I have a well-located elevator Flatiron studio in an unlimited sublet Coop that I want to sell. With that in mind, I have looked at hundreds of SE studio ads and scores more of Craigslist, and have three major observations: 1. the price relationships of the ads on SE are completely different from those that prevailed pre-Lehman. Many apartments on the UES and/or in walk-up buildings are priced... [more]
I have a well-located elevator Flatiron studio in an unlimited sublet Coop that I want to sell.
With that in mind, I have looked at hundreds of SE studio ads and
scores more of Craigslist, and have three major observations:
1. the price relationships of the ads on SE are completely different
from those that prevailed pre-Lehman. Many apartments on the UES
and/or in walk-up buildings are priced higher in absolute terms
or price/sq.ft. that much better located and more desirable below
23rd Street apartments, even doorman buildings in that area.
2. asking prices within specific geographic areas dont make much more
sense, and are frequently greatly inonnsistent.
3. the asking prices and price relationships seen on SE are not show-
ing up at this time on Craigslist, whose postings are much more up
to date.
The Septemmber issue of The Real Deal states that many brokers are
failing to remove listings on sold units because they generate leads
for other, now available properties.
Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon, or have any ideas concerning
these disparities.
[less]
Response by Lee2323
almost 16 years ago
Posts: 7
Member since: Mar 2010
How big is your studio?
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Response by MRussell
almost 16 years ago
Posts: 276
Member since: Jan 2010
There are studios, and there are studios. 300 sqft vs 500 sqft for example. Both a studio, but one is probably worth a lot more per square foot because it is substantially more usable/flexible.
As for trying to get leads by keeping old listings up, that could work on Craigslist, but the bigger firms will automatically remove listings from the websites when it has been marked as sold and closed. Most of the time the people that call brokers on listings are other brokers, not direct buyers, so this would not be beneficial to the "selling" broker.
As for pricing, well, that is really a wild card. The owner might have asked for a high price, or for that matter, cannot afford to list it for less than a certain price (although I would probably advise someone in this situation to simply not sell). Other times, the brokers try to 'buy' the listing by saying it is worth more than it is and then plan on reducing it in the future. And lastly, sometimes there aren't comps that really help the broker come up with the right price, so you start with one and work from there. Other times you have listings that are priced to sell because the sellers want/need to sell and understand the market.
It is an understatement to say that there is a lot that goes into coming up with the price and the reasoning behind it.
(Matthew Russell - Brown Harris Stevens)
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Response by rb345
almost 16 years ago
Posts: 1273
Member since: Jun 2009
About 375 tape measrued square feet
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Response by MRussell
almost 16 years ago
Posts: 276
Member since: Jan 2010
@ rb345: You aren't really giving the SE community a lot to go on other than a broad location (Flatiron), size and type of building. 375 square feet isn't a lot to work with, which is not to say that someone looking for a studio wouldn't be interested, I just think the pool of people looking for that size of space is a little more limited than someone with 500 sqft.
Other than that though, what is your ultimate goal here? Do you want to sell your apartment or are you just trying to get a rough idea as to what it may be worth by using current streeteasy and craigslist posts as a barometer?
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Response by evnyc
almost 16 years ago
Posts: 1844
Member since: Aug 2008
"the asking prices and price relationships seen on SE are not showing up at this time on Craigslist, whose postings are much more up to date."
That is absolute baloney. If you believe that, you're falling for scammers. Streeteasy's information is the best available. Would you care to point to any examples of "real time" price differences on craigslist, for group edification?
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Response by front_porch
almost 16 years ago
Posts: 5325
Member since: Mar 2008
rb: happy to talk to you about selling it if you're looking for a firm .. we're on 16th Street and have been a neighborhood presence for decades .. and I can provide references of happy sellers.
ali r.
