Click the image for more; source: Global Property Guide

The world’s housing markets were ostensibly weaker on balance during the year ending in the second quarter of 2011 than in previous years, according to the first-ever published residential market survey covering the second quarter by the Global Property Guide.

The Unites States and European housing markets fared particularly poorly, the report shows. U.S. home prices fell by over 9 percent since the second quarter of 2010 and home values were pushed down by foreclosures despite the lowest mortgage rates in half a century. The key factor driving U.S. foreclosures was the persistently high unemployment rate, the report says, which stood at 9.1 percent in the second quarter.

Few European housing markets improved; the worst-hit countries were Ireland, Greece and Spain, all of which performed worse than in 2010. – Katherine Clarke [more]

From the April issue: Last month, the U.S. Commerce Department announced that sales of new homes nationwide plunged to levels not seen since 1963. Meanwhile, political turmoil raged across the Middle East, and Japan lost thousands to a devastating earthquake and tsunami. By contrast, the big real estate news in Manhattan was a new record-high sale price at the Plaza. Late last month, the Post reported that Russian composer Igor Krutoy closed on a $48 million purchase of a 6,000-square-foot Plaza spread. But nonetheless, market reports that The Real Deal recently reviewed from the city’s major residential brokerages showed a relatively stable first quarter. [more]

After months of rapidly dropping prices in Manhattan’s residential market, more brokers say they’re seeing seeing stabilization across all types of housing stock, according to Crain’s. The rebound has been so pronounced that some brokers, like Marketing Directors CEO Adrienne Albert, are even raising prices on new development units. Albert, who recently boosted prices by 3 percent to 5 percent at the 44-unit Apex condominium in Harlem, said she’s one of many who are feeling more bullish. [more]

From the March issue: A one-bedroom, one-and-a-half bathroom at 425 West 53rd Street closed for $955,000. “The buyer was a jewelry designer in her mid-40s who had been living on the Upper West Side for 20 years and wanted something a little more vibrant and modern,” said City Connections’ Thomas Beczynski, who brokered the sale. “The deal actually closed the day after a big blizzard, but she really pushed for everyone to be there because her attorney was leaving for a trip to South America the next day and wasn’t coming back for two weeks. Even on our team, people were trying to figure out ways to get out of it, but she was pretty gung-ho.” Click here for more deals.

From left: Danny Davis, Naomi Muramatsu, Sofia Song, Sean Turner and Karen Gastiaburo

From the March issue: If there’s one thing driving the Tribeca residential market right now, it may very well be the lack of a market. Indeed, brokers and market analysts say the neighborhood’s inventory, which is roughly 30 percent lower than it was at the peak, is influencing how almost all properties are being perceived and how quickly transactions are taking place. While even slightly overpriced apartments are still sitting on the market, when a property is priced right, particularly if it’s a two-bedroom or larger, it’s getting snapped up fast. One broker said, “Two-bedrooms up to $1.9 million are [typically] trading in under two weeks with multiple offers. [more]

From the March issue: It has long been a cardinal rule in residential real estate in New York that those who are running the show and managing the office don’t actually sell apartments.

While they must be licensed to do so, the thinking goes that managers are there to help train their agents, help their agents navigate deals, and divvy up any leads that come in.

“Managers do not sell,” but instead make their money from salaries and bonuses, said Michael Adorno, a spokesperson for the Corcoran Group, about the policy at his firm, which resembles those of other large New York City brokerages. [more]

Most industry insiders recognize that residential market reports can be deceptive — but few would assume that city records could be to blame for skewed sales data. According to Noah Rosenblatt, head of real estate tracking site UrbanDigs.com, the lag time between when a residential sale is filed with the city and when it’s recorded on public record is great enough to distort monthly and quarterly reports. “We all know that when a transaction closes the deal is done and should be available for use as a comparable sale,” Rosenblatt said. “But when it gets recorded as public record is another story.” [more]

From the March issue: In real estate these days, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. As January’s snowdrifts finally melted, would-be buyers and renters flocked to open houses last month, tempted by low interest rates and visions of discounted dream homes. “Buyers are out in full force and bonus checks have hit the bank,” said Prudential Douglas Elliman’s John Gomes. But brokers complain that the sheer amount of market data available these days can hinder deals, especially in a still-uncertain economic environment. “Real estate buyers are savvier than I’ve experienced in the past,” said Stacey Chametznik, a senior vice president at City Connections Realty. [more]

From the February issue: The benefit of being the editor of a New York City real estate trade magazine is that you can insult the public at large with relative impunity — because they are not the primary audience. Of course, I’m kidding. But I did stumble upon a survey recently that indicates that a lot of the criticism of real estate brokers as being too boosterish may be partly misplaced. It’s actually the homeowners who are to blame. Real estate agents always get accused of being Pollyannas about the market, largely because they often push the view that prices are going to go up no matter what. But a fourth-quarter survey by home-tracking website HomeGain.com found that a greater percentage of homeowners nationally believe prices will rise in the next six months, as compared to real estate agents. [more]

54 Bond StreetFrom the February issue: “It’s like being in the desert,” luxury broker Donna Olshan recently said
of the inventory in the high-end Downtown Manhattan market.
“There’s nothing to buy,” reiterated agent Alison Rogers of DG Neary
Realty, when the fourth-quarter Manhattan market reports were released.

The very beginning of the New Year is always a cyclical low point
for residential inventory in New York, as sellers pull their listings
from the market in the hopes of re-launching their efforts with vigor in
time for the spring buying season.
But this year’s January inventory trough was actually 5.8 percent
above its year-ago level, according to the real-time listings tracker on
UrbanDigs.com. And at press time, inventory had already risen by 6.5
percent in the three weeks since then. [more]