Open House Picks

Why did Sackett St OH get cancelled? Anyone know?

12:05 – I’m planning to buy during the “blip” – really, this next year or so should hopefully prove to be one when buyers will have more leverage. Certainly a number of properties are dropping prices and others will have to continue doing so. But right now, the blip is only just beginning – and prices are arguably truly at a peak – not THE peak, since there will be others in the future, but looking at the real estate cyle which is ALWAYS a cycle, all signs point to a trough in the graph – let’s see what’s happening in November of this year…

And what of our esteemed mayor who predicts sharply reduced revenues from the housing market?

By the way, I’m the person who pointed out that, though we are in the market for a townhouse (trading up from apt we own) and are lucky to have funds to buy, we’re disgusted by the Darwinian tone to some of the posts here which brag about the poster’s wealth and make fun of those without the means to buy a townhouse in this crazy market. We will probably cough up what we think is a hell of al ot of money for a townhouse in the next year or so (though we’re in no rush since we are convinced that prices are not going to rise for this period and we will be discriminating since it really does seem like prices are out of whack now and heading for at least a mild correction). BUT, as with when we first bought in NYC, 7 years ago, we really do see how the real estate market reveals something disturbing about this city and arguably about overall economic trends beyond NYC which is the rising inequality of income distribution. The people on this list who gloat about this, and their wealth, are just gross in my opinion. As for the person pointing to my post as the teapot calling the kettle black, I was simply pointing out that we are not “poor bitter renters” since whenever someone talks about the insanity about the current prices, and expresses a hope for things softening, it seems to be assumed that it’s just sour grapes. But that’s not the case for us (though we are by no means wealthy since our incomes are relatively modest – we were just lucky to have bought early enough to have had some major capital with which to trade up). Even if we can afford to buy a decent property here in NYC, I’m still very disturbed by the lack of affordability for many friends of mine, or just middle-class people who should have a place in NYC. I know, the argument is for them to just move further out, and of course, that is what they do, but I would much prefer to live in a neighborhood with socio-economic diversity than one that becomes homogenized by the brutal market forces of the last few years. And frankly, sometimes I’m embarassed by my ability to buy a nice property when I see all these hard-working people who can’t – not because they are inferior people, or don’t work hard enough (as is implied by some of the more smug crass posters here) but simply because they chose vocations – arts, education, nonprofit, etc – that don’t pay the kind of very high salaries that are currently the only ticket to entry in the prime neighborhoods (other than independent or family wealth) if you are a first time buyer. Truly, I think a market correction would be a good thing for this city. Not a crash mind you – that would not be good even for the first-time buyers since it would mean bad things for the city as a whole – but a correction up to 20% wouldn’t hurt many already in the market, nor the city as a whole that much (given the crazy recent run-up) whereas it might just allow some first-time buyers a better shot of getting in.

” At the current rate, there will be permits for just 17,000 new residential units in the city in 2008… a drastic change from 2007, when there were nearly 32,000 building permits issued for individual units”

So, another 50,000 units coming online.

I’m not seeing any inventory shortage.

“building has nearly come to a halt.”

Are you blind, stupid or kidding?