Cant find well-priced condos...

We recently purchased a condo and for all our waiting-to-exhale as to whether we made a dreadful mistake in timing, we keep hearing that (at least in terms of what we were looking at) there's just not much inventory. I don't know if this means everyone who had to sell did, or if it's just the eye of the storm - my initial thoughts had been to wait until November to buy - or maybe you'll have to wait until first of year - once the holidays are on the horizon, many people just wait until after they're over to put their places on the market - if they can afford to...

you are looking for something very rare: a nice established condo with light/views in a great neighborhood and close to subway access. That's pretty much at the higher end of what is available, hence the pricing. Can you give up 1 or 2 of these requirements? If not, you will have to wait for the market to come to you. It may take a few more years.

there's a lot of room for movement at the Gotham, for example. that building used to be on my affordable list. pricing is horrible there, but almost nothing has moved recently. i'll try to think of some others.

I really like Park West Village on the upper west Side. There are a number of listings in the complex (including mine) that I think have good value. For more on Park west, see here: http://nychousewhisperer.blogspot.com/2009/01/park-west-village-and-tale-of-two.html

PS. Whole Foods has made a big difference already to the neighborhood.

I don't know about other neighborhoods, but for the UES, the condo market is limited to a few buildings compared to coops. We're been looking for a condo for almost 6 months and I was really surprised at how few buildings we have to choose from. In general, the prices are still quite high, higher than we want to spend and if something reasonable shows up, there's always a huge negative when we go see it. Newyorkgirl, how do you find the condo situation on UWS.

I'll second Park West Village. Used to be pretty dead there at night and now, with Whole Foods, there's a lot of foot traffic. And all the other stores (Borders, Modell's, etc) haven't even opened yet.

Come to Brooklyn. Williamsburg and Downtown Brooklyn are full of Condos. Or Harlem....

The manhattan condo market isn't down nearly as much as the co-op market.

check out this apt: http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/440571-condop-242-east-25th-street-kips-bay-new-york

Kips Bay is a hike to the subway, which was a concern for the OP. If you're into Kips Bay try Kips Bay Towers. South facing apartments get tons of light and some great views, especially those with courtyard views.

Roger, it's the kind of behavior that gives brokers a bad name. You posted your listing in 2 different threads in the space of a minute, and in both cases it is not what the OP wants. In this case, it's a coop far from the subway. In the other thread, the poster is looking for a Jr 4 rental on the West side. Earth to Roger, do pay attention.

nshipley -- thanks for the blog link. We've actually just bought in that complex, so it's interesting to see a perspective on it. I haven't actually been to the Whole Foods yet, but it's certainly an added bonus. I'm hoping we'll like it up there.

roger, outed, that may e a new record for speed! hey guys, i always thought manhattan was like 96% co-ops, 4% condos?

thanks everybody for your helpful comments. lobster, condo situation in UWS is bad - very limited supply. Anything that seems non-exorbitantly priced is in the high 90s - 100s eg 314 W100th. dont like the layout though, have you seen it?

I can rattle off all the condos between 60th & 96th on the UWS. What are you looking for exactly?

nyg -- I saw 314 w 100. what did you think of that? I thought the layouts were ok actually. just wasn't entirely sold in the location. but thought hard about it. you?

what do you guys think of century towers on 92nd?

nyc10023 - i am looking for a 3BR condo, decent living room (more than 20 by 15), light, views (a nice to have, not a must), above 3rd floor, close to subway, not more than $1000/sq ft. pls give me the blgs that fit the criteria. AVM, i think the developer only made cosmetic, high-level changes, the corridor looks yucky, the elevator is just not going to work for us (we have 2 young kids), i need a 3BR and the unit with a 3BR layout is not a real 3BR - the third BR is TINY

This thread illustrates the problem: despite all the hoop-la about falling prices, prices are still ridiculous and many, many buildings. To me 1,000 psf (which I have seen in zillions of condos)...means 600 for a small apartment....which still is ridiculous.

Do you need to be zoned for a good school? Prewar/postwar? How close do you need to be to the subway (200RSB comes to mind, but is a solid 10min walk from 72nd street subway)?

Max price?

would prefer to be zoned for PS 87 or 190 BUT not necessary. ok with either prewar/postwar. RSB is ok. i just looked up 200RSB, no 3BR listings. max price is $1.8mm

30 West 61st. The Western views will be altered by Fordham construction, but it's a generous and efficient layout.
155 West 70th. Pricier, better location, smaller apt, great playroom.

Keep an eye out for listings at:
200RSB (there are a lot of people who want to sell but pulled their place off the market).
135 West 70th, funky layouts which may not appeal, there are 3 bedrooms there, with one br on main floor, and 2 brs on mezz.
201W72, as recently as '06, there were a couple of sub-2m listings.

Further uptown (no current listings, but I would think at the $1k/sqft threshold or below)

250 W90th - not as familiar with their layouts, so I don't know if there are 3brs that are not combinations.
215 W90th - see above, same story.
255 W85th - same story
160W86th - ditto

110W86th - prewar conversion, classic 6 in your price range now.

Further uptown (you already know about the prewar conversions), my 2 favorite postwar condos are 545W110 (nothing right now) and 272 W107 (ask 1.995m, but you can always offer your max).

I dislike the Ariels, think their layouts are wasteful.

In particular, at 200RSB, 10D and 7D were on the market (3brs at 1700+sqft) but were taken off. So there's definitely inventory that I think will come back on the market.

thanks alot nyc10023!

Are there any condos on West End Avenue between 72nd Street and high 80's? We need to be reasonably close to midtown. I've only looked on UES, but I think that the UWS would work fine. Looking for a 2 bedroom at least 1.5 bath between 1000-1200 sqaure feet, maximum $1.2M.

I bet you could get that for new construction on Riverside Drive south zoned out of PS 199 in the mid/lower 60s.

Aifamm: there are a couple of older conversions (500WEA & 650WEA at 92nd). 595WEA is a newer conversion but may have more smaller-sized apts. And of course there are conversions in progress at 390WEA (Apthorp) and 905WEA (out of your desired zone).

235WEA (at 70th) is a condo conversion as well.

240WEA (at 71st) is in the process of conversion.

the chelsea mercantile just had a 3 bed close for around $1000 psf. nothing there now.

http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/368724-condo-252-seventh-avenue-chelsea-new-york

There's a brand new condo on WEA at 69th that you might want to check out...3 blocks from your boundry.

Check out 555 W 23rd Street in Chelsea. Selling for around $1000/ft. New (made in 2005) condos.

NYG: Would this work for you? I enter the park here on my bike a few days a week, I like the area. I was just e-blasted this listing so have not scrutinized it as I am on my way out.

http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/418496-condo-301-cathedral-parkway-central-harlem-new-york

Thanks everyone for your great suggestions. Plenty for us to see.