How many coops have you seen?

Looked at 20 , bid or 4 , accepted on 1

took 8 months , well worth it

Looked at three in one day, bid seriously on the one I wanted and got it.

Over 5-6 months looked online at 80 to 90, paid a one-time visit to about dozen , saw about 3 in person more than once.

Bid on 1, got it (co-op, needed renovation, all cash buyer, very strong financials).

18 mos so far. Saw about 15. Bid on 5. Pulled one after GC bids came in higher than expected. Lost rest in best and finals, which went significantly over ask. Still looking.

I went to at least 20 open houses and I was in three bidding wars before I got my place.

Probably 20 in our latest round (hubby and I did a lot of neighborhood shopping, so we looked at a couple of places in Harlem, a couple of places in Jersey City, etc.) The househunt before that, looked at only about five places before picking one, but prices were lower so it was easier not to agonize.

Co-op in Jersey City!

When buying a house we looked at about 60-75 homes in about 6 months. Purchased in the 6th month.

Keith Burkhardt
The Burkhardt Group

When buying a house we looked at about 60-75 homes in about 6 months. Purchased in the 6th month.

Keith Burkhardt
The Burkhardt Group

I looked between 2008/9 and 2011 at anywhere between 100 to 200 apartments.
Yes that's a lot and there are 2 reasons.

1) The stock market had crashed but the housing market was lagging way behind in adjusting its price.
2) I was committed to only units with substantial outdoor space. This cut available inventory by over 90% at any given time.
I probably bid on 8 apartments in that time. Half of those were fairly obnoxious "low ball" bids in the earlier years. But it was a great learning experience.

>I probably bid on 8 apartments in that time. Half of those were fairly obnoxious "low ball" bids in the earlier years. But it was a great learning experience.

Which leaves us to wonder whose advice you were taking? Which posters on SE Talk were most influential to you?

Fieldchester, it was nobody's advice, it was my assessments of what manhattan property values were.
In 2009, I thought price per foot was due a correction between 20% and 30%.
The problem is in real estate, its not instant like the stock market. It takes several months to year(s) to adjust as property owners have staying power delays available to them.
It takes 2 years plus to foreclose on a property where a company can go chapter 11 in a month.
I wanted instant gratification, but I was stubborn and it took 2 years for the market to arrive.

In any case, my learning experience was the threshold in where you annoy a seller on a low ball offer to a point of unwillingness to engage in negotiation.
Even in a bear market, I found offering a difference of more than 18% off an asking price is the threshold. And certainly not within 30 days of initial listing.
Another key, and streeteasy was instrumental for my purchase. Providing cherry picked comps with my offer(s).

In the past six months, around 60 coops, plus around 20 condos and 10 houses. If a broker ever follows up with me to suggest another property, I've usually seen the listing already, and know it's not worth bothering with (for me), since this hunt has helped narrow my parameters greatly.

I very much enjoy comparing what you'd get for your money. If you want a Brooklyn house with a big rental apartment building looming over your little backyard, you can spend from $1.6 million in Ditmas Park to $4 million in Park Slope.