coops in manhattan

Nope, its making it worse. Even fewer folks to afford those same co-ops.

Proof is in the pudding... Dept. of Finance stats came out on closed co-ops contracts... median is down 28% in Q1.

So much for "insulated".

Dear new2ny,
I think you could glean a huge amount of information by searching previous discussions on the site. Much of this territory has been covered already, and people on the site don't always cotton to re-posting their thoughts. There have been lively discussions about co-op vs condo, and co-op board practices insulating NY from foreclosures (or not), for example. If you have trouble tracking them down, I'm sure I can dig up some links...
Tina
(Brooklyn broker)

it is highly unlikely we will see foreclosures in co-ops on a large scale. There are some foreclosures in land-lease co-ops, but that is about it.

Tina is right, but it's pretty simple to paraphrase:

Insulated from foreclosures? Yes, somewhat. Insulated from declines? No, not at all.

Yes, foreclosures are less likely because the typical owner of a coop had to pass the board and have lots of cash on the side. If you live in a new condo I would worry. If you don't need to sell you should be ok.

"median is down 28% in Q1."

Still spitting out the fuzzy numbers, huh?

Sorry, I'll check previous posts in the future. But with prices down and and less risk for foreclousers in the building a coop would be a good way to go for first time buyers. Thanks. Another Great Day in New York City.

> "median is down 28% in Q1."
> Still spitting out the fuzzy numbers, huh?

Just because you don't like 'em doesn't mean they're fuzzy... you're just in denial.

That is the ACTUAL median off closed sales.... call it fuzzy all you want... but why are you actually trying to hide this info?

Unique to this downturn is the illiquidity discount (or extra-intense fall) whether it's a high-yield bond, TIPS bond, small-cap stock, or a New York co-op. There was a prior discussion about co-ops falling more in price than condos, which would suggest the illiquidity discount (or whatever other factor) is trumping the supposed financial security of the ownership base.

I sent an email to SE that they create a wikipedia type topics section for things like coop vs condo characteristics, to avoid repeating the same thing so many times in threads and they said they may do that in the next upgrades to the site. I think it would be helpful to people joining in looking for specific topics.