Seeking market report for coops under 1m

check urbandigs. you can register and see chart room for studio and one stats at a level free, but can connect to an agent to request a deeper specific report like you seek. Our system was designed for that exact purpose. Hope it helps

sorry mobile typos.. meant to say ..."you can see studio and one bedroom stats at high level for free..."

I am an agent focusing on the northern portion of the UWS and Upper Manhattan. Upper Manhattan is a massive territory but not much to report in terms of inventory relating to co-op's over $1 million. I typically only see 20-30 properties that meet this criteria on the market. That said- an apartment priced below market or has something unique will often have a bidding war. Most of the inventory of this type is found in Morningside Heights or Hudson Heights- with a few properties scattered in between. While inventory has increased a bit in the last couple of months, that is partially because homes are staying on the market longer. East Harlem, Cental Harlem, Manhattanville and Hamilton Heights generally won't have many co-op's at this price point- as you are much more likely to find condo's above $1 million rather than co-op's. That said, when a great opportunity comes up, since inventory is so limited- you might not find something like it for a year or more- so move on it without delay.

Sorry, I misread the headline, you were seeking below $1 million. It will be neighborhood specific and HDFC's require their own commentary. In general the market has slowed- and Morningside Heights continues to be very active- but I am also seeing things that are priced well above market and sitting. When the apartments are priced below market- yes, I am seeing very active bidding wars. It is still a small market except for HDFC's, Morningside Heights and Hudson Heights. Central Harlem is mostly condo's unless you include HDFC's.

In my area, I'm seeing a lot of potential buyers (high attendance at early open houses, for example) with no sense of urgency. Apartments are selling but it takes a lot of work. But I live and sell on the Upper Upper West side (Bloomingdale/Morningside Heights/Manhattan Valley) and I'm not sure if that fits your definition of "Upper Manhattan."

ali r.
{upstairs realty}

Hi, thanks for these comments. We're selling in the Morningside/Harlem corridor. Open houses have been totally dead, but there have been some private viewings. More than half the people who view talk about making an offer and how much they love it, and that they would like to be in the loop when there is an offer. The process is so incredibly slow. And our income cap is much higher than most. I was curious about the market in general to find out what might be happening.

Without knowing the specifics of your situation- HDFC's are very tricky. I see a lot of mistakes made in a large portion of the HDFC listings uptown. Sometimes it is price, sometimes it is the brokers marketing, sometimes it's the building, sometimes it's the brokers reputation (a few bad eggs come to mind) sometimes it's even the commission rate (or lack thereof)- and expect the discount broker disguised as a general poster will likely chime in at this point. Last year I saw one HDFC being marketed as a 1 word ad- "Beautiful" with no pictures or floorplan. Every once in a while, it could just be nothing specific- but price usually solves that one.

I know there was an HDFC on the market in the low 120's that had many offers in the first week. It was priced below market and the buyers felt the urgency. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the apartment closes for 20-25% above asking price.

In other cases, I see HDFC's that are not only marketed incorrectly (i.e. mentions it is an HDFC, but doesn't elaborate beyond that) and the owner wants an unrealistic price. Last year, the owner had accepted an offer right around where I thought it would sell for (nearly 20% below asking price)- though they were upset about the price and ultimately backed out of the deal and fired the broker (who I wound up doing another deal with later on). The owners hired a new broker asking the same price and it still sits on the market. The offer they had was pretty on target for the market- but they want their price. So instead it sits vacant, while they pay for the monthlies- eating into the amount they will ultimately walk away with.

There are also at least a few shady operators that love the HDFC market uptown. These are often non-REBNY members. There are plenty of excellent brokers that aren't members of REBNY- but when it comes to HDFC"s uptown- that number is very small.

Yet there are other buildings that have a reputation for the boards being difficult- rejecting half the buyers- and as a result the buyers are reluctant to move forward.

Ideally, here is what I expect your broker should be doing for you (just a sample)- If they aren't REBNY members- then they should be sending out email blasts to all brokers in Manhattan (this rarely happens- they expect the real estate web sites to sell it for them); They should have an excellent understanding of the building- and not just the income restriction, but also things like the flip tax, whether the board does board package reviews and interviews prior to contract signing (I advise clients caution when HDFC's do this- there are several areas of risk for the buyers that aren't immediately apparent), whether the apartment can be financed, and if self-managed how open is the board to new bank questionaire's, etc. The broker should have also provided you with comps for pricing and explained adjustments to align more appropriately with your home. Also, the broker should also have professional pictures taken (no self taken pictures unless you have serious photography skills) and a floorplan created. On your end, make sure the apartment is accessible as often as possible for private viewings. Is the apartment staged? Should it be? There are lots of other variables- but this should begin to set the tone.

Thank you UptownSpecialist for the time you put into this comment.
I feel quite confident about the marketing. We like our broker. The feedback we have received is that the photos are great, the apartment is gorgeous, and there have been no complaints on the price. My understanding is that 1 or sometimes 2 people per week view it and talk about wanting to buy it. There's a collection of interested people but no one has jumped, and traffic has been very thin. This is in contrast with when we had it on the market last year (with the same broker.) It had to be delisted for legal reasons but there was a ton of traffic just before that, and the price was bid up 200k+.
When we put it back on we actually raised the price some, but not nearly to the high offer from last year. I note that the buyers looking at our place are also looking at market rate units.
I hope that clarifies why I asked about the market data.

The short answer- your price is too high. The longer answer- I see two issues that need to be addressed in your post. First, the market has definitely weakened. Buyers are bidding on apartments they perceive as a bargain- and are bidding them up. As I pointed out in my last response, there was a recent HDFC in Central Harlem in the 120's that was priced below market- with tons of buyers at the 2 open houses- and a crazy bidding war. I imagine the final price will be 20-25% higher than asking. The apartments that are still having crazy bidding wars are priced below market or have something very unique about them. Since things have calmed from last year- when even mediocre apartments were selling above ask, relisting at a higher price was not going to work well in this market (which is my second point)...even if it's not as high as your best bid last year. Buyer's want a bargain (Don't you?)... so give it to them...or at least give them the possibility.

A third issue issue is that if buyers are also looking at market rate units- that tells me that the attraction of the value of an HDFC has been eliminated at your price point. Most of my buyers would prefer a building without the shadow of HDFC and potential regulatory changes if they can pay a similiar price without it.

Yes, it's a totally unique apartment and unlikely to be vulnerable to regulatory changes. The condos people are looking at are smaller and much less desirable. Our price is lower than 3 out of 4 of last year's bids. We also raised the price because the conditions of the building improved. Only one agent has tried to talk us down slightly so far but ended up making an offer at ask after viewing the comps. For several reasons we could not then move on it fast enough for their timeline. These considerations are why the title of the post asks 'what is happening in the market?' and not 'help! what am I doing wrong?'

Hi David,

Apologies, I did not intend to offend. I think I need to rephrase what I said previously as well to be clear. HDFC apartments in upper Manhattan that are priced below market as well as unique properties that are priced reasonably- I am seeing bidding wars in the first week or two. Generic well priced or above market ask units are sitting.

You didn't offend. But that is all I wanted to know, so thanks much for that clarification.
Would love if others wanted to weigh in as well.