Correction to Visionaire Sales Post

In response to our post just moments ago, a reader was quick to point out that recent sales for the Visionaire (of which there have been many) are incorrectly classified as sales in the 9-story Riverwatch building, an older rental property located near the Visionaire. This should help with our comps search....

Is it Just Us or Has the Visionaire Not Closed a Single Unit This Year?

In our quest to determine what a reasonable price would be for the newly unveiled Liberty Luxe and Liberty Green we decided to head over to Streeteasy to get some comps for the Visionaire, a luxury building in an (arguably) less desirable Battery Park location.

So...surprised we were when we discovered that there actually appear to be no recent comps according to Streeteasy. In fact, the Visionaire, which we always thought was comparatively healthy seems to have not closed a single unit in 2010 (it's JUNE folks) and has done little this year except pull various listings off the market.

Is it us? Streeteasy? Or is more trouble brewing in BPC?

Party Like It's 1925

Check out this online collection (via a Streeteasy thread) documenting old floor plans and brochures from buildings throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan. Not surprisingly, downtown was comprised mostly of office buildings back in the day, highlighted as an example in this neat brochure describing 99 John St to prospective tenants . Today, 99 John is living it's third life as an office building turned rental building turned condo building.

Liberty Luxe/Liberty Green Finally Reveal Themselves!

We've been waiting with baited breath for a look at Battery Park's final two residential towers currently being built on the last plot of residential-zoned land in North Battery Park City. Liberty Luxe, a 32-story tower and Liberty Green, a 22-story tower are set to join developer Milstein's previously constructed 1980s South Battery Park "Liberties" (Liberty Court, Liberty House, Liberty Terrace, and Liberty View). The rental arm of Milstein (Milford Management...oh so clever) professionally manages a good number of units in the South BPC Liberties so we can't help but wonder whether Milstein will also only sell a portion of Liberty Luxe/Liberty Green.

Anywho, on to the good stuff. The Liberty Luxe/Liberty Green website has been tempting us for months with a "VIP" form to fill out but no other information. Sometime over the past week however, Milstein put up actual building info with pictures of bathrooms, kitchens and common areas. You still kind of have to sneak by the pesky VIP form however, by clicking the newly appeared "Enter Site" link in the lower right-hand corner on the otherwise unchanged homepage.

So...the good?
-Looks like Liberty Luxe (the taller of the two at 32 floors) is going to have a rooftop pool! (ooooh, we likey) and Liberty Green (22 floors) is going to have a decked out roof deck
- The bathrooms and kitchens look nice - we like the bright finishes.
- The pictures of the views are spectacular although we suspect are available from fewer than 25% of the apartments

And...the bad?
- No Prices or Floorplans! Come on peeps...don't make us sit through the sales presentation just to get a price list or a glimpse of the square footage. With (we think) over 300 apartments to sell, Milstein has to price VERY aggressively in order for any of us who need a mortgage to actually be able to move in this decade. Let's not forget the plight of One Rector Park and other high profile BPC disasters.

Finally...the unknown?
- The dreaded ground rent! On the minds of any purchaser in Battery Park, we can't wait to see what Milstein has negotiated for the new Liberties. The South BPC Liberties have always had low ground rents for the area, a testament to Milstein's negotiating capabilities. Will Liberty Luxe/Liberty Green follow suit?

Fannie's Back in Battery Park

While we were out taking a look at some Battery Park apartments this weekend (it's been awhile but we figured we'd see how things have changed since we did this exercise last year), a broker told us that the Fannie issue had in fact been resolved on Friday. We asked for proof and were forwarded this article from a website that we don't ever read, but it sure looks legit.

Last month, Fannie Mae (with zero fanfare incidentally) quietly pulled out of purchasing residential mortgages in Battery Park due to fears regarding the uncertainty of ground rent charges. For our part, we've certainly calmed down about the 25 year reset (happening in 2012 for most buildings) however are still terrified about that looming 40 year reset. In 17 years, ground rent will apparently reset to 6% of your apartment's market value, which makes us both hope and not hope that our apartments are worth like $100 at that time.

And how did those BPC apartments look over the weekend? Well, strangely...renovated. Not sure if it's the market, but we've never seen so much granite and brazilian cherry in those 1980s buildings. Doesn't really go with the nautical theme....

Thoughts on that Crain's Article on BPC

So one of us has had a heck of a week at work so we haven't been posting much. Today however, we checked the real estate blogs and discovered this frankly weird Crain's article regarding Fannie Mae's apparent suspension of mortgage purchases for loans on condos in Battery Park. Obviously, given the huge inventory right now in BPC (with more coming in the way of the two Milstein buildings), this is very, very bad news for both buyers and sellers as Fannie Mae is pretty much the only game in town right now if you want to get a mortgage.

