Manhattan studios, one-beds struggle to sell

Studios and one-bedrooms, often considered the ‘starter homes’ of Manhattan, are struggling in the current market, according to the Wall Street Journal. First-time homebuyers are harder to come by with consumer confidence down, experts say, and the expiration of the first-time homebuyer tax credit has taken away the incentive for renters to take the homebuying plunge. While the median price for a three-bedroom unit has climbed 3.8 percent quarter-over-quarter, according to appraisal firm Miller Samuel, the median sales figure for one-bedrooms dropped 4.5 percent between the second and third quarters of the year. Caroline Bass, a senior vice president with Citi Habitats, said that selling small apartments has been a struggle. “I’ve had this studio on West 57th Street on the market for over a year now and virtually no one is coming to look at the apartment,” Bass said. “We initially priced it at $310,000, lowered the price to $299,000, then $285,000 and now I’m trying to get the seller to reduce the price even more.” [WSJ]