NYC $6.1 billion Surplus good for real estate

New York City ended fiscal 2006 with a record $6.1 billion surplus from Wall Street profits and surging real estate values. Wall Street firms paid workers in the city a record $21.5 billion in bonuses in 2005. Wall Street bonuses fuel the manhattan real estate market. NYC Real estate tax collections were $1.2 billion more than anticipated, personal income tax collections exceeded estimates by $1.3 billion.

Mayor Bloomberg has done a great job keeping the city fiscally strong. I wish George W. Bush had the fiscal discipline of Mike Bloomberg.

When the city is strong financially so is NYC real estate. The real estate market in NYC has cooled or changed to a buyers market due to a surplus of inventory from a huge boom in new construction. The same thing happened in the late 80's and early 90's but the city was not as fiscally strong.

The next 24 months will be a long term buying opportunity for savvy buyers. I've always been the kind of REALTOR® that has been an honest advisor. During the frenzy the last couple of years I always considered my customers financial situation, appropriate mortgage products and their risk. I always explained the risk in waiving mortgage contingencies and or possible appraisal issues when in bidding wars. Buying an apartment in Manhattan was like a beauty contest. Multiple offers and bidding wars on ordinary apartments "The Highest and the Best". I prefer the market we are in now. My skills and knowledge are more valuable now to both sellers and buyers.

I do not think now is the time to speculate in Real Estate. If you bought last year during the peak and are forced to sell in the short term you might lose money. However, I honestly believe now is a great long term opportunity for first time buyers and those that need a bigger place to live in or a second home for those that can afford it. While prices may still come down, rents are rising and mortgage interest rates are also rising. There are a lot of properties to choose from and prices are negotiable.

Bloomberg News.

Co-op prices, once secret, could be made public under new law

Co-op past sales prices could all be made public for the first time under a bill passed last week by the Albany legislature. The bill awaits signing by Governor Pataki and is strongly supported by Mayor Bloomberg.

If the bill becomes law, the information would be available on an online database, and would also include addresses, and the names of the buyers and sellers.There is also a bill in the city council that I strongly support to force co-op boards to disclose why a prospective buyer has been turned down.

These bills bring Manhattan into the 21st century. It fully reflects the openness, transparency and consumer-orientation that my firm CBHK and I stand for.

While the bill has strong support, there are those in the real estate industry that are opposed to it such as the "old school" brokerage firms like Brown Harris that like the secrecy that shrouds co-op transactions. Hall Wilkie of Brown Harris complained in the New York Times about the bill saying, "Now the whole world...will know [the prices paid]." "The problem with Hall Willkie's position and that of other stalwarts is that Hall Wilkie knows the prices paid, but he just doesn't want anyone else to know.

I consider myself a new breed of broker in Manhattan, embracing new ideas and technology, working with empowered consumers and pro-active clients and customers. I believe that full disclosure is always a better option than the cachet of secrecy.

Information is Power!

Creating My Blog

I wanted to create a blog about buying and selling Real Estate in Manhattan because The New York City housing market is so unique. Buying and selling a home in NYC is very different and more complex than any place else in the country.

Cooperative ownership is the primary form of apartment home ownership in New York City. The internet has changed the real estate industry in many ways but not the the importance of the role of an expert local broker.

There are thousands of real estate websites, portals, VOWS, third party lead generators and traffic aggregators from out of state, some have brokers licenses but many are masquerading as Manhattan real estate brokers on the internet through paid search and key word optimization.

Beware! Consumers are their commodity. The real estate consumer gives these virtual sites their contact information unaware that these websites sell their information as leads to brokers and agents, mortgage brokers and banks.

Since all real estate is local I started this blog to give a local perspective of the Manhattan real estate market. I hope that you will read my blog, find it helpful and interesting and that I will earn your trust as an advisor and local expert so that you will contact me to assist in the purchase or sale of your Manhattan home