The 2012 Hamptons summer rental market is on fire. The unseasonable warm winter weather has brought potential summer renters out early this time around. Many brokers have reported that they began showing clients properties as early as October 2011 for the 2012 summer season. Many agencies have also reported that due to the early jumpstart most all of the summer rentals have been rented.

Don’t fret. Despite what you heard there are many terrific houses still available whether they are on the ocean or bay or somewhere in between.

Phone calls and visits last week proved it. All but one of the houses our agents called were still available in prime locations.

Visit our website to see some and better yet, come to an Open House at 47 Buell Ln, in historic East Hampton Village between 2 and 4 pm on Saturday, February 25th.
Please call Cathleen Civale at 917-208-4864 with any questions.

<SOURCE (Newsday.com)>
<SOURCE (CBS.com)>

The Real Deal Magazine just published their annual Data Book for 2012, summarizing NYC real estate market in the previous year. Mercedes/Berk is proud to be ranked number five among Top New York City Boutique Firms. In 2012, we continue to work hard for our customers, and look forward to next year’s ranking. Included below is the copy of the article.

<SOURCE (TheRealDeal)>

The real estate market in Manhattan is much stronger than the rest of the nation. Prices and sales volume are still below pre-crash levels, but the economy has not impacted Manhattan like it has other cities. The average sales price, $1.426 million, is not far off from the record high of $1.591 million in 2008. By comparison, prices in Atlanta are below 2000 levels; nationwide the average is 2003.

One setback for a full recovery was a lack of quality inventory at all price levels. In the first quarter of 2009, there were 12,336 listings in Manhattan. In the fourth quarter of 2011, there were 8,440.

The apartments priced below $800,000 have been in great demand and selling well. The economy had its greatest impact on apartments priced from $800,000 to $1.8 million, which often translates as either large one-bedrooms or small two-bedrooms.

The properties that have not traded, are ones that are outdated and still in original ‘60s and ‘70s condition. Before listings your home on the market today, you must stage and update the apartment to get a decent price.

<SOURCE (NYT)>

The ultraluxury market in Manhattan which was all but immune to the crash, continues full steam ahead. Property values continue to rise with some actually doubling in price. Buyers at the very top of the market are not impacted by the tightened mortgage market or smaller Wall Street bonuses. The low inventory of new construction has increased demand and foreign buyers flocking to the certainty of the New York City real estate market are pushing prices higher and higher. Where moderately priced properties traded in 2011 in the same price range they saw in 2006 to 2008, the top 5% of the market continued to see profits. Developers are likely to respond to this trend with future projects geared to more towards large, luxurious apartments.

<SOURCE (NYT)>

In many ways, 15 Central Park West has proven to be in a market of its own and one of the most talked-about luxury buildings in the world. The building recently set the record for the highest price paid for a Manhattan apartment with the sale of the Penthouse for approximately $88 million. Former chairman and CEO of Citigroup Inc., Sanford Weill, listed his penthouse apartment in November of 2011 and just three weeks later, already had an accepted offer from a Russian buyer.

Weill paid $43.7 million for the penthouse in August 2007 at $6400 per square foot, the highest price per square foot at the time. Given the soaring resale prices for some high-floor apartments at 15 CPW (Central Park West), the $88 million price tag is justifiable based on what has been achieved in this building.

The previous record sale in the building was for a penthouse owned by William Zeckendorf, one of the building’s developers, which sold for $40,000,000 at approximately $10,000 per square foot.

The limestone building, which was designed by Robert A.M. Stern and developed by the Zeckendorfs, was designed to echo the spacious apartment layout and traditional look of the grand prewar buildings that line Fifth Avenue and Central Park West but with modern amenities and details. 15 CPW is comprised of two buildings, the house and the tower, with an open courtyard between that acts as a private motor entrance to the building. Amenities include a 24-hour doorman and concierge, a private dining room for residents, a professionally managed 14,000 square foot health club, a 75 foot sky-lit lap pool, private wine cellars, a private theater, a library, a billiards room, conference rooms, and a valet parking garage.

When the sales started in 2007, it immediately attracted buyers from the elite of several industries, including Lloyd Blankfein, Sanford Weill, Sting and Denzel Washington. The New York Post, back in 2009, estimated the combined net worth of the residents to be close to $50 billion.

The building has 202 apartments that range from 1 bedroom to 4 bedroom residences, featuring Central Park, Hudson River and city views. The initial offering prices in 2007 were approximately an average of $2500 per square foot, however, those prices have increased to a current average of $5000 per square foot. For larger apartments with Central Park views, apartment prices are significantly higher.

The last quarter of recorded sales in the building include Apartment 28D for $25 million ($6,618 per square foot), Apartment 31D for $24 million ($7,563 per square foot), Apartment 7G, which does not face Central Park, for $5,995,000 ($3,173 per square foot), Apartment 3A for $17 million ($5,843 per square foot).

