Things have certainly heated up in more ways than one: As we finalized this month’s LUXURYLETTER, we were struck at how our editorial coincided with all the dreadful housing news that hit the media. It’s important to remind ourselves that the data collected is a reflection of closed transactions, most of which were negotiated many weeks or possibly months ago. That is not necessarily a reflection of what is happening right now, although it is not to be ignored.
Our major message in this month’s letter is to some Sellers unrealistic, artificially elevated pricing expectations. We are in a very fortunate market in Manhattan, that has largely avoided the worst of the housing crisis. Being too greedy now at a rare moment with very low inventory AND low interest rates may prove to be unwise. Yes, the selling brokers role is always to maximize pricing, but attempting to maximize beyond reality is quite simply….unrealistic. It’s also especially important to understand how localized each market truly is: the biggest dis-service these sweeping headlines deliver is in their generality: Averaging the entire country is simply bad economics AND bad reporting….but it sells newspapers and boosts ratings. Not once during the depths of the recession was any mention made of the few areas that were barely affected by the market’s trauma. No-one should expect boom-times when gas prices, commodity and food prices are soaring: then again, lets remind ourselves that there are always people who know how to make lots of money out of these (or any) times…..and these are the buyers of A-grade real estate.
Find below this month’s letter links:
https://www.theleonardsteinbergteam.com/files/luxuryletters/LUXURYLETTER_June_2011.pdf