Bloomberg: "Manhattan Apartment Sellers Cut Prices Most in 5 Years in 2008"

"The reported available inventory tally does not include new developments where units have yet to go on sale, Miller said. “That is definitely an undercount,” he said. ‘There’s a lot of shadow inventory in the background.”"

Damn straight there is. We're talking a 3+ year supply.

There are some brokers who get it. I had one a month back say she wished prices would just drop 30% right then and there so this seller/buyer cat and mouse game vould come to an end.

Why did she think 30% would be enough? A month ago, we were already down in the 20%s....

Brokers gots to eat too. A sales person will argue any side of a sale, even if it means lowering a price, because a smaller commission is better than no commission at all.

Her point was she just wanted it to bottom out quick so we can see some activity.

Only a few months ago brokers were the ones insisting that the market was still going up. And to get exclusives, were (and probably still are) promising "top" prices. Now, once that gig is over, they are acting purely for self interest and saying, hey, lets just drop 30% and then move on like nothing happened. They pushed the bubble harder than anyone, made tons of $$, and now they have to deflate same as everyone.

I've been talking to brokers for over a year who've been saying this isn't sustainable. Of course they knew I wasn't buying or selling at the time, so maybe that influenced their comments. There are those who do, and those who don't. Almost all will spin the info in a way that helps their cause, but not all of them will outright lie to make a buck.

I'll rip off someone on curbed: "buy now and be priced in forever!"