From the December issue: As the year draws to a close, the future seems as opaque as a glass of eggnog. Some real estate professionals say pent-up demand in the residential market could foster a busy 2012, while others predict that a sluggish economy will keep prices and activity in check.

Citi Habitats vice president Jay Molishever said the high rents, relatively low sales prices and increasing activity he is seeing in the current market are good signs for the New Year.

“At some point,” he said, “the kindling is going to burst into flames again,” bringing high prices and high volume. [more]

From the November issue: Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen kicked off last month by closing on the $25 million purchase of the penthouse co-op at 4 East 66th Street, where he already reportedly owns an apartment on the 11th floor. Allen appears to have had the inside scoop on the property, since it was not listed.

The buy was a standout price for the month, but Allen is not the only purchaser taking the plunge. Some buyers remain gun-shy and wary of the up-and-down financial market, but others have grown accustomed to the volatility, brokers said.

While September was characterized by fear over the economic fluctuations, brokers said, buyers in the last few weeks have started to make decisions faster (although foreign buyers reeling from the debt crisis continue to wait on the sidelines). Brokers also noted that lowball offers gained little traction and bidding wars started anew at some properties.

“These swings in the marketplace no longer have a jolting effect on homebuyers and investors in New York City,” said Robert Varvara, an associate broker at Miron Properties. [more]

From the June issue: In past years, many New Yorkers depended on the searchable classified ad service Craigslist.org to help them find affordable apartments, often without brokers’ fees. But these days, many are trading hours of scrolling through apartments on Craigslist for posting housing queries in the form of status updates on Facebook or Twitter.
For the consumer, social media is a way of avoiding the possibility that what’s advertised on Craigslist may not really be what’s available. For the broker, it’s a new opportunity for marketing.
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Andrew Barrocas

From the May issue: While the real estate community is inundated with statistics about sales activity and prices when it comes to the condo and co-op market, there’s one stat that’s rarely bandied about in public: commission fluctuations. In this month’s Q & A, The Real Deal talked to brokers and firm principals about how take-home pay and commissions have changed since the market went into freefall in September 2008. For more on the new types of commission splits that some firms are using and on new development versus resale commissions, we turn to our panel of experts. [more]

Douglas Heddings of the Heddings Property Group at Charles Rutenberg Realty; Tamir Shemesh at Prudential Douglas Elliman; Michael Signet at Bond New York Real Estate; Fabienne Lecole at the Corcoran Group; Leigh Zaph at Manhattan Homes; Shebrelle Hunter-Green at the Corcoran Group; and Rena Goldstein at Halstead Property

The Real Deal asked a number of residential real estate agents what the strangest thing is that they’ve seen at an open house. The responses ran the gamut from breast feeding to naked people to a dog taking a house tour. Here is a sampling of what the agents have encountered:

Douglas Heddings, associate broker and founder of the Heddings Property Group at Charles Rutenberg Realty: How about a five-year old breast feeding? Here are some less shocking examples: A drying rack full of panties in a living room, a toilet seat that was taped closed so that open house attendees could not use the facilities, of course the [Upper West Side] robbery [of an open house Heddings was hosting] that was highly publicized and a spray painted wall saying “monkey nipple” on a teenager’s bedroom wall, which the seller refused to remove. Click here for more. Compiled by Lauren Elkies
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The days of dropping by a Sunday open house on a whim may be numbered. Sellers, frustrated by lowball offers and by buyers who are “just looking,” want to make sure they’re dealing with serious apartment-hunters. As a result, more and more potential buyers are being asked to provide detailed financial information — from their employer and salary to their debt ratio and savings — before they’re even allowed a peep at an apartment for sale.

“The listing brokers are scrutinizing the potential buyer before they even get to the building,” said Michael Signet, executive director of sales at Bond New York. “It’s a preventative measure [to keep sellers] from wasting their time with people who are just shopping around.”
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