Ever wonder how the monthly charges are determined on condos and co-ops?

How Monthly Fees Are Calculated in Co-ops and Condos

Wednesday, March 27, 2013, by Jeremiah Budin

Curbed University delivers insider tips and non-boring advice on how to buy, sell, or rent a home or apartment. Additional questions welcomed to tips@curbed.com. Today's topic: monthly fees!
Today's Curbed U lesson is short and sweet. Those pesky monthly fees that you're always having to pay. How are they calculated? This is how:
Condos: Common charges in a condo are calculated by taking each unit owner's percentage of common interests and multiplying it by the total operating costs of the building. Percentage of common interests is figured based mostly on the total amount of space that an apartment occupies, but also on other factors, such as its location within the building. A penthouse, therefore, would generally have higher common charges per square foot than a second-floor pad. The total operating costs of the building include things like heat, hot water, electricity in common areas such hallways and the lobby, building staff, and amenities such as pools, gyms, concierge, etc. Subtracted from that total is any income received by the building from things like laundry rooms.

Read Full Story Here: http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2013/03/27/how_monthly_fees_are_calculated_in_coops_and_condos.php

Why the Upper West Side may be your best investment

Study Finds Upper West Side Is A Magnet For Real Estate Investors

By: Jill Urban

 

More than any other neighborhood in Manhattan, the Upper West Side is attracting real estate investors at a breakneck pace, according to a new report by Eastern Consolidated.

 

More than any other neighborhood in Manhattan, the Upper West Side is attracting real estate investors at a breakneck pace, according to a new report by Eastern Consolidated. NY1's Real Estate reporter Jill Urban filed the following report.
There is little question that investors regard New York City as a safe place to put their money, but a new report by Barbara Byrne Denham, the chief economist of Eastern Consolidated, finds that one neighborhood in particular — the Upper West Side — is proving to be an investor magnet.

Read the full story here:

http://www.ny1.com/content/ny1_living/real_estate/179230/study-finds-upper-west-side-is-a-magnet-for-real-estate-investors

New York City Rental Market outlook - 2013

The Rental Tide Subsides

By JULIE SATOW

Published: December 28, 2012   

Apartment rents in New York City have been rising rapidly for several years, but signs are now emerging that the market has hit a speed bump and is finally shifting to a slower gear.

 

Manhattan rents have been dropping, with the average price $3,368 in November, $76 less than in October and the third consecutive month prices have declined, according to Citi Habitats.

While some of this may be seasonal — the rental market tends to soften during the winter — the pace of rental growth year over year has also slowed. According to Streeteasy.com, median rents are 1.5 percent higher than one year ago, a marked drop from the 10 percent increase that rents posted two years ago and the 15 percent of three years ago. Inventory is also up, with 13,618 Manhattan apartments for rent in November, a 21 percent increase over November 2011, Streeteasy found.

 

Read Full Story Here:   http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/30/realestate/the-new-york-rental-tide-subsides.html?ref=realestate&_r=0

A look at today's brownstone

Rafael Vinoly Architects; Marilynn K.Yee/The New York Times

Left, a rendering shows East 64th Street with No. 162 razed and replaced by a fritted glass structure with a bowed facade by Rafael Viñoly. Right, No. 162 as it looks today.

By CONSTANCE ROSENBLUM

WHEN Charles Lockwood’s now-classic book “Bricks and Brownstones” was published in the early ‘70s, there was only one thing to do with an old New York town house — restore it to within an inch of its pristine 19th-century glory. The brownstone revival movement had started a few years earlier, and in Manhattan and growing swaths of Brooklyn, the talk on the street was of marble stoops, brass doorknobs, wide-plank pine floors and original wainscoting — the fancier the better.      

Impeccably restored town houses still set the tone today for most brownstone neighborhoods. But it’s increasingly common to find vintage town houses sheathed in glass, aluminum and other relentlessly contemporary materials. Especially in Brooklyn, rear facades are being opened up — “blown out” is the term architects use — to provide large doses of light and air. Many of these reworkings take the form of sweeping glass rear walls, designed to transform spaces that for all their charm are typically small and dark. Some changes boggle the imagination: Preservationists still talk about owners who sought to install a lobster tank atop a newly acquired town house.

