Winning the housing bidding war before it starts

Some New Yorkers buy homes before touring to get the jump on competing buyers, brokers say

From left: David Kazemi and Vickey Barron
From left: David Kazemi and Vickey Barron

To avoid being outbid in New York City’s tight residential market, some New Yorkers are cutting the line by making offers on apartments they’ve never set foot in.

Foregoing a walk-through is more typical of investors, who don’t typically live in the space they buy, or foreign buyers, who rely on pictures and virtual tours. But in red-hot neighborhoods, those who wait to see a space run the risk of losing out in the bidding war, DNAinfo reported.

One such buyer, Pimmie Hoontrakul, made an offer for a Long Island City apartment 30 minutes after it listed on StreetEasy while she was out of town on business.

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“In the Long Island City market, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, or other hot areas in the boroughs, anything in that $600,000 price point — whether it’s a one-bedroom or two-bedroom, condo or co-op — just falls off the shelves,” David Kazemi, a BOND New York broker who represented Hoontrakul, told DNAinfo.

Douglas Elliman’s Vickey Barron told the news site that she has seen four clients in the past few months bid on spaces they hadn’t toured.

“There are people who spend more time buying shoes,” Barron said to DNAinfo. [DNAinfo] Angela Hunt