The Real Deal New York

Number of Current Listings (in Manhattan)*

Elliman………1,159

Corcoran……1,003

B. Harris…….571

Bellmarc…… 541

Halstead……446

Sotheby s…..267

CBHK………..244

Stribling…….230

WB May……..184

Warburg…….141

 

 

Number of Agents

Elliman……….940

Corcoran…….718

Halstead…….363

Bellmarc……..264

CBHK………….212

B. Harris……..186

Stribling………175

WB May………123

Sotheby s……113

Warburg……..111

 

 

Total $$ Amount in Listings

Elliman……….2,321,798,000

Corcoran…….2,221,147,000

B. Harris……..1,869,348,000

Sotheby s……1,231,669,000

Stribling………802,607,000

Halstead…….597,209,000

Bellmarc…….520,551,000

Warburg……..354,065,000

WB May………283,970,000

CBHK…………217,318,000

 

 

Average Listings Per Agent

B. Harris……….3.06

Sotheby s……..2.40

Bellmarc………2.05

WB May………..1.49

Corcoran………1.40

Stribling………..1.31

Warburg……….1.27

Halstead………1.23

Elliman…………1.23

CBHK……………1.15

 

 

Median $$ Amount Per Listing

Sotheby s………2,750,000

Stribling…………1,972,500

Warburg………..1,675,000

B. Harris………..1,390,000

Corcoran……….1,100,000

Elliman………….975,000

Halstead……….890,000

WB May…………767,000

Bellmarc……….622,000

CBHK……………569,000

 

 

Agents with No Listings

Halstead……….52.8%

Elliman………….52.5%

CBHK……………50.9%

Warburg………..49.5%

WB May…………48.7%

Stribling………..41.7%

Corcoran………39.2%

Bellmarc……….32.9%

Sotheby s………31.8%

B. Harris………..22%

 

 

Agents with a $10 million listing or higher

Sotheby s……….25 agents

B. Harris…………25

Stribling………….14

Warburg…………..5

Elliman…………..25

Corcoran………..13

WB May…………….2

Halstead…………..2

Bellmarc…………..1

CBHK……………….0

 

 

Agents with a $4 million listing or higher

Sotheby s…………38.9%……..44 agents

B. Harris…………..28.4%……..53

Stribling……………18.2%……..32

Warburg…………..14.4%……..16

Corcoran……………9.4%……..68

Elliman………………9.1%……..86

WB May………………6.5%……….8

Bellmarc…………….4.1%……..11

Halstead…………….2.7%…….10

CBHK………………… .9%………2

 

 

Battle of the Sexes: Men vs. Women

 

Percentage of Women (at ten biggest firms)……68.1%

Percentage of Men (at ten biggest firms)…………..31.9%

 

Percentage of Men With No Listings…………………44.0%

Percentage of Women With No Listings…………..44.8%

 

Percentage of Men With A Listing Over $4M………..9.97%

Percentage of Women With Listing Over $4M……10.4%

 

Firm with the Highest % of Women….Stribling……85.1%

Firm with the Highest % of Men………..D. Elliman..39.4%

 

 

*All figures for Manhattan-based agents only.

DOUGLAS ELLIMAN

Agents with the Most Listings (and their Highest Priced Property):

*Michael Shvo……………..52 listings ($19.95 million)

Dolly Lenz……………………29 listings ($19.95 million)

Helene Luchnick…………26 listings ($5.2 million)

Sachiko Goodman………17 listings ($14 million)

*Avi Voda……………………..17 listings ($12 million)

.

Most Expensive Properties:

Linda Schlesinger……………$27M East 60s townhouse

Y. Nazmiyal, A. Tawfik………$23M East 60s townhouse

Dolly Lenz, Aaron Lenz…….$19.95M condo

.

Listings By Neighborhood:**

Upper East Side………………23.2%

Upper West Side……………..18.7%

Midtown……………………………32.3%

Downtown………………………..22.2%

Brooklyn……………………………..3.3%

.

.

STRIBLING

Agents with the Most Listings (and their Highest Priced Property):

Cornelia Zagat Eland…….8 listings ($13.5 million)

Bruce Ehrmann……………..8 listings ($10.5 million)

Michael Chapman………….7 listings ($4.25 million)

Alexa Lambert………………..7 listings ($14.5 million)

Sam Pollach…………………..7 listings ($14.5 million)

.

Most Expensive Properties:

Susan Wires………………………………$14.95M Soho loft

A. Lambert, S. Pollach, C. Taub…$14.5M E 90s condo

A. Cannon, C. Zagat Eland…………$13.5M 5th Ave coop

.

