Condo Market: You Can't Handle the Truth!

“The truth is that people can’t take the truth,” Robert Levine, the president of RAL Cos., is quoted as saying in a Sun article about how the city’s condo market is (brace yourself!) not as healthy as it once was. The point of the article seems to be that though the press has instilled “fear” in people (another Levine quote) about the value of real estate as an investment, condos are still worth buying because the city’s market will eventually rebound. Here’s the evidence the story gathers about condo sales slowing: financing is shaky (“As transaction volume dries up, and liquidity remains nonexistent, property values will fall, and banks will begin foreclosures,” say Kevin Comer, the president of Beck Street Capital. “The kid gloves will come off, and it won’t matter if you own property at Fifth Avenue and 58th Street or Williamsburg, the banks will be brutal as they all struggle to survive and avoid Bear Stearns fate. The busted condo deals will be the first to fall given their short term financing.”); a ton of prospective buyers are lowballing offering prices, says one developer, which means inventory isn’t moving unless a sponsor’s willing to make a deal; after buzz fades on a condo that’s just put up listings, sales are languishing, says Gary Malin, the president of Citi Habitats. So wait, what’s the truth that we can’t take? Oh, right—now (or very soon) may be the time to buy. “Now more than ever its location, location and location,” says Beck Street Capital’s Kevin Comer. “Long term, real estate remains a great place to invest capital, especially in New York City, and we are headed for one of the best buying opportunities of my lifetime.” Consider yourself truthified.
Believe It: Condo Sales Slow [NY Sun]
Still from youtube.