We asked a broker we know and trust how things are going. Here was the response:

It is extremely busy. Buyers are out in droves. A lot of them have their places sold already or in contract and are very motivated. Or else they are just extremely motivated based on interest rates, lame rental selection out there and lower prices to buy. Now we are seeing deals come together fast for a lot of listings and a fair number of places are having 6-15 people bidding on them within the first couple of weeks a property comes on the market. Location is a big selling point now. Prime in all the neighborhoods we serve moves very fast. It is interesting how things changes so suddenly after January 1. It will be interesting to see whether this will translate to more listings coming on the market when sellers start realizing things are moving briskly, or if inventory will still stay low, which could (gasp…) raise prices down the road. ‘Never enough inventory’ is a constant mantra brokers and buyers are saying for prime properties.

Interesting, no?


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply

  1. Legion, you want to go in on a place in Costa Rica??? A good friend has a place down there and he too is “mad as hell.”

    Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 16, 2010 10:15 AM

    lol dibs,
    I hear alot of Americans are retiring (hiding)there
    and what’s that island off Nicaragua?

  2. “The long crazy-sounding rants about the imminent collapse of the global financial system are so 2009.”

    I wish they were – then these problems would be behind us (albeit much pain and tough love before us – lower standard of living, etc.). But the can was kicked down to 2010 and beyond, thanks Obama/FED-sanctioned Enron-style accounting.

    ***Bid half off peak comps***

  3. brownstones half off

    you make some good points
    as long as the current
    administration continues
    racking up these trillion plus
    deficits (2 years in a row now)
    California and Greece type fiascos
    are not far off.

  4. I guess it comes down to this,
    people are still working, they
    are still moving here to
    follow their dreams,
    they are still bringing up
    families in NYC
    and they still have to park
    their money somewhere.

    Now if the President will
    only cease and desist on the
    plan to drive 17% of our economy
    over a cliff with this government
    expansion bill masquerading as
    “healthcare reform” then
    maybe we can begin to see the
    light at the end of the tunnel.

  5. I only follow Brooklyn Heights closely, but nicer things (900k+) seem to be moving quickly altho certainly at prices substantially lower than the peak.

    Also, I’ve heard of some bidding wars, but “6-15 people” bidding seems to be stretching it. I wonder if that’s including the large pool of buyers who seem to throw a 35% off asking bid out on every co-op around to see if something hits.

    Cgar, did you look at the Clinton St place with deck? That place could be nice

1 5 6 7 8