated, however). (cannot link to the listings; too many)

The building is definitely on my "interested" list, but I'll be waiting to see what the market does in the next year or so.

I wanted to go to 15W67 and 161W75 today but couldn't. Is it a 7 that they're flogging on W75?

The Condo Glut
by CalculatedRisk on 9/27/2009 12:46:00 PM
In Delaware from The News Journal: Justison Landing developer to auction condos

In a risky strategy to move condominiums, the developers of the much-ballyhooed Justison Landing complex on Wilmington's Riverfront plan to auction off a third of the units in the waterfront community next month.
...
Robert Buccini, a partner in Buccini/Pollin Group Inc. in Wilmington, said the auction of 38 condominiums and two town houses in a 120-condo building on the Christina River is designed to stimulate sales ... So far, about 25 condos have been sold in the building -- about two sales a month since the building was completed a year ago.

"We're basically selling at discount so we can move on to our next project," Buccini said.
From the Jacksonville Business Journal: Summer House condos to be auctioned
Twenty-three condominiums in the Summer House in Old Ponte Vedra will go up for auction.
From KUOW News in Seattle: Condo Glut
This weekend, 40 units are up for auction and the minimum bids are typically less than half the listed price. ... there is a veritable glut of brand new condominiums on the market. A few years ago, it seemed, every parking lot in downtown Seattle was being turned into condos. Many of those projects are coming on line now, during the worst real estate market in decades.

At Brix, which completed construction late last year, two thirds of the building's units are still unsold.
And a twist in New Jersey, from the NY Times: In Jersey City, Jump-Starting Condo Sales
At the Saffron, a nearly complete 76-unit condominium complex in the thick of this city’s downtown, the Fields Development Group is trying something new ... The first units — a minimum of 9, a maximum of 15 — will be auctioned off before the grand opening and the start of conventional marketing.
...
Ending sales with an auction — after fair-market values for a building have already been well established — is a tried-and true-technique, of course. But the auctioneers for the Saffron, at Sheldon Good & Company, say they have never conducted a “jump-start” auction before.
"Stimulate"? "Jump-start"? Why not just call it "dump" or "liquidate"?

But this is a reminder that new high rise condos are not included in the new home inventory report from the Census Bureau, and are also not included in the existing home sales report from the NAR (unless they are listed). These uncounted units are concentrated in Miami, Las Vegas, San Diego and other large cities - but as these articles show, there are new condos almost everywhere.

Only just beginning. The true inventory numbers for the condo/co-op market in the NYC area is triple what you see. And for buyers the numbers are far worse. Good luck to all.

"And for buyers the numbers are far worse."

Sorry that didn't come out the way I wanted it. Simply put- qualified buyers are very scarce.

i went today in Upper Manhattan and Upper West Side, really looking at bottom-end of market in regards to prices.

This was a tiny and no natural light at back of building, but had seemingly good turnout. Overpriced by about 30K.
http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/451532-4-west-101st-street-manhattan-valley-new-york

This in doorman building, elevator, all the light came from inside, not great outside light, and tiny kitchen (the foyer is the kitchen). Nice staging on the brokers part, though.
http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/451341-coop-52-riverside-drive-upper-west-side-new-york

This was my favorite, Prewar, good light, super-nice broker. But 5th floor walkup.
http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/450512-coop-507-west-140th-street-hamilton-heights-new-york

This had a weird layout, really is only a studio, IMHO. Great light, though, and super-impressive lobby! But then I cannot live in the lobby, so that's so use, unless I want to impress a date ;-)
http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/462458-coop-255-west-108th-street-manhattan-valley-new-york

I missed some others bc of timing issues getting from one to the next.

"extracting themselves" = extricating themselves.

We saw two open houses today. One was a 700 square foor one bedroom UES and the other was a 1000 sq. foot 2 bedroom same neighborhood. Both were in fairly good ahape. The sign in sheets at both apartments only had a very names. But both apartments were very over priced, especially the one bedroom.

evnyc- I rented at 295 Greenwich several years ago. The location is not the greatest (Chambers Street), but it was a terrific building. Although the size of some of the 1 BR units is a bit on the small/cookie-cutter side, a huge, huge plus is the enormous dedicated storage locker you get in the basement. There is enough room there to store furniture, mattresses, skis, bicycles, etc. It definitely makes a difference in your day-to-day quality of life!