Listings By Neighborhood:

Upper East Side………………………….43.9%

Upper West Side…………………………11.3%

Midtown……………………………………….18.2%

Downtown……………………………………26.0%

Brooklyn………………………………………… .4%

.

.

SOTHEBY S

Agents with the Most Listings (and their Highest Priced Property):

*Mika Sakamoto…………….50 listings ($15 million)

Nikki Field………………………12 listings ($11 million)

Phyllis Gallaway………………8 listings ($3.4 million)

Roberta Golubock……………8 listings ($8.95 million)

Gillian Jolis………………………8 listings ($11 million)

.

Most Expensive Properties

Michael Pellegrino…………$29M Madison Ave townhouse

A. Koffman, S. Novack……$23.5M East 60s townhouse

Meredyth Smith………………$21.5M 5th Ave apt.

.

Listings By Neighborhood:

Upper East Side…………….46.4%

Upper West Side……………12.3%

Midtown………………………….26.2%

Downtown………………………14.9%

Brooklyn……………………………..0%

.

.

WARBURG

Agents with the Most Listings (and their Highest Priced Property):

Steve Goldschmidt……………..11 listings ($849,000)

Cecilia Serrano…………………….9 listings ($2.225 million)

Brian Phillips………………………..8 listings ($1.9 million)

Lisa Silverman……………………..7 listings ($1.13 million)

Bonnie Chajet………………………6 listings ($12.65 million)

Linda Reiner………………………..6 listings ($11.3 million)

.

Most Expensive Properties

B. Chajet, R. Lane…………. $12.65 million Park Ave co-op

Richard Steinberg…………..$12 million UES townhouse

L. Reiner, L. Silverman……$11.3 million East 70s co-op

.

Listings By Neighborhood:

Upper East Side………………54.6%

Upper West Side……………..17.7%

Midtown……………………………18.4%

Downtown…………………………9.2%

Brooklyn……………………………… 0%

.

.

COLDWELL BANKER HUNT KENNEDY

Agents with the Most Listings (and their Highest Priced Property):

Mary Anne Fusco……….13 listings ($8.99 million)

Ann Guttman……………..11 listings ($3.05 million)

Lynn Sullivan……………..11 listings ($3.05 million)

Elayne Reimer…………..10 listings ($1.39 million

Edward Joseph…………10 listings ($1.5 million)

.

Most Expensive Properties:

Mary Anne Fusco…….$8.99 million East 70s townhouse

Patrick Vernon Lilly….$6.5 million Tribeca townhouse

Mary Anne Fusco……..$3.97 million East End Ave condo

.

Listings By Neighborhood:

Upper East Side………25.8%

Upper West Side……..31.9%

Midtown……………………31.5%

Downtown………………….7.3%

Brooklyn……………………..3.2%

.

.

WILLIAM B. MAY

Agents with the Most Listings (and their Highest Priced Property):

Caroline Brown……………39 listings ($875,000)

Laurie Dietz………………….16 listings ($679,000)

Irene Lo………………………..10 listings ($3.75 million)

Laurence Carty……………….9 listings ($3.75 million)

Gail Haft………………………….8 listings ($665,000)

.

Most Expensive Properties:

Roger Erickson…………$15.9M UWS apt.

Beverly Cole………………$13M Midtown West townhouse

Sieglinda O Donnell…..$7.5M Park Ave townhouse

.

Listings By Neighborhood:

Upper East Side………….21.1%

Upper West Side…………28.2%

Midtown……………………….32.6%

Downtown……………………17.9%

.

.

HALSTEAD

Agents with the Most Listings (and their Highest Priced Property):

Felicia De Chabris…………..17 listings ($1.15 million)

*Louise Phillips Forbes…..15 listings ($4.95 million)

Norman Horowitz…………….14 listings ($2.6 million)

*Linda Baron……………………..9 listings ($2.4 million)

Nancy Dubin………………………7 listings ($1.4 million)

.

Most Expensive Properties

Eileen Robert………………..$12.5M Downtown townhouse

Anna Moy……………………….$10M Tribeca condo loft

C. Gelband, J. James……$8.9M UES penthouse condo

.

Listings By Neighborhood:

Upper East Side…………….35.4%

Upper West Side……………23.3%

Midtown………………………….24.6%

Downtown………………………15.4%

Brooklyn……………………………1.1%

.

.

