BERNANKE talks NYC REAL ESTATE

this is by way of www.NJREREPORT.com From the Federal Reserve: (Read that line again, from the Federal Reserve, not the Realtors, not the NJ Association of Realtors, not from the Builders, and not from the Mortgage Bankers. This is coming to us from Ben Bernanke’s FED.) Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions (Beige Book) - Second District–New York Construction and Real Estate Housing... [more]

this is by way of www.NJREREPORT.com From the Federal Reserve: (Read that line again, from the Federal Reserve, not the Realtors, not the NJ Association of Realtors, not from the Builders, and not from the Mortgage Bankers. This is coming to us from Ben Bernanke’s FED.) Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions (Beige Book) - Second District–New York Construction and Real Estate Housing markets in the District have been mixed but generally weak since the last report. Manhattan’s residential rental market continued to soften in January, with asking rents reported to be down 3 to 9 percent from a year earlier; in addition, a growing number of landlords are offering one or more months of free rent and are paying any rental fees. Perhaps as a result, rental vacancy rates, which had been rising steadily in the second half of 2008, edged down in January. A major appraisal firm reports that Manhattan co-op and condo prices have continued to decline since the beginning of the year and are down by an estimated 20 to 25 percent from last summer; the number of transactions thus far in 2009 has been running 60 to 65 percent lower than a year ago. A contact reports seeing very few transactions at the high end of the market in Manhattan, and that most of them seem to be all-cash deals. Inventories are rising seasonally from an already-high level and that backlog is said to be accompanied by a large and growing amount of “shadow” inventory in new developments. The market for single-family homes in and around New York City has also weakened, though market conditions were reported to be more stable in upstate New York. Contacts in northern New Jersey report little or no discretionary activity in the resale market–almost all transactions are either foreclosed properties or distress sales by owners that need to move. In this environment, market prices are difficult to gauge, but an industry expert estimates that they are down 15 to 20 percent from the 2007 peak, with steeper declines at the high end. Separately, a real estate industry contact notes a rising number of “short sales,” for which the mortgage holder agrees to accept less than the full principal balance upon the sale. (Emphasis added) [less]