Although the neighbors aren’t always thrilled about such developments, they don’t automatically storm the barricades in protest. Some even engage in cordial conversations with their neighbors and the architects, the goal being to end up with a design that makes everyone happy.

This is what happened on East 64th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues, a stretch of town houses edged by trees and graceful bishop’s-crook lampposts. Though not protected by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, the block has its share of bay windows, decorative pediments and Juliet balconies. The ornate homes will soon be joined by a second Modernist facade.

No. 164, a five-story building owned by Anthony Faillace, the founder of a hedge fund, sits behind a boxy natural granite facade punctured by oversize maroon steel-framed windows, designed by Michael Rubin Architects. Next door at No. 162, a 19th-century town house will be razed and replaced by a six-story structure featuring a bowed facade of fritted blueish-gray glass. The architect is Rafael Viñoly, whose high-profile creations pepper the globe. The owner, Eduardo Eurnekian, a prominent Argentine businessman, plans to use the building for offices and residential space.

In Mr. Viñoly’s opinion, the new building will be a good neighbor, even if it initially turns some heads. “The facade being replaced is undistinguished,” he said. “And imitating an architectural vocabulary simply because it’s there isn’t an appropriate response nowadays.”

And Kenneth Laub, a commercial real estate broker who created and for many years led the block association, couldn’t be more pleased.

“Both Mr. Eurnekian and Mr. Viñoly consulted with us about the design,” said Mr. Laub, whose 8,000-square-foot town house across the street, complete with atrium, portable frescoes and eight working marble fireplaces, is on the market with Halstead for nearly $28 million. “Originally Rafael proposed a facade with dark brown metal louvers, which to be honest we weren’t crazy about. But we talked, and I suggested some ideas, and he was very cooperative. What they ended up with is much softer and nicer.”

Mr. Laub realizes that the story could have ended quite differently. “But both men say they love what this street has become and they want to get along with their neighbors,” he said. “Name a street as beautiful as this. And if Viñoly’s building is impressive and brings greater credence to the street, we’re happy.”

Ask architects and urban historians why infatuation with the look of the traditional 19th-century town house, a beloved feature of so many New York neighborhoods, seems to be waning in some quarters, and the answers are many and varied.

To start with, the city’s vintage town houses aren’t getting any younger.

“When the brownstone revival movement started, the effort was to restore buildings,” said Brendan Coburn, a Brooklyn architect who so radically transformed his Carroll Gardens row house that everything behind the red-brick facade is brand-new. “But in the past 40 years these houses have aged a lot. Many have fallen apart. They need major electrical and mechanical work.” If the innards of a building are being redone and a facade is crumbling, he said, an owner might choose to redo the entire look.

 

Read More Here: 

 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/realestate/the-brownstone-revisionists.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&partner=rss&emc=rss

NYC residential sales rise 6% in 3Q | Crain's New York Business

Buck Ennis[+] Enlarge

Citywide, the number of home sales in the third quarter were up 6% from year earlier levels.

 

Updated: October 11, 2012 2:26 p.m.

Home sales and prices rose across the city in the third quarter, according to a new report. In Brooklyn and Queens the average sales price hit its highest point since late 2007, at $619,000 and $411,000, respectively.
According to the quarterly residential sales report from the Real Estate Board of New York, the average price paid for a home in the city rose 1% over the last year, to $786,000.
Citywide, the number of home sales in the third quarter were up 6% from year earlier levels. Manhattan led the five-borough pack with a 7% jump in home sales volumes, while Brooklyn and the Bronx each saw a 5% rise.
Steven Spinola, REBNY's president, said the improvements signaled a housing recovering for the city.

Read more: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20121011/REAL_ESTATE/121019977#ixzz2919nttlr
 

Brooklyn and outer-borough sales outperform Manhattan

Outer borough housing markets hold up better than Manhattan’s: REBNY


January 11, 2012 10:00AM

Houses near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway

In an unusual twist, home prices in the outer boroughs held up better than those in Manhattan in an overall dreadful fourth quarter, according to the latest figures from the Real Estate Board of New York cited by the Wall Street Journal.