DG Neary Realty
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Response by rb345
almost 16 years ago
Posts: 1273
Member since: Jun 2009
MRussell, evnyc:
1. my goal is to price and sell
2. the apartment is on 22nd between park and broadway
3. my apartments are tape-measured anf often larger than those advertised as being bigger
4. EVNYC: look at SE studios in the $300-400k price range
5. when I looked last week, there were apts in buildings such as 16 West 16th, which is absolutely gorgeous
6. asking less in absolute and price/sq.ft. terms than wlak-ups in areas like the UES
7. suggesting that a large ## of sellers were either (a) way overpriced, or (b) way underpriced, or that many
seeming cheap listings were stale: in fact,many seeming extremely cheap went up over 120-180 days ago
8. the pricing on Craigslist is much more consistent with patterns I've observed over1 the years
9. I've been buying in manahttan since 1983 and have never seen relative area pricing like that now on SE
10. that's no cut v. SE: I think the site is much better organized and useful than Trulie and NYCResidential
11. my observation simply reflects the fact that many SE lisings are deliberately kep up after their units' sale
12. that was certainly the case with the NYT when I last looked two years ago: it was still listing Napoleon
Bonaparte's Paris Townhouse as a runt-to-own
How big is your studio?
There are studios, and there are studios. 300 sqft vs 500 sqft for example. Both a studio, but one is probably worth a lot more per square foot because it is substantially more usable/flexible.
As for trying to get leads by keeping old listings up, that could work on Craigslist, but the bigger firms will automatically remove listings from the websites when it has been marked as sold and closed. Most of the time the people that call brokers on listings are other brokers, not direct buyers, so this would not be beneficial to the "selling" broker.
As for pricing, well, that is really a wild card. The owner might have asked for a high price, or for that matter, cannot afford to list it for less than a certain price (although I would probably advise someone in this situation to simply not sell). Other times, the brokers try to 'buy' the listing by saying it is worth more than it is and then plan on reducing it in the future. And lastly, sometimes there aren't comps that really help the broker come up with the right price, so you start with one and work from there. Other times you have listings that are priced to sell because the sellers want/need to sell and understand the market.
It is an understatement to say that there is a lot that goes into coming up with the price and the reasoning behind it.
(Matthew Russell - Brown Harris Stevens)
About 375 tape measrued square feet
@ rb345: You aren't really giving the SE community a lot to go on other than a broad location (Flatiron), size and type of building. 375 square feet isn't a lot to work with, which is not to say that someone looking for a studio wouldn't be interested, I just think the pool of people looking for that size of space is a little more limited than someone with 500 sqft.
Other than that though, what is your ultimate goal here? Do you want to sell your apartment or are you just trying to get a rough idea as to what it may be worth by using current streeteasy and craigslist posts as a barometer?
"the asking prices and price relationships seen on SE are not showing up at this time on Craigslist, whose postings are much more up to date."
That is absolute baloney. If you believe that, you're falling for scammers. Streeteasy's information is the best available. Would you care to point to any examples of "real time" price differences on craigslist, for group edification?
rb: happy to talk to you about selling it if you're looking for a firm .. we're on 16th Street and have been a neighborhood presence for decades .. and I can provide references of happy sellers.
ali r.
DG Neary Realty
MRussell, evnyc:
1. my goal is to price and sell
2. the apartment is on 22nd between park and broadway
3. my apartments are tape-measured anf often larger than those advertised as being bigger
4. EVNYC: look at SE studios in the $300-400k price range
5. when I looked last week, there were apts in buildings such as 16 West 16th, which is absolutely gorgeous
6. asking less in absolute and price/sq.ft. terms than wlak-ups in areas like the UES
7. suggesting that a large ## of sellers were either (a) way overpriced, or (b) way underpriced, or that many
seeming cheap listings were stale: in fact,many seeming extremely cheap went up over 120-180 days ago
8. the pricing on Craigslist is much more consistent with patterns I've observed over1 the years
9. I've been buying in manahttan since 1983 and have never seen relative area pricing like that now on SE
10. that's no cut v. SE: I think the site is much better organized and useful than Trulie and NYCResidential
11. my observation simply reflects the fact that many SE lisings are deliberately kep up after their units' sale
12. that was certainly the case with the NYT when I last looked two years ago: it was still listing Napoleon
Bonaparte's Paris Townhouse as a runt-to-own
And Ali, thank you, who knows.