“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” Warren Buffet’s wise words handily sum up a dominant theme in New York’s residential market these days — which is to say, despite all the talk of glitzy new condos and penthouses with astronomical prices, developers, buyers and brokers are increasingly chasing value.
The phenomenon is playing out across all price points, and it applies to first-time homebuyers on the lowest end of the price spectrum to foreign investors seeking a “safe haven” for their money at the high end.
This month, The Real Deal dissected the market under $10 million, zeroing in on three key price brackets: $1 million to $3 million, $3 million to $5 million and $5 million to $10 million. What we found was that each of those markets is behaving very differently in this transitioning market.
Not surprisingly, properties between $1 million and $3 million are flying off the shelves. As prices rise across the board, this category is absorbing a growing number of buyers who are finding themselves priced out of more expensive apartments. And the majority of buyers in this range know that they need to act fast because there is a line of competing buyers who will grab the property if they don’t.
However, higher up on the ladder — in both the $3-million-to-$5-million range and the $5-million-to-$10-million market — sales have slowed as buyers wade through more choices than they’ve had in years and sellers overreach with asking prices.
“It’s just a tale of two markets,” said Noah Rosenblatt, founder of real estate analytics firm Urban Digs.
Compass agent James Cox put it this way: “We have more listings and more buyers than we did this time last year, but they’re looking for bargains and sellers are holding out for something better.”
No one is immune from price sensitivity, either.
“Even at $10 million, people are very aware of value and they will not overpay,” said Jeffrey Stockwell of Stribling & Associates. “Look, we live in uncertain times and people want to make smart decisions.”
Bronx Getting Hotter With Recent Related Cos Transaction – Victor Jung
Related Cos., in partnership with New York City pension funds, is ramping up its multifamily moves, with the $112.5 million purchase of a 20-building Bronx portfolio – the largest package to change hands in the borough this year, sources told The Real Deal.
The portfolio contains 737 apartments spread throughout the North, West and South Bronx. In a statement, a spokesperson for Related confirmed the portfolio buy and said the firm’s Related Fund Management arm and the pension funds plan to preserve the units in a long-term hold as workforce housing.
The buildings are largely low-rise walkups with rent-stabilized units. They are in a mix of working-class and middle-class neighborhoods such as Soundview, Wakefield, High Bridge and Fordham.
A group of private Brooklyn Heights-based investors known as Eastern Capital Partners acquired the properties in several transactions over the past five years, records show.
Addresses include 4002-4004 Carpenter Avenue, 1085-1095 Colgate Avenue, 2608 Creston Avenue and 1065 Jerome Avenue, among others.
Rosewood Realty Group’s Aaron Jungreis and Besen & Associates’ Amit Doshi and Ron Cohen each brokered portions of the deal. Jungreis, Doshi and Cohen declined to comment.
Last year, Related and the city pension funds to acquire 35 rental buildings from Stanley Wasserman’s SW Management for $270 million. Over the summer, the development giant behind the Hudson Yards megaproject scooped up a 10-building, Brooklyn-and-Queens package from Silvershore Properties and three formerly distressed buildings in Marine Park.
The Bronx is undergoing something of a residential renaissance, with more than 11.5 million square feet of residential real estate under development borough-wide, according to a TRD analysis in September.
Two of the other large Bronx portfolios of the year include A&E Real Estate’s purchase of a 441-unit complex in Riverdale for $89 million and an Asden Properties-led group’s acquisition of 612 apartments for $90 million.
– See more at: http://therealdeal.com/blog/2015/12/24/related-makes-biggest-bronx-portfolio-deal-of-the-year/#sthash.conMXSoD.dpuf