It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “‘Brace yourself!’ warned Judi Desiderio, the C.E.O. of Town and Country Real Estate, as a lead-in to her analysis, which showed a 44-percent decrease in overall home sales during the quarter. ‘In my three decades of reporting on Hamptons real estate statistics, this is the first time we’ve experienced such declines without the catalyst of a financial crisis such as the ’87 crash or when Bear [Stearns] and Lehman [Brothers] fell,’ she said.”
“Town and Country found that, compared to the same quarter of 2018, sales were down 56 percent in Montauk, 68 percent in Amagansett, 43 percent in East Hampton and Wainscott, 50 percent in East Hampton Village, and 71 percent in Sag Harbor Village.”
“The prewar duplex had five bedrooms, two fireplaces and herringbone-patterned floors. But the co-op apartment at 730 Park Avenue was, nonetheless, a flop with buyers. There were no takers at $6.75 million in 2017, when Corcoran first listed it. There were still none at $5.95 million, in 2018, when Sotheby’s got the listing. Or, at $5.5 million. Or, at $4.95 million. In fact, the magic number would be $4 million, which is what the apartment sold for in mid-January after being marketed for three years.”
“‘Welcome to the new normal,’ said Nikki Field, the Sotheby’s agent behind the deal. While the Upper East Side apartment was hindered by a ground-floor location and dated interiors, a bigger challenge was pricing, she said. ‘We’ve been behind the market and chasing it downward.’”
“As the city’s real estate market continues to struggle, with values seeming to erode within the course of months, figuring out how much to charge for apartments has become increasingly difficult, according to sellers, brokers and appraisers. ‘You would be amazed by all the times we hear the phrase, ‘Well, I need to get this amount,’ said Frederick Peters, the chief executive of the brokerage Warburg Realty. ‘But markets don’t work that way. The market doesn’t care what you need.’”
“Slashing prices isn’t just a high-end phenomenon. ‘Sellers are making cuts to their list price more frequently than last year, regardless of their homes’ initial price,’ said Nancy Wu, a StreetEasy economist. ‘The weakness we’ve seen in Manhattan’s sales market has trickled down from the top of the market.’”
“Compound, a real estate investment app , is in contract to buy a one-bedroom unit at the Faena House condo in Miami Beach for $2.6 million. The 1,185-square-foot, eighth floor pad last sold for $3.4 million in 2015.”
“Former Goldman Sachs partner Jonathan Sobel got a deal on two luxury condos in Surfside. Property records show Sobel’s Surfside N815 LLC and Surfside S610LLC paid a combined $9.25 million for two units at the Four Seasons Residences at The Surf Club. Each unit traded for about $1 million less than its previous sale.”
“The Northfield mansion lost in foreclosure last year by former Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs sold this week for less than half what he paid for it dozen years ago, records show. Briggs bought the six-bedroom, 5,200-square-foot brick and stone English-style home as new construction for $2.3 million in 2008. In June 2017, Citibank filed for foreclosure on the 1.04-acre property which was being offered for sale for over $2 million at the time, according to court and property records.”
“Nearly two years later, CitiMortgage took over the property following a court-ordered sale. The asking price was lowered to below $1 million in November 2019, according to its listing. The sale closed Tuesday for $1.1 million. Briggs lost another North Shore property in foreclosure last year, when Deutsche Bank National Trust Company took control of a Northbrook townhome he purchased in 2006, according to court and property records. That property was auctioned last month, but its sale has yet to close.”
“A 13,000-square-foot estate home in Coto de Caza that hit the market in April 2019 for $4.995 million, according to the Multiple Listings Service, has sold as a short sale. It fetched $3.7 million.”
“The Brentwood home of late character actor Karl Malden just sold for $2.695 million. That’s $800,000 shy of the asking price, records show.”
“Year in Review: 2019 vs 2018. 2018 Madison Park/Washington Park/Broadmoor: Average price per square foot: $739. Average days on market: 26. 2019 Madison Park/Washington Park/Broadmoor: Average price per square foot: $699. Average days on market: 69.”
“The $500,000 home in North Texas is changing fast, says Lisa Birdsong, an agent in the Frisco office of Coldwell Banker Realty. And so are the buyers of homes priced at or near the half-million dollar mark, she adds. ‘What we’re seeing right now is buyers are so much more patient than they were even a year-and-a-half ago,’ Birdsong said in an interview with the Dallas Business Journal. ‘We saw such a frenzy back in the high years. Everything was moving fast. They aren’t doing that anymore.’”
“Builders in the suburbs are ‘spoiling’ the buyers, Birdsong said, with features on newly constructed homes at the $500,000 price such as granite or quartz countertops, hardwood flooring throughout, high-end appliances and outdoor fireplaces. Three and even four-car garages have become a staple at the half-million mark in the suburbs, Birdsong added. The combination of a getting a new-build and extras like those make it difficult for resale homes to compete, even if they’re closer in, Birdsong said.”
“Charles El-Moussa, president of Coldwell Banker Realty Texas, said $500,000 homes are a solid move-up market. ‘The average price here (in North Texas) is in the $300s,’ El-Moussa said. ‘So when you go to $500,000, you’re tailoring to a little higher buyer. It’s in the middle block. It’s a sweet spot, and there are quite a few homes in that price category.’ Because of new, speculative home construction in northern locales like Prosper, it has become a buyer’s market, she said.”