Attendence Falls at Brooklyn Open Houses
Open houses are rarely (maybe never?) mentioned as places to seek solace within the city, but the NY Observer finds they may be approaching a Zen-like quality because, well, nobody’s at them. “It was the Sunday before the European markets began to tumble, during peak open house hours, and the buyer traffic through Brooklyn’s newer…
Open houses are rarely (maybe never?) mentioned as places to seek solace within the city, but the NY Observer finds they may be approaching a Zen-like quality because, well, nobody’s at them. “It was the Sunday before the European markets began to tumble, during peak open house hours, and the buyer traffic through Brooklyn’s newer towers was slow,” they write. “Extra special amenities played an integral role in luring buyers when neighborhood amenities were lacking, but with prices still sky high and memories of the borough’s boom fading fast, it seems the only reasonable options are to start cutting prices or to offer condos as rentals,” opines the Observer. “Both of these things are already happening. A pretty kitchen backsplash and walk-in closets just won’t cut it anymore.” Well, what should these buildings do to fill up those open houses again?
The Quietest Places To Pass a Sunday [NY Observer]
Photo by @chris.
I agree with jingle mail. Subsidizing the excesses of NY real estate would be flat out morally wrong. When we bought before, we were very careful to stay within our means. When we sold, we priced conservatively to sell fast, and were prepared to accept significantly less. And now that we are renting, we are living frugally and not pissing away money beyond our means, so that we can keep our savings protected to buy a new home that is also within our budget, which has become more conservative given the economic crisis. I think the excesses of this country in the last few years, which in some ways are epitomized by NYC, were gross, and I think one of the silver linings of the current crisis is to reinstate values of thrift and living within one’s means.
aussie, my 401K is in all cash for now. you would be smart to consider doing the same for a while. tell you what. when we start hearing of people who bought before 2001 having problems making their mortgages and being underwater by 20%, i may join your side. right now, i am only hearing of people who took out loans they couldn’t afford, with overstated incomes to buy overpriced RE. the government has to put out WAY bigger fires before poor recent buyers who are down a whole 20% hit the radar screen. let’s think about what’s really changed here. sure, there is a slight bump in unemployment, but the biggest change is that the easy money propping up the ridiculous prices has dried up. what you are proposing is to punish the frugal people who either couldn’t afford to jump in or realized the insanity of doing so by keeping prices elevated beyond their reach (or will to buy). and, to your point, where will the buyers come from for the “stabilized” price (besides the govt)? there are plenty of people on the sidelines with decent cash piles (like myself) who just want to buy housing for the natural clearing price. let prices get there and inventory will start to clear. simple as that.
Snark- You would know them better than me, but I doubt they are lying about wanting to stablise the housing market.
Woops, I meant above that the *sellers*/brokers sometimes dig in heels and refuse to budge on price..
When I talk about greed of brokers, I speak from experience. When we sold, we had some brokers advising us we should have asked even more. In the end, we went with the broker we trusted most, who actually priced slightly under market (since market was already looking as if it might soften) and we unexpectedly had a bidding war, but mind you this was well before Bear Sterns tanking and all the rest. Now, mind you, we are not dumb, and in order to buy another property, we too were hoping for the best price we could get, so we got lots of opinions from brokers and the ultimate price we both asked at and closed at was within relevant comps – but my point is that we were willing to accept something a bit lower given that the market was indeed looking soft – in fact, I was expecting to get up to 10% or so below the ask. I think our broker was just very smart to price conservatively and drive up interest in the property. But we were not “holding out” for an unrealistic price since we knew that the price had already shot up so much more than what we paid, in just a few years, that even if we’d gotten less than the final closing price, we would have still done very well. In any event, I thank my lucky stars that we sold when we did, and that we did not follow the advice of those brokers who thought we should ask for more. Friends of mine who followed that strategy got stuck with their places lingering on the market and as conditions worsened, they had to start making price cuts.
As for hoping to a buy a place for the lowest price now, I’ve also stated repeatedly, we are emphatically not waiting for the market to bottom per se. So, if we “overpay” a bit for a property we love, and it subsequently goes down in value further, that’s OK with us if it’s really the right place. I just have seen total crap with astounding price tags that I think are just ridiculous, and moreover, often these places don’t move but the buyers/brokers dig in their heels and refuse to budge on the price. I don’t know, maybe it’s not greed, maybe it’s just ignorance. And by the way, as I’ve also stated here, I actually don’t want the “lowest price possible” since I think if prices *really* tank (say, more than 50%) than it could be bad for all of us who choose to live here since the city could really suffer. I just want a return to sanity, which hopefully will be the final upshot of this crisis when the dust settles.
And by the way, those who say this is a good time to buy, I say it actually is not – most sellers/brokers have their heads in the sand and have NOT adjusted their still sky-high prices. But I’m sure, eventually, they will. And sometime in the near future – perhaps 1 month, perhaps 6, perhaps 12 (no one really knows), it will be a great time to buy, especially if you don’t need a huge mortgage. We continue to look actively, and will pounce if we see the right thing, cash in hand. But I simply refuse to waste my time going to an open house for properties that have absurd prices.
“You have an existing government and 2 men (one of whom will be president) who all say this is exactly what they intend to do.”
Thankfully politicians NEVER lie.
Jingle if you give up the sarcasm and look at the issue in depth you would see that the falling value of your 401k is caused by falling home values. Letting them continue to fall to their “natural clearing price” will come with its consequences. Who are these purchasers that will came in and snatch up inventory at the natural bottom? Will they do so before post foreclosure slums litter American suburbs? Are they rich institutions owned by the rich that will rent the houses back to American families that can work through their retirements to pay the rent and try to build up 2 lost decades of 401k? Is there any point at which the damage to the economy would be too great a price to pay for allowing a fall to a “natural clearing price”? I don’t think the rest of America is with you on this one.
In any event I don’t have to look to conjecture to determine if the American government is trying to stem the falls in home prices. You have an existing government and 2 men (one of whom will be president) who all say this is exactly what they intend to do.
If the collapse of enron posed the same risk as house prices do today, you can bet they would have bought your stock.
No fear. With a name like Ringo, your timing must be impeccable.
the chicken: i agree 100%. that was exactly my point. both parties to a real estate transaction want to get the best price for themselves. and that’s ok!
fishermb: there are “unrealistic” people on both sides. unrealistic sellers are more visible because their asking prices are published. but unrealistic buyers abound too — it’s just that the evidence of this is mainly seen in low-ball bids that never see the light of day.
in any event, the only number that really means anything is the closing price.