One thing that we thought was strange about the article is that it seems fairly anecdotal to us - all Fannie Mae was willing to say publicly is that they are "reviewing" ground lease agreements in the area. And even if Fannie stops purchasing mortgages in BPC in the near-term, once the mortgage market thaws out fully, it may not matter in the long run. All that this really means is that if you are a cash buyer and can somehow find that handful of sellers that need to sell RIGHT NOW, you will probably be given a phenomenal deal.

As we've said many times before though, buying in this neighborhood has so little economic justification that we don't really understand why anyone does. After all, you can rent almost any apartment that you would buy, renting is much, much cheaper even in the long run, so....

Coyotes in Battery Park City? Oh Sh*t!

Did you catch the Battery Park City Broadsheet article that indicated that a coyote was spotted in Rockefeller Park this morning (?*&%$^) at 9AM? For those of you that may not hang out in Rockefeller Park all of the time, this cute, triangular park is in north Battery Park City starting at Chambers Street and going all the way down to the almost bankrupt glitzy Riverhouse.

We walk our dog here all the time. He's small and (we guess) kind of vulnerable to an attack by a coyote. So where did this cotoye come from and (ummmmm....) where did he go exactly? See, the funny thing about the Broadsheet article is that it doesn't exactly tell us if good ol' Wile E. ever got caught . When last we left this, he was being...pursued. So unless Wile E. is hanging out at the abandoned One Rector Park, where he's probably enjoying granite countertops and a balcony, we'd be interested in what ever came of this, you cute little green-uniformed BPC police.

And Speaking of 90 William, Follow Us on the Journey of #5D on Bid On the City

Although we have both blogged in the past regarding listings on the "EBay" of real estate Bid On The City and also followed the experiences of other bloggers with the site, we'd like to get even more up close and personal with this "EBay" as we have always fantasized about buying an apartment at auction (admit it, you have too).

So, after noticing that apartment #5D at 90 William will be going up for auction on April 27, we've decided to follow the process from start to finish. We'll be at the open house and then we'll see how the bidding goes! (heck, we might even bid - the starting price of $579k isn't too bad although we don't see this one going for much higher).

For now, here are some thoughts on the Bid on The City listing:

- Minimum Bid: $579k Our Take - sounds like this is the "Reserve" price to us. If the seller actually gets a bid at $579k, we think he or she should take it. #4D (all of the "D" lines at 90 William are identical) sold for $575k in August of 2009, around 6 months ago. There is no reason to think that pricing has changed significantly since then - if anything, the market is probably a smidge lower. #14D sold for $620k earlier this month. Assuming that you think that each floor is worth around $4500 (sounds reasonable to us, maybe even a bit on the low side), then $579k again seems to be the absolute highest price that anyone should pay for #5D in this market.

- "Original Price": $695k Boy, do we like anyone who crosses stuff out as much as we do. Bid On The City lists the "Original Price", crossed out of course, as part of the listing. This tried and true strategy is similar to the 'ol "Half Off Lamps TODAY ONLY at Crazy Larry's" tactic, complete with an impossibly high price paired with a deep discount. So where do they get the Original Price? Well, it looks like it's the highest price that has ever been asked for the unit by the current sellers. In this case, it happens to be the original list price of $695k, even though the apartment was last listed for $670k on Streeteasy.

- The comp: For obvious reasons, the last price at which #5D sold is not listed on Bid on the City. #5D closed in June of 2008 for $656k. According to ACRIS records, the sellers put around 20% down, so any sales price less than $524k would make this a short sale. We're pretty confident though that it won't get to that point.

- The floorplans: Pretty darn snazzy and we love the cute addition of what looks like a partitioned bedroom in the unit. The unit itself is large but doesn't have a particularly partition-friendly layout.

We'll see you at the Open House on 4/18!

Where Are They Now?: 90 William

When we last visited 90 William back in May 2009 - a mostly sold FiDi conversion that was much much maligned for cheap finishes and dark apartments - we commented on how well-priced the building was (even back then) which was somewhat appropriate given the cave-like spaces.

And here we are, almost one year later and 90 William is...well, SOLD. For the most part, Corcoran has actually managed to sell almost all of the sponsor units, including even the dark as shit available "H" line apartments, which are basically hallways with a window at the end. Of course, most of the units sold at significant discounts to the ask. Notably, the most desirable units (the "A" and "B" line two bedrooms that actually get sun and where you can't do an easy spidey jump out of your window to the neighboring building) sold for the greatest discounts to the ask (usually more than 10% off). We're guessing this had something to do with financing availability (in 2009, someone buying an apartment for greater than $800k had to come up with a lot of cash) but who knows.

