Digestible Real Estate News

We’re keeping this recurring piece to do a bit more for those genuinely interested in New York real estate and give my LinkedIn designation a little luster. Taking a note from the easy to absorb nuggets of information in Robinhood Snacks‘ newsletter, here are your RealEstateSnacks so I can make this newsletter tax deductible.

1.It’s hard to generalize the US real estate market as a whole, as each market is intrinsically unique based upon a host of individual factors. While areas with dramatic price increases have commanded headlines, New York is quietly leading the country in the most important metric – the most narrow price fluctuation amongst all major US cities. Volatility, or the degree of price swings, was lower in New York than in any major metropolitan area, displaying investor confidence that the market will preserve its gains, in contrast to other cities where higher risks go hand-in-hand with strong price appreciation. NYC gained 17% on average during the 12-month period, when home values in Phoenix, Arizona climbed 29%. But the Phoenix market has more than twice New York’s volatility, undermining its stability and value. Homeowners and investors want the greatest appreciation with the least risk of decline, which is why people pay more for the risk of a sudden Phoenix collapse in contrast to New York, where the rise is steady. More here.

2. And much to the chagrin of anyone trying to find an apartment in New York to rent right now…the market is still utter chaos, with bidding wars becoming an almost common and expected part of the process. The days of free rent, additional perks, and pandemic pricing are long gone. Prices are bloated, full 15% broker fees are unanimous, and most renters have to go into a showing knowing they’ll have to bid above the sticker price in order to make the apartment a reality. The median rent in Manhattan was $2,743 in November 2020, a recent low point for the market; fast forward, the median rent in the borough has risen up to $3,118 and is sharply increasing. Some ambitious landlords who got crushed during the pandemic are looking to capitalize on this frenzy by raising rents by up to 80 percent. Which the next statement should then come as no surprise: New York has unseated San Fransisco as the nation’s most expensive rental market.

3.While I wish more than anything that I could predict the future – mainly for a heads up on the Reformation Sample Sale in Soho – I sadly cannot and am playing the same guessing game as everyone regarding what the Fed is going to do with interest rates in 2022. While still speculative, economists are growing increasingly certain that an increase is on the horizon. Just over 70% of respondents (those being polled were leading academic economists) believe the Fed will raise rates by at least a quarter of a percentage point in 2022, with almost 20% expecting the move to come in the first 6 months of the year, far earlier than the 2023 lift-off from today’s near-zero levels that Fed officials penciled in back in June. As the Fed winds down the stimulus program rapidly, a raise in interest rates is the only way to logically combat higher inflation.

4.Loosely related to real estate, mainly because it is SUCH an important factor for both rental and purchase applications (and mortgages!): thanks to a Covid-era law, you can currently check your credit report from all major credit bureaus for free each week until April 20, 2022. With data breaches becoming more regular, having access to your Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion is probably a good thing. Under federal law, typically consumers are allowed to pull their report once a year for free so take advantage of this pass while you can. Annualcreditreport.com is a site authorized by federal law to provide a report from the three bureaus if you want to kill a bunch of birds with one stone.

5.In other news: someone was harboring an 80-pound cougar cub in their apartment in the Bronx.

And for the two homes I’m ogling this month…

…this sultry Cobble Hill townhouse that went through a sleek gut renovation at 479 Henry Street isasking $7,500,000…

…adorably, the narrowest townhouse in the entire city has come to market at 75 1/2 Bedford Street for $4,990,000 and clocking in at 9-feet-6-inches wide. It was built in 1873 and served first as a cobbler shop, then a candy factory, and finally became residential in the early 1900s…enjoy more of its history here…