NYC Daily Real Estate Blog

Re-Animator: Back-From-The-Brink Upper West Side Condo Sheffield57 Ready to Resume Apartment Sales?

Sheffield57 looked like the total package -- or at least like an Upper West Side condo development to watch -- for awhile back there. There was a prime location near Columbus Circle, at 322 West 57th Street and all the attendant goodnesses -- access to shopping, subway hub, Central Park, and so on -- that come with that. There was the condo itself, which delivered everything you'd expect from an Upper West Side luxury condo. But there was also the fact that Sheffield57 had very serious money problems. Sheffield57 halted condo sales in May of 2009, and the original developer wound up selling the property at auction. But Sheffield57 finally seems to have things squared away under new ownership, and The Real Deal reports that it may be ready to ramp up condo sales for the first time in nearly a year. But will those condos sell?

Mid-Week Read: One Madison Park, Manhattan's Most Troubled (And Symbolic) Luxury Condo

If we were perhaps a little too goofy for the (awesome) new Nouvel in Chelsea in yesterday's New Construction Manhattan blog post, it's worth noting that we are only slightly less over-the-moon for the very cool-looking and impressively lavish One Madison Park, a luxury condominium in the Flatiron District at 23 East 22nd Street. But while the condos for sale at One Madison Park are pretty much beyond reproach, the building itself has suffered through an... interesting period of late, with the developers getting into trouble with creditors and the entire building's brand taking something of a hit in the process. As we've seen at Battery Park City's Riverhouse, wrangling among the money people doesn't necessarily harm a luxury condo's viability, but One Madison Park's struggles have been more public than most. In a longish, interesting piece in the New York Observer, Dana Rubinstein proves that One Madison Park's issues are also more interesting than most.

Nouvel Vogue: Jean Nouvel's Luxury Condo at 100 Eleventh Avenue Gets Raves From New York Times

The architectural renderings alone on Nouvel, Jean Nouvel's luxury condominium at 100 Eleventh Avenue in Chelsea, were enough to get Manhattan architecture buffs excited. But as impressive as Nouvel's design for, um, Nouvel was, the actual condo itself proved far superior. One of the elite luxury condo listings in both Chelsea and all of Manhattan, Nouvel got some much-deserved love from New York Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff in Sunday's paper.

Sticker Shtick: NYC Condos Currently Going For Anywhere From 5 to 30 Percent Below Listing Price

We've devoted many pixels here at the New Construction Manhattan blog to the buyer-friendly trends in the market for NYC condos, and with good reason -- this is a pretty excellent time to be buying a condominium in Manhattan, for a myriad of reasons. That said, a look at the prices for NYC condos at present might make it seem like the buyer's market in NYC real estate is... well, not nearly buyer-friendly enough. And it might indeed seem that way, were you to look at the prices for, say, condos on the Upper West Side or Upper East Side. But the most important thing to note is this: per a recent report at The Real Deal, no one is actually paying those prices. In fact, most condos for sale in Manhattan are currently selling for somewhere between five and 30 percent less than their list prices. Why is this?

State of Happiness: State of New York Mortgage Agency Offering Sweet Deal to First-Time Home Buyers

Finding an apartment or condominium in Manhattan doesn't necessarily have to be difficult -- if you're already at New Construction Manhattan, you've probably already figured that out. But paying for that NYC condo or apartment... that is another story. But while paying for a new condominium in Manhattan will never be as much fun as finding a new condominium in Manhattan, some encouraging news out of Albany today promises to make buying a NYC condo that much easier, at least for first-time home buyers. Federal funds administered by the State of New York Mortgage Agency have made possible a slew of new, low-interest/low-down-payment mortgages for first-time home buyers in New York, the New York Times reports.

Square Deal? The Inexact Science of Square Footage

Buying a condominium in Manhattan is not easy. If there's one thing you'll hear from friends who've gone about purchasing a Manhattan apartment or NYC condo, it's that. But if there's one thing we keep going over here at the New Construction Manhattan blog, it's that buying NYC condos doesn't have to be quite as difficult as it is -- if you ask the right questions and work with the right real estate agent, buying an apartment in Manhattan can be satisfying and maybe even enjoyable. But, as proven in a new report at The Real Deal on the radically imprecise science of calculating the square footage of condominiums for sale, buying a condominium in Manhattan isn't easy.

Harlem Shuffle: Condo Prices Coming Down Uptown?

Since its real estate renaissance began over a decade ago, Upper Manhattan condos have staked a compelling claim as both some of the nicest (and in some instances greenest) new apartments for sale in Manhattan and some of the greatest values in NYC condos. With a bumper crop of new condominiums in Harlem, Washington Heights and Morningside Heights set to open soon, the Upper Manhattan condo market is suddenly glutted. You don't need to be an economics professor to know what happens next -- the sudden boom in supply has led to lower prices, deeper concessions and a burgeoning buyer's market in Upper Manhattan condominiums.

Listing Price, Shmisting Price: New Report Indicates Buyers Getting Condos for Less Than Listed More Often Than Ever

We hear the term "buyer's market" so often of late in reference to the current real estate market that it's easy, at times, to forget just what it means. The phrase itself isn't tough to decipher, of course: buyers of NYC condos have an advantage over sellers of NYC condos at present. But a new report from Zillow.com indicates the real-world effects -- the very positive real world effects, at least for those looking into buying a Manhattan apartment -- of the current buyer's market in Manhattan real estate. On average, Manhattan apartment buyers paid a whopping five percent less than the last listed price on NYC condos in January. That's a savings of over $20,000 per purchase, on average.

Tribeca Summit Shakes Up Management, Keeps Selling Units

Last week, we talked a bit about the management issues at Riverhouse, the super-green condominium in Battery Park City that is continuing to sell condos despite a legal shouting match between its developers and managing corporation. It's a problem that Tribeca condominium Tribeca Summit, at 415 Greenwich Street, can relate to. Luckily, though, Tribeca Summit -- like Riverhouse -- has some good news to go with the less-good.

The New 'Good Faith Estimates,' Mortgages and NYC Condos: What You Need To Know

Buying an apartment or condo is a big decision, wherever said apartment or condo is located. But when we're talking about NYC condos, both the level of investment on your part and the competition on the lender's part are amped up considerably. The New York City real estate market can be a tough place, of course, but choosing to work with a trustworthy real estate agent and educating yourself on the rules of the mortgage game are good ways to make buying a Manhattan apartment that much simpler. The New Construction Manhattan Broker Network is a good way to ensure that you'll find a knowledgeable agent, of course; reading Ken Harney's piece at The Real Deal on the importance of the government-mandated "Good Faith Estimate" (or GFE) is a good way to get started on the educating-yourself thing.

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