Posted by Leonard Steinberg on May 25th, 2014 First-time buyers are a diminishing sector of the housing market and now account for about 16% of new-home purchases, down from 25% – 28% between 2001 and 2007, according to the National Association of Home Builders. In the existing-home market, first-time buyers accounted for 29% of purchases in April:… [Read More]
BE CERTAIN OF MANHATTAN INFLATION…..VERY CERTAIN. (AND NO, ITS NOT 2%!)
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on May 3rd, 2013 The one thing that almost guarantees that real estate will continue its upward pricing trend is the fact that big city inflation is quite different from the rest of the country’s (I believe artificially deflated) inflation figures. Did cab fares go down during the recession? Food prices?… [Read More]
IS THE $ 100 MILLION NEW YORK APARTMENT THE INTERNET STOCK OF 2000?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on April 20th, 2013 Has a new pricing insanity set into the New York uber-luxury market with 33 official listings (with many more un-official ones!)above $ 30 million and three over $ 100 million: Is $ 100 million the new $ 50 million just within a matter of months? It appears… [Read More]
THE MANHATTAN INFLATION MYTH
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on December 4th, 2012 Our beloved Government claims that the US inflation rate is currently somewhere around 2.25%…..remarkably they do not include the cost of housing in this figure, probably the single most expensive line item cost in every American’s budget. As we all know the cost of housing is rising dramatically, especially in… [Read More]
THE NEW YORK BUILDING BOOM OF 2013
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on October 5th, 2012 New York is poised for one of the greatest building booms of all time in 2013, fueled by the awakening sleeping giant of residential new construction. There are literally hundreds of buildings where already the roar of machinery and activity are firing up. This is what I… [Read More]
RATES TO REMAIN LOW TILL LATE 2014 SAYS THE FED
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 25th, 2012 Some good news for the real estate markets (and markets in general): To-day the Federal Reserve pushed back the likely timing of an eventual interest rate hike until late 2014, much later than it had previously said, as it nurses a still-sluggish economic recovery. In a historic… [Read More]
MORE THAN JUST GREEN SHOOTS: A RECOVERY IS WELL UNDER WAY
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 23rd, 2012 A recovery is under way. And now there is absolutely no doubt about it. I hear it from my very wealthiest clients most of whom are scrambling to put deals together before prices rise. I even heard one say the other day he was willing to pay… [Read More]
MORE GOOD NEWS FOR REAL ESTATE?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 11th, 2012 In a recent Wall Street Journal article a survey of those with investable assets of $ 30m+ revealed that the rich prefer commodities, real-estate, private companies in 2012 to place their investable dollars. 48% plan to increase their allocation to commodities in 2012, and 45% of respondents are looking to… [Read More]
BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING MAYHEM: A GOOD THING?……OR IS IT A SIGN OF INFLATION?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on November 28th, 2011 Retail insanity was the order of the day starting mere seconds after the turkey and stuffing had been digested. Reports of fist fights, pepper spraying, gun-shots, etc highlighted American’s intense desire for a bargain. Retail sales were up over 8% over last year, setting new records. These are my… [Read More]
FORECLOSURE MESS WILL COST ALL: YES, EVEN IN MANHATTAN.
The foreclosure mess could hurt homeowners in Manhattan in an indirect way: The costs of buying an apartment and paying off the mortgage are likely to go up, say housing experts. The rising costs will come both during the closing and throughout the life of the loan. At the closing, the cost of title insurance,… [Read More]