There are currently only three available apartments in the building: Apt 3F is listed for $7,395,000 ($3,721 per square foot), Apt 15B is listed for $35,000,000 ($9,135 per square foot), and Apt 37C is listed for $23,950,000 ($8,674 per square foot).

Despite the gloomy economic picture, prices at 15 CPW continue to increase. Since sales initially began back in 2007, the building overall has increased in value by approximately 156%.

If you would like further information about 15 CPW, including updates and availability, please email Noel Berk at noel@mercedesberk.com. The principals of our firm are resident brokers of 15 CPW and have sold several apartments to date.

By Sarah Goot, 2/14/2012

The company that owns the Empire State Building launched an IPO and hopes to raise one billion dollars. The announcement was made by the Malkin family, which controls the Empire State Realty Trust, the owner of the most famous NYC skyscraper. The Malkin family bought the Empire State Building in 2002 . Two years ago, the building’s owners embarked on a $500 million project to bring the skyscraper, completed in 1931, to modern environmental standards.

In its filing, the company said it currently plans to invest between $175 million and $215 million of additional capital through the end of 2013, to continue to renovate and reposition its properties.
Like a slew of recent tech and internet IPOs, the company will have two classes of stock — class A share being sold to the public worth one vote and class B shares with 50 votes each. The structure gives significant control to the Malkin family.

<SOURCE (USAtoday.com)>

The Wall Street Journal reported that the forthcoming Avenues World School, the relatively affordable downtown location, and the High Line are all reasons why young families are moving to the West Chelsea neighborhood. West Chelsea is an area that developers had originally intended for art connoisseurs and singles. In 2011, 102 apartments with at least three bedrooms sold in the neighborhood, north of 19th Street between 10th and 12th Avenues, compared to seven apartments five years earlier. This increase can be attributed to the increased availability of large apartments and the generation of young parents who covet downtown Manhattan but cannot afford the pricier Soho and Village neighborhoods.

The Avenues private school, located at 10th Avenue and 25th Street, with a tuition of $40,000, is the main draw. The schools on the Upper East Side have long-standing institutions with dated facilities whereas the Avenues school is a brand new state-of-the-art school without legacy issues.

<SOURCE (TheRealDeal)>

Landlords have the upper hand as prices for rentals are on the rise and vacancies are dwindling. This past year has proved to be a comeback for the rental market, as multiple application have come in for luxury apartments. All signs say landlords are likely to take advantage of this for a long time. In certain neighborhoods in Manhattan, rents are setting new records, exceeding the heights of 2007. Some landlords say that in certain cases, renters have even bid up the rental listing price.

With fewer new buildings scheduled to open this year, inventory for luxury rentals will remain tight, helping to keep prices up in the luxury real estate market. There is also a segment of buyers who are frustrated due to the difficulty in receiving mortgages, which further increases the rental prices and keeps vacancies low. Rents in traditionally coveted neighborhoods like West Village and Chelsea have hit new heights. Additionally, new rental towers in the Financial District and Midtown West, have helped pull up the average prices.

<SOURCE (The New York Times)>

This report by Miller Samuels presents Manhattan apartment sales in Q4 of 2011 by Zip code. This data may be interesting to those seeking to buy or sell in a particular area, while there are of course many other factors (condo vs. co-op, apartment and building features, apartment and building conditions, building and neighborhood history, current competition, to name a few) that also figure into what to ask or offer.

Average sales price was highest downtown. Leading the pack was Tribeca/Soho (10013) at $2,480,351, followed closely by the Village/NoHo/Soho (10012) at $2,450,963 and Tribeca/Financial District (10282) at $2,404,833. The Zip codes that make up Tribeca (10282, 10013 and 10007) held the top spots for median sales prices ($2.450M, $2.040M and $2M respectively). The highest prices per SF were found in Midtown West (10018, $1519/SF), the Financial District/Battery Park City (10006, $1490/SF) and on the Upper East Side (10075, $1431/SF), while the largest units were again to be found downtown. The highest average square footage was found in Tribeca/Financial District (10282) at 1906 SF, followed by Village/NoHo/Soho (10012)’s 1882 SF, and Tribeca/Soho (10013) rounding out the top three at 1781 SF. Readers can obtain more detailed information, including averages by apartment size (Studios through 4+ Bedrooms), by clicking on the individual Zip codes.

<SOURCE (NYT)>

With Wall street banks scaling back compensation buy over 30 percent, a major shift in the residential real estate
market has occurred. Back before the recession , in 2006 and 2007, financial professionals on average represented
35 percent of the buyers. Last year, that share tumbled to 24 percent, just ahead of the second largest group, the overseas buyers who accounted for 21 percent, followed by 19 percent who worked in entertainment, media and technology.
The bottom line is that sellers should not be overly concerned about the Wall Street turndown and other professions have fill in the gaps as buyers
or renters.

<SOURCE (Crain’s New York Business)>