BELLMARC

Agents with the Most Listings (and their Highest Priced Property):

Daniel Berman…………..15 listings ($3.4 million)

Sandy Tannenbaum…..15 listings ($1.55 million)

Karyl Goland……………….10 listings ($3 million)

Ralph Lowenstein………10 listings ($1.9 million)

Lila Maron…………………..10 listings ($1.2 million)

Jon Fisher…………………..10 listings ($5.35 million)

.

Most Expensive Properties

Deanne Esses…….$23 million East 60s townhouse

Julie Weintraub…….$5.795 million G. Village townhouse

Linda Murphy………..$5.5 million East 50s townhouse

.

Listings By Neighborhood

Upper East Side…..30.3%

Upper West Side….23.1%

Midtown………………..38.2%

Downtown………………7.7%

Brooklyn…………………. .5%

.

.

BROWN HARRIS STEVENS

Agents with the Most Listings (and their Highest Priced Property):

*Elaine Clayman…………31 listings ($4.5 million)

Elizabeth Sample……….19 listings ($41.5 million)

Brenda Powers…………..19 listings ($41.5 million)

Doug Russell……………..13 listings ($2.15 million)

Paula Del Nunzio………..12 listings ($25.9 million)

.

Most Expensive Properties

B. Powers, E. Sample……$41.5M Ritz-Carlton condo

Guida De Carvalhosa……$30M West 12th St townhouse

Paula Del Nunzio…………..$25.9M East 70s townhouse

.

Listings By Neighborhood

Upper East Side…………….35%

Upper West Side……………24.3%

Midtown………………………….30.9%

Downtown………………………..8.9%

Brooklyn…………………………… .7%

.

.

CORCORAN

Agents with the Most Listings (and their Highest Priced Property):

Carrie Chiang………………………30 listings ($23 million)

*The Comroe-Oakley Team…21 listings ($2.3 million)

Sharon Baum………………………19 listings ($15 million)

Patricia Cliff………………………….10 listings ($17.5 million)

.

Most Expensive Properties

Carrie Chiang……………..,……..$23M Park Ave townhouse

Carrie Chiang……………………..$22.5M UWS condo

M. Blumstein, K. Blumstein…$20M townhouse

.

Listings By Neighborhood

Upper East Side………………….29.1%

Upper West Side…………………24.7%

Midtown……………………………….30.6%

Downtown……………………………15.0%

Brooklyn………………………………… .5%

—

*Works as part of a large (branded) group. Only lead group member included. Also, survey does not include relocation departments. **Midtown defined as between 14th and 57th Streets. Upper West Side includes Harlem. Brooklyn figures are for Manhattan agents only.

Like tiny Eastern European breakaway republics, the plethora of newly named neighborhoods carved out of older, existing neighborhoods is emerging as these enclaves proclaim their own identity, their own independence and their own real estate price brackets.

Yet how, when and by whom these emerging enclaves get pegged with an appellation is hardly a science. In fact, it s more of a free-for-all, with names sprouting up first amongst real estate brokers, developers and then the media. A case in point is the neighborhood between Chelsea and Clinton, which has been called everything from Chelsea Heights to Hell s Pantry and NoChel.

Typically, the allure of being associated with the happening neighborhood next door explains why brokers seek to rebrand existing names such as Chelsea Heights or North Chelsea.

Abbreviated geographically based names such as SoHo, TriBeCa and NoHo have spawned lesser offspring as well, in hopes (usually the hopes of real estate brokers) that those neighborhoods will also attain a certain cachet.

Take NoBat, for example, or North of Battery Tunnel, a name recently coined by a broker (pictured on cover page; also see “Post 9/11 Transplants Say Yes to NoBat” in this issue).

That approach appeals to brokers like Tim Melzer of Douglas Elliman, who said he wanted to call the area now known as Hudson Square by the catchy appellation NoCal, for north of Canal Street.

The approach doesn t work in all cases.

“That sounds like a soda pop to me,” said Jason Pizer, director of commercial leasing with Trinity Real Estate, which, as the largest real estate owner in the area, is credited with currying favor with the city in order to get the Hudson Square moniker to stick.

“It s been called Hudson Square for about 200 years,” Pizer said. “I like the way it sounds – strong, sophisticated, and from a historical perspective it identifies the area by its true name. It s not something we invented. We just dug it out of the files and dusted it off.”

Of course, attempting to resurrect a historical name doesn t guarantee it will catch on. For years, the Rose Hill community association labored in vain to revive that name for the area between 23rd and 34th and Madison and Third Avenues. The Rose Hill farm ranged through the area in the 1870s, but has since been subdivided into Kips Bay, the Flatiron District, Gramercy Park and Murray Hill. The revival attempt has met with only limited success.