Incidentally, #14D, a resale unit that we visited but never wrote about, surprisingly sold for $620k, which was the asking price. This apartment is basically a history of the financial crisis in a single unit. It was purchased in early 2009 for $751k after going into contract (we believe) sometime in 2007 (can you say 'dragged to the closing table'?). The buyer then put the unit back on the market 4 months later at $599k and eventually closed for $620k. The seller's agent kept telling us that this one was "not a short sale", which is true, but only because the buyer put down more than $300k (ouch) on the original transaction.

We've always thought 90 William was a good deal and we aren't particularly surprised that the building has sold out. The fact that there are no washers and dryers in the units and that the "be@spot Sky Deck" come on, seriously is really, really small kept us away from this building, but otherwise kudos 90 William. You can finally break out that champagne that's been chilling since 2007.

Stuffed Cat in Every Single Listing Photo Is Giving Us the Creeps

We don't normally write about Park Slope, but check out this listing:

333 4th Street, #1A

This 1BR, 1BA for $395k and a maintenance of just $507 (take that lower Manhattan) features a stuffed cat in every single shot. Our favorite features kitty sitting on the toilet a la Meet the Parents, although the ones with the huge row of closets....oh heck, they're all great. Give us this broker's number please, it's great to see someone with a sense of humor out there.

Update: Apparently, this is part of a pattern that we didn't know about. Thanks to Joey at Curbed for forwarding on this link to ghosts of kitties past. Although Arlene's new listing isn't labeled as "purrrfect", it does note that "Pet Are Allowed!" tee hee hee

HGTV's "Selling New York" Got Us Thinking About Bragging Rights

Along with every other real estate junkie in the tri-state area, we tuned in on Thursday night to the much awaited and, we must add, loooong overdue "Selling New York", an HGTV show focused on Manhattan (and we hear, select areas of Brooklyn) real estate. After watching way too many episode of House Hunters in places like Florida ("I need a 10 car garage and my budget is $175k"), Phoenix ("It has to have a pool and my budget is $175k"), and Atlanta ("I need at least 4 bedrooms, 3000 sq ft, and a finished basement and my budget is $175k"), we thought that a show highlighting the unique aspects of the New York City market would be a fan favorite (at least around here) right away.

So even though "Selling New York" looks more like the "The Real Housewives of New York City" (e.g. you won't see desperate couples looking at 500 sq ft nightmares for $600k), it's still an interesting and illuminating show. The young couple (well, young to be buying a $2.3M apartment anyway) who bought in the Scarano Bowery building in particular, got us thinking about the "intangibles" of New York City real estate. Unlike the rest of the country, where people typically buy homes using some form of rational calculation (e.g. is this house worth the price? Can I rent a comparable unit for less?), in New York, people often buy homes for a variety of very irrational factors. Chief among them: bragging rights. We think people just like telling their friends, work colleagues etc. that they own a snazzy apartment in Manhattan. Most likely, they are in a hush-hush competition (as we all are) with their peers, playing a high-end version of that old game that never goes out of style: Keeping Up with the Jones'. While we think that bragging rights is a crazy reason to buy an apartment, we also think that paying $800 for a handbag or $1500 for a pair of boots is similarly insane, however people do that too. All the time.

And the $2.3M couple really got us thinking about this. Not only did they pay the asking price come on, really? for a new construction condo in a building designed by Robert Scarano, an architect who has been banned from ever working in New York City again , the show portrayed the female buyer as actually being swayed toward a $2.3M purchase as a result of...getting tickets to a fashion show. I mean, what?. And there you have it. "Selling New York" has perfectly showcased the "brand" buyer. Can't wait to see what they come up with next week.

Is it Just Us or Does it Seem Like All of Battery Park City is on the Market?

Battery Park has always been a hot topic for us since we love the community but just can't stomach buying anything given the monthly ground rent costs, which are seriously people sometimes almost as high as the rent that you would pay for the equivalent apartment. Talk about throwing money out the window. Yet despite this hurdle, we find ourselves continuing to drift through BPC open houses, looking longingly at cute one and two bedrooms with beautiful water views and balconies in quiet, family-friendly condo buildings. Even our dog likes Battery Park and he's very picky.

We think of Battery Park as having three type of properties:

1980s Condo Buildings in the south (e.g. 2 South End Avenue)
Foreclosed new construction in the south (e.g. Rector Square)
Still ticking new construction in the north (e.g. The Riverhouse)

This post deals only with the 1980s condos, which (fittingly) is where our journey started almost one year ago, when we saw a 908 sq ft 1BR, 1.5BA with a terrace at 21 South End Avenue ("The Regatta"). That apartment by the way (also quite fittingly) is STILL on the market after 184 days with only a minor price reduction and multiple broker switches (peeps, it's not the brokers, it's the price). In fact, for less than the list price of that 1BR you can buy a 2BR, 2.5BA that is 300 sq feet larger in the same damn building. On a higher floor. But really, who do we think we are? After all, logic, comparable listings and sold comps only work on some sellers, as we all know from watching way too many episodes of "Real Estate Intervention" on HGTV.