While the median price in Manhattan tumbled 8.5 from the prior year quarter to $750,000, prices actually inched up by 2.9 percent in the Bronx to $350,00 and 1.4 percent in Brooklyn to $473,000. And while the median prices in Queens and Staten Island fell 4.8 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively, that’s still less than the declines in Manhattan. Citywide, the price drop measured 2.3 percent.
Read full story here: http://therealdeal.com/blog/2012/01/11/outer-borough-housing-markets-outperform-manhattans/

How to land an apartment in NYC

Getting Started

Renters Should Be Sprinters

AT first blush, it doesn’t make much sense: If you know you’ll need an apartment in New York in several months, why can’t you start a serious search now, rather than wait until your move-in date is just a few weeks away?

The short window of opportunity for an apartment hunt is a fact of life in the city. In large part, it’s a function of limited supply and high demand — landlords believe that the greater the number who see an apartment, the more rent it can command. And renters may not want to commit ahead of time, fearful of missing out on something better or cheaper.

Read the full Story here:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/realestate/getting-started-why-renting-is-such-a-mad-dash.html?_r=1&ref=realestate

A couple with clashing wish lists...

FOR most of his six years in New York, Paul Pinizzotto leased a three-bedroom duplex in a squat, no-frills building in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The rent ended up at $2,250 a month. Over the years, he rented out the extra bedrooms to a series of roommates.

The apartment was spacious and sunny, but “it was a place that I slept in,” Mr. Pinizzotto said. “I never felt connected with the apartment. It was all brand new, which I am not into, but which a lot of people like.”


His big complaint was the utter lack of charm.

Read the full story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/realestate/a-couple-with-clashing-wish-lists-the-hunt.html?_r=1

REPORT: MIXED REVIEWS FOR NYC RESIDENTIAL SALES MARKET IN 4TH QUARTER -- AVG SALES PRICES INCREASED, TRANSACTIONS DECLINED

Average NYC home prices up 10% over last year; Manhattan prices up 13%

Survey of brokers reports more closings in the months ahead

NEW YORK, January 13, 2011 – The average price of a home in New York City increased 10 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared to the same time last year and rose two percent compared to the previous quarter, while the number of transactions and the total dollar value of all property sales declined, according to a new report.

Average Manhattan home sales prices (for cooperatives, condominiums, and one-to three-family dwellings) showed the biggest increase, and were up 13 percent to $1,450,000 compared to the same time last year. The report, a comprehensive look at New York City housing prices for all five boroughs, is issued quarterly by ResidentialNYC.com, the public real estate listings Web site of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).

The citywide increases in average sales prices have been driven by record low mortgage rates and modest job growth in New York, according to the report.

"The market is getting back to its regular cyclical patterns in the post-recession environment," said Steven Spinola, REBNY President. "Despite the slower volume of transactions this quarter, the average sales price increases show that the market is improving, which is a positive sign for the city’s economy."

Despite rising New York City home sales prices, transactions declined by 24 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010 to 8,800 from 11,600 in the fourth quarter of 2009. As a result of fewer transactions, the total consideration for residential property dropped 23 percent to $6.5 billion from $7.7 billion in the same quarter last year.

The decline in transactions in the fourth quarter of 2010 was due in part to the September 30, 2010 closing deadline for the homebuyer tax credit, a drop-off in pent-up demand, and a return to typical fourth quarter seasonal sales activity in the market.

According to REBNY’s quarterly brokers survey, seven percent more brokers reported having executed contracts of sale this quarter compared to last quarter, and two percent more report having closings scheduled within the next three months. In addition, four percent more brokers reported closing sales at or above asking prices this quarter compared to fourth quarter of 2009.

"Reviewing the data in our residential sales report and brokers survey suggest that there are reasons to be encouraged by the activity in the market," said Michael Slattery, REBNY senior vice president.