Elsewhere, community residents have been successful in setting their neighborhoods apart from neighboring blocks. In Hudson Heights, an enclave in the northwestern section of Washington Heights, residents have effectively established a separate identity, with an eye to property values.

“It wasn t real estate brokers who came up with the name,” said Simone Song, owner of Simone Song Realty. “It was the shareholders up here who gathered together to form the Hudson Heights Owners Coalition. They wanted to keep up their neighborhood.”

Over in Brooklyn, Lee Solomon of William B. May says a slew of new neighborhood names are popping up, fueled in part by booming real estate values that continue to push folks further and further out into the fringes. According to Solomon, everyone from homeowner associations to residents and the city landmark commission have influenced the delineation of “new” neighborhood boundaries.

“I think it s happening organically,” she said, “and I d like to think that s because there s a great deal of concern for the existing community.”

Listings and Top Producers at city’s ten biggest residential brokerages [more]

It was a month of fluctuations for Manhattan office space in March as one very large deal in the Financial District closed after months of anticipation and several other blocks of space hit the market, according to a recent report by Colliers ABR.

As sublease availabilities appeared to be easing and the overall market stabilizing, three significant blocks hit the market last month for a total of almost 500,000 square feet.

Although sublease space is down compared to a year ago – 9.7 million square feet versus 11 million square feet, it is higher than it was five months ago.

Overall, however, the Manhattan class A vacancy rate has managed to improve to 10.6 percent from 11.3 percent a year ago.

While landlords have been leery of setting an asking rent during the past three years of economic downturn, as leasing activity has increased in the past few months they have started advertising prices once again, the report said. Average asking rents in March were at $46.87 per square foot, up almost $1 from the month before.

Midtown

A number of small deals in Midtown helped stabilize the vacancy rate at 10.1 percent, up just one-tenth of 1 percent from February, as two large subleases were added to availability in the Grand Central submarket.

CIBC put 227,000 square feet on the market at 425 Lexington Avenue, because it is consolidating into new space at 300 Madison Avenue. Law firm Clifford Chance placed 222,000 square feet on the market at 200 Park Avenue with plans to relocate to 31 West 52nd Street.

Class A average asking rents were up in all six Midtown submarkets, with the total Midtown figure hitting $54.05 per square foot, compared to $52.74 in February, the report said.

Midtown South

In Midtown South, the class A vacancy rate continued to improve, dropping to 5.5 percent from 6.0 percent the month before, the Colliers report said.

This was driven in part by a 74,425 square foot deal signed by HotJobs at 620 Avenue of the Americas in the Chelsea submarket.

Class A average asking rents ticked up slightly to $28.38 per square foot from $28.23 per square foot the month before.

Downtown

Downtown also saw improvement in March, with the class A vacancy rate dropping to 13.4 percent from 13.8 percent in February, the Colliers report said.

However, the market remained a bit rocky as new space became available with only one major deal offsetting total inventory, which grew and slowed the speed of the recovery.

In the largest deal of the month, Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft finally closed on its 460,000-square-foot lease at 1 World Financial Center, originally announced in September 2003.

On the other side of the coin, Telerate placed 84,000 square feet on the sublease market at 233 Broadway.

Average asking rents slipped a bit in March, to $33.89 per square foot from $34.28 per square foot in February.

There continues to be a significant number of tenants busily looking for space Downtown, partially due to the fact that the Small Firm Attraction and Retention Grant Program is due to expire at the end of this year, the Colliers report said.

Retail

On the retail front, asking rents soared during the first quarter, reaching pre-Sept. 11 levels, according to a report by the Real Estate Board of New York.

Overall, average asking rents in Manhattan for retail space rose 10 percent compared to the first quarter of last year, to $97 per square foot.

Manhattan’s 57th Street corridor showed the largest increase, up 55 percent from the year before.

Asking average rents on 57th Street between Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue hit $850 per square foot, according to the report.

Available retail space in Manhattan declined 19 percent, with more than 2.7 million square feet being absorbed. Downtown specifically saw available space drop 35 percent, demonstrating retailers’ renewed interest in the area.

In other areas, asking rents for retail space on the East Side increased by 21 percent, to $155. Midtown asking rents increased by 12 percent, and Midtown South, which includes SoHo, as well as the West Side, showed increases of 7 percent.

“While the numbers have been slowly rising since Sept. 11, this is the first time we’ve seen double- digit increases in asking rents in several areas for more than two years,” said Steven Spinola, president of REBNY. “It’s great news for the retail market in Manhattan.”

Bloomberg is creating a buzz where Midtown meets the Upper East Side, but excitement among retailers around Bloomingdale’s has nothing to do with mayoral decisions from City Hall.

As the Bloomberg tower goes up between Lexington and Third Avenue at 58th St., on the former site of Alexander’s department store, commercial real estate brokers aren’t sure if Midtown is moving east or the Upper East Side is moving south.

But it’s clear that something is happening to retail space on Third Avenue in the 50s and 60s. Rents are going up in Bloomingdale’s country, and upscale stores are coming in as the tower that will house Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s eponymous business information company nears completion.

The building, set to open later this year, will have 700,000 square feet of office, retail and residential space, 40,000 square feet of which are already leased by Swedish clothing chain H&M. Big boxes are also arriving nearby, with Home Depot leasing 80,000 square feet on the corner of 59th St. and Third.

The furniture store Select Comfort has leased 2,400 square feet of space at 61st St. and Third Avenue, and a slew of smaller retailers, including the accessory store Alexia Crawford and body care products merchant Bare Escentuals, are moving in nearby.

“There has been a lot of turnover, and the area has changed a lot,” says Garrick-Aug Worldwide vice chairman Faith Hope Consolo, who leased both the Alexia Crawford and Bare Escentuals spaces.

Broker Kim Mogull represented 1030 Third Avenue in the Select Comfort deal, with broker Bill Crisp representing the furniture store.

Consolo says the neighborhood has transformed as old leases expired and spaces went vacant. “The stores used to be more homogenous, more like a mall, without any distinct character,” she says.

More upscale retailers are moving in, and Consolo says it’s no surprise.

“You had a neighborhood that had very strong fundamentals, waiting for new retailers to come in,” she says.

But new stores are also bringing higher retail rents, climbing from about $150 a square foot a year ago to $200 or more a square foot today, according to brokers.

The area’s in-between status is a big reason for the rise of retail, brokers say. It’s desirable because of seven-day-a-week foot traffic coming from the Upper East Side, new residential developments in the area and Midtown office workers.

“It’s Midtown, and yet it’s the bottom of the Upper East Side,” says Scott Edlitz, managing director of Robert K. Futterman & Associates.

“You’ve got office workers heading to the subway stop on 59th St., plus shoppers from all over converging to shop at Bloomingdale’s.”

The recent flurry of activity is also being spurred by the new availability of larger spaces, says Beth Greenwald, a broker with Newmark New Spectrum Retail.

Until recently, Greenwald says the area did not have the large spaces that high-end retailers covet. But many new residential projects have involved knocking down smaller buildings, and putting up new condos with ample retail opportunities on the ground floor.

“It was never a bad situation, but it’s getting better,” Greenwald says.

For example, the Bloomberg tower project involved knocking down a square block as well as a few smaller buildings.

The infectious excitement generated by the nearly completed Bloomberg tower has also inspired landlords to look for a better class of tenants as leases expire, says Edlitz.

“There’s an expectation of better quality retailers, more like on Lexington and Madison Avenues,” he says. “Lexington has always been great, and now it’s spreading to Third.”

Rising Interest Rates Won t Put a Damper on Market, some say [more]

A recent Douglas Elliman market report made big news when it found the average apartment price in Manhattan during the first quarter was nearly $1 million.

But reports from other companies found prices at not quite so stratospheric levels, although finding percentage increases were similar to the quarter before.

The Douglas Elliman Manhattan Market Overview, prepared by appraisal firm Miller Samuel, found the average sales price jumped to a record-setting $998,905 during the first quarter, up from $903,259 the quarter before.

Meanwhile, a Brown Harris Stevens report pegged the first quarter average at a lower $899,335.

Both reports found a similar percentage increase compared to the last quarter of 2003 -the Douglas Elliman report saw a 10.6 percent rise in apartment prices and the Brown Harris Stevens report cited an 11 percent jump in prices.

The Douglas Elliman report also noted that listing inventory continued to contract during the first quarter, but appears to be bottoming out.

The number of apartments for sale fell 11.2 percent to 4,299 apartments for sale during the first quarter, down from 4,843 units in the fourth quarter.

Apartment inventory had started to decline with the second quarter of last year, and has continued to contract, declining for ten out of eleven months, the report said.

Inventory appeared to reach its lowest point in February, when there were only 3,994 units available. Apartment inventory actually increased in March by 7.6 percent, the report said, as sellers began to list properties in anticipation of the spring market.

As a result