And speaking of comps, what exactly is going on with these 1980s buildings? One thing that's DEFINITELY changed since the last time that we hit an open house is the inventory. In the Regatta for example, there have only been 3 sales in the entire building over the past year (2 of them for less than $500k) despite the fact that there are currently 15 apartments (or 8% of the total building) on the market. At this pace (boy, is this ever unscientific on our part but still interesting to ponder), it would take 5 years just to sell the apartments that are on the market in that building right now. A similar situation exists at the comparable 2 South End Avenue ("The Cove Club") where 16 apartments (or 10% of the building) are currently on the market.

The other big change since last we poked around these buildings is price. Despite our lament over the continued eyebrow-raising pricing at our seminal 1BR, 1.5BA at The Regatta, many sellers in BPC are dropping and dropping their prices, often to no avail. You can now not only buy a 1BR, 1BA in Battery Park for under $400k, you also have choices within this price range. Similarly, you can buy a large 2BR, 2BA for under $800k. The 1980s buildings now offer many apartments at $650 per sq foot or less, which would put Battery Park pricing in line with desirable Brooklyn neighborhoods.

So...what's the problem? Well, there is of course, a catch. Remember those 1BRs for under $400k? If you take a representative one, such as this listing at 350 Albany St ("Hudson Tower"), even though the price is a very manageable $399K, the monthly carrying cost of the apartment (hello ground rent!) is $1566 or a whopping $2.41 per square foot. If you were to rent this apartment, our guesstimate is that you would pay no more than $2100 per month (and that's the high end folks, we actually think given the glut of rentals in the area that the real rent would be closer to $1950-$2000). So, if you are a cash buyer, you would eke out a tiny profit on the place ($6408 per year), which is a stunning 1.6% return on your $399k. And that does not include transaction costs. OR you could put the $399k in an ING account and earn the same damn thing. Risk-free. Remember the focused dolphin performing math from yesterday's post?

If you actually want to live in your apartment, the math is even worse. The gross monthly payment (with 20% down) will cost you almost $3300, approximately $1200 a month more than renting. There is a tax benefit of course, but it's roughly offset by transaction costs in the beginning and then dwindles over time. And those common charges? They never go away. Evenutally of course, you will break-even. Or will you? Similar to the analysis that we did last summer, we once again ran the numbers through the NYT buy vs. rent calculator and...once again determined that even at $399k, you never breakeven. So at what price point do you break even in a reasonable timeframe? Turns out that it's right around $250k where you will break even after a mind-numbingly long wait of 17 short years.

And....we're back!

So...hi everyone...it's ummm...been awhile. Even though we feel a little sheepish at how long it's been hello August 2009, are you there? It's us Downtowny since we've posted on our beloved real estate blog, we are in fact back.

First of all, we'd really like to say "thanks!" to everyone who sent us emails encouraging us to continue to write. We started Downtowny almost a year ago as a way to chronicle our Manhattan real estate search and have met many extraordinary readers and characters along the way, many of whom wrote to us to tell us how much they love the blog (we heart you too).

So why did we stop writing in the middle of this lovefest? Well, it's going to sound super boring (which it is) but basically, we got kind of tired of looking for an apartment. See, right around mid-summer last year we were faced with a typical New York City choice: do we buy a tiny overpriced shithole that our families will laugh at when they come to visit downtown 1BR now or do we sign another one year lease and wait?

Although we hate to admit it, last summer it was an easy decision. In a rental market filled with concessions galore and facing a sales market filled with unrealistic sellers galore, we happily renewed our lease (at at 17% reduction to the prior year, thank you very much) and said "buh-bye" to searching for a hidden gem in the inflated downtown market.

Fast forward 6 months, and we must say, things look a lot better (though still not good enough) for us buyers. Even though we stopped "officially" looking for an apartment more than 6 months ago, we've never quite managed to kick our real estate habit and so now, feeling rejuvenated and slightly punchy, we are back in the game.

So stay tuned, as over the next few weeks, we are going to look back on some of our favorite buildings and properties. Some have sold at prices we never thought imaginable, but most have experienced a path downward to price points that a chimp or a focused dolphin person with a calculator and the ability to determine whether x is larger than y could have easily predicted even 6 months ago.

We missed telling you our stories and we really missed hearing yours! Thanks for hanging in there while we've gotten our shit together - don't hesitate to drop us a line and let us know how you've been!