The residential sales report also found that the percentage increase in Brooklyn condominium average sales prices eclipsed the percentage increase in Manhattan, jumping seven percent to $538,000 compared to last year, while Manhattan condominium average sales prices increased four percent to $1,682,000. Citywide, condominium average sales prices increased just one percent to $1,082,000.

Cooperative average sales prices also increased citywide by 26 percent to $713,000. The solid increase was due to Manhattan’s larger share of the total sales, along with a higher average sales price in Manhattan.

Other report highlights:

All Homes

Year to Year

• The year on year change in the average price of a home in Manhattan was up 13 percent to $1,450,000; Brooklyn prices increased eight percent to $540,000; in Queens, prices rose two percent to $398,000.

Quarter to Quarter

• The average sales price of a home in Manhattan increased quarterly by nine percent; in Brooklyn, the average sales price decreased one percent; and the average sales price in Queens increased by one percent.

All Apartments

Year to Year

• The average sales price of an apartment in New York City during the fourth quarter of 2010 was $889,000, a 13 percent increase year on year.

• The average sales price of an apartment in Manhattan in the fourth quarter of 2010 was $1,375,000, a 10 percent increase from the fourth quarter 2009. Brooklyn’s average sales price of an apartment in the fourth quarter of 2010 was $479,000, an increase of 12 percent from the previous year’s fourth quarter.

Quarter to Quarter

• The average citywide apartment sales price increased four percent in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared to the third quarter of 2010.

• The Manhattan average sales price increased six percent; the Brooklyn average sales price increased by less than one percent; and the Queens average sales price increased by three percent.

Condominiums

Year to Year

• The average sales price in Manhattan increased four percent to $1,682,000. The average sales price in Brooklyn was $538,000, an increase of seven percent year on year.

Quarter to Quarter

• The average New York City condominium price increased one percent in the fourth quarter of 2010 when compared to the third quarter; the average Manhattan sales price increased six percent; the average Brooklyn sales price decreased one percent; and the average Queens sales price declined by three percent.

Cooperatives

Year to Year

• The average sales price of a cooperative unit in Manhattan increased 20 percent year on year to $1,110,000. The average sales price in Brooklyn was up three percent to $356,000. The average sales price of a cooperative unit in Queens was up one percent to $223,000 when compared to the fourth quarter of 2009.

Quarter to Quarter

• The average price of a New York City cooperative unit increased five percent in the fourth quarter of 2010 when compared to the third quarter of 2010; in Manhattan the average price increased six percent; in Brooklyn the average sales price decreased eight percent; and in Queens the average sales price increased one percent.

One-to Three-Family Dwellings

Year to Year

• The average sales price of a one-to three-family dwelling in New York City during the fourth quarter of 2010 increased seven percent year to year to $552,000.

• The average sales price of a one-to three-family dwelling in Brooklyn increased three percent from last year to $596,000. The average sales price of a one-to three-family dwelling in Queens was $460,000, a three percent decline from the fourth quarter last year.

Quarter to Quarter

• The average sales price of a one to three family dwelling citywide increased four percent in the fourth quarter compared to last quarter. The average sales price of a one to three family dwelling in Brooklyn decreased by four percent quarter to

　

quarter; in Queens the average sales price decreased by two percent quarter to quarter.

Manhattan Neighborhoods

• The average sales price of a condominium in Battery Park City during the fourth quarter of 2010 increased 18 percent compared to last quarter, and five percent compared to the fourth quarter of last year to $1,477,000. Battery Park City had 39 sales during the quarter which was eight percent higher than the third quarter of 2010 and 15 percent higher than the fourth quarter of last year.

• The number of cooperative unit sales on the Upper East Side fell sharply in the fourth quarter of 2010 to 361; there were 534 sales in the neighborhood last quarter and 476 in the fourth quarter of 2009. The average sales price of $1,591,000 in the neighborhood was 13 percent higher than the third quarter in 2010 and 24 percent greater than the fourth quarter of last year.

Brooklyn Neighborhoods

• The Williamsburg condominium market was stable in the fourth quarter of 2010. There were 189 condominium sales in Williamsburg during the fourth quarter of 2010; this is unchanged from last quarter and 64 percent greater than the fourth quarter of last year. The fourth quarter average sales price of $559,000 for a condominium in Williamsburg was two percent higher than last quarter but five percent lower than the average price in the fourth quarter of 2009. The neighborhoods with the highest average sales price for all homes in the fourth quarter of 2010 were Cobble Hill ($1,448,000) and Manhattan Beach (1,101,000). The neighborhoods with the most sales for all homes were Williamsburg (206) and East New York / Spring Creek (123).

Queens Neighborhoods

• The Flushing condominium market also remained stable during the fourth quarter of 2010. The average sales price of a condominium in Flushing was $366,000, an increase of one percent over the previous quarter and eight percent greater than the fourth quarter of 2009. There were 65 condominium sales in Flushing in the fourth quarter of 2010, an increase of eight percent over the third quarter of 2010 and a four percent decline compared to the fourth quarter of last year. The neighborhoods with the highest average sales price for all homes in the fourth quarter of 2010 were Long Island City ($666,000) and Breezy Point/Belle Harbor/ Rockaway Park ($549,000). The neighborhoods with the most sales for all homes were Richmond Hill/ South Ozone Park/Woodhaven (308) and Rego Park/Forest Hills/Kew Gardens (303).

For the full reports visit www.residentialnyc.com or www.rebny.com.

About ResidentialNYC.com

ResidentialNYC.com is the first comprehensive web portal enabling homebuyers to link to thousands of exclusive home listings in New York City from thousands of REBNY residential member brokers. Since launching ResidentialNYC.com has logged more than 56 million hits.

The site, which is updated every three hours, provides access to condos, co-ops, townhouses and homes both for sale and for rent as well as lists Open Houses.

ResidentialNYC.com also contains a wealth of information about New York City’s residential real estate market, neighborhoods, school districts and more, making it the only true one-stop destination for New York City homebuyers on the Web.

About The Real Estate Board of New York

The Real Estate Board of New York is the city’s leading real estate trade association with more than 12,000 members. REBNY represents major commercial and residential property owners and builders, brokers and managers, banks, financial service companies, utilities, attorneys, architects, contractors and other individuals and institutions professionally interested in the city’s real estate. REBNY is involved in crucial municipal matters including tax policy, city planning and zoning, rental conditions, land use policy, building codes and legislation. In addition, REBNY publishes reports providing indicators of market prices for both the residential and commercial sectors. Please visit us online at www.REBNY.com.



Stay on top of New York.

New York Doorman Strike May Make Trash Men of Luxury Residents - BusinessWeek

New York Doorman Strike May Make Trash Men of Luxury Residents - BusinessWeek

New York City is approximately 13 hrs away from a possible doorman strike if the union cannot reach an agreement with the city's apartment building owners.  Porters, supers, elevator operators, and handymen are also prepared to strike as well.  Managing agents, co-op boards and the like are scrambling to put together a contingency plan in the event of a walk-out.
These people are hardworking and the silent keepers of the gate. As a broker, I can  attest that if you get on the building staff's wrong side, they can keep you out of that gate. I've always advised new agents, that a little bit of courtesy  and respect goes a long way when interacting with building staff. I've developed relationships over the years with many buildings.
I know how hard these people work, including my own building staff to keep things running smoothly. Hopefully a fair agreement can be reached.


New York City: A Taste of The Big Apple $250 Reservation Deposit (Google Affiliate Ad)

~NEW EXCLUSIVE~

~New to Market~Murray Hill 1 bdrm priced to sell! very high floor, maximun sunshine. Spacious living room with dining alcove. Separate kitchen has mirrored backsplash, granite countertops, and marble floors. tons of closet space, 2 deep closets in the hall and 2 deep closets in the bedroom. Enjoy breathtaking views from the rooftop terrace or have an intimate BBQ in the private garden. Pied-e-terre allowed, parents buying for children allowed, storage, 24 hr Drmn bldg. Make an offer!