Number of signed contracts for Manhattan home sales (Source: UrbanDigs.com)

The number of signed sales contracts for Manhattan condominiums and co-ops has declined every month since July, forecasting a drop in closed sales volume for the fourth quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012, according to Jeffrey Jackson, chairman of appraisal firm Mitchell, Maxwell & Jackson.

The most widly publicized figures from recent Manhattan market reports indicate an increase in sales activity in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter. Prudential Douglas Elliman, for example, said that sales transactions rose 17.2 percent over the previous quarter, while the Corcoran Group found a 6 percent quarter-over-quarter increase. [more]

Noah Rosenblatt, founder of UrbanDigs

Noah Rosenblatt, founder of Manhattan market trends analytics site UrbanDigs, launched a new flat fee buyer consulting service today. He said the service aims to help home seekers find properties’ true market value, and will then guide them through the buying and negotiating process, starting with the opening bid. Rosenblatt said the service is aimed at buyers who don’t trust brokers and want an independent advisor. “There’s a perception that there should be a little bit less conflict of interest, a little less incentive for the buyer’s broker to get the buyer to bid as high as possible and get the deal done and collect commission,” said Rosenblatt, who has continued to serve as a traditional buyer’s broker since leaving Halstead Property in 2009. “There’s a need for an independent consulting service.” [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]

While the first-time homebuyer tax credit program is set to expire April 30, it could end up affecting housing statistics for weeks to come. That’s because homebuyers have until June to close on properties if they sign contracts by next Friday. The program, extended from last fall, offers $8,000 to first-time buyers and $6,500 to repeat buyers. The credit could result in a continued, artificial rise in the rate of mortgage application filings, which showed a 13.6 percent uptick for the week ending April 16 according to seasonally adjusted week-over-week data released today from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The average 30-year mortgage rate, meanwhile, dipped to 5.07 percent from 5.17 percent, according to the MBA’s report. [more]

From the April issue: As The Real Deal and other publications have reported, bidding wars — once thought to be bygone relics of the real estate boom — started reappearing in New York late last year.

At that time, the battles were limited to rare or exceptionally well-priced properties. But now that much of the city’s residential inventory has been snapped up, bidding wars are becoming the rule rather than the exception for market-priced property.

“You don’t have to be provocatively low [-priced] to solicit a bidding war today,” said Barak Dunayer, president of Barak Realty, estimating that his company now receives multiple offers on nearly three-quarters of its properties that are priced appropriately for the market. “It’s almost every listing that we have.” [more]

From left: Faith Hope Consolo of Prudential Douglas Elliman, Noah Rosenblatt of UrbanDigs.com, Pamela Liebman of the Corcoran Group

As part of its 2010 “Neighborhoods Issue,” New York Magazine asked 10 real estate experts about their picks for the New York City nabes that will offer buyers the most bang for their buck by 2014. Pam Liebman, president and CEO of the Corcoran Group said West Harlem, while Streeteasy.com’s Sofia Song chose Morningside Heights. Melissa Cohn, president of Manhattan Mortgage, said that while southern Yorkville “hasn’t been popular in years,” it’s likely to appreciate in price over the next five years with the advent of the Second Avenue subway line. Retail veteran Faith Hope Consolo of Prudential Douglas Elliman picked the Garment District, where storefront leases are being snapped up west of Penn Station and there are plenty of new condominiums to house their customers. Noah Rosenblatt of UrbanDigs.com chose the Financial District and Jed Walentas of Two Trees Management chose the Far West Side, in the 50s. Other experts had their eyes on the outer boroughs’ Flushing, Bushwick and Prospect Heights neighborhoods. [NY Mag] [more]

Noah Rosenblatt, founder of UrbanDigs

UrbanDigs.com is about a month away from launching a real-time Manhattan residential market analytics platform, a data service that reports market trends and figures.
Noah Rosenblatt, founder of brokerage and real estate research Web site UrbanDigs, said that the analytics program will run through a partnership with real estate database service RealPlus, and will feature a suite of user-friendly analytical tools. The program will be free, with an option to pay an approximately $15-per-month subscription fee for additional features.
Rosenblatt said that “the desire for more transparency” motivated him to pursue the analytics platform. While he wouldn’t say what specific market indicators will be analyzed until the platform goes live in the first week of May, he said that the platform will look at “every metric worth following in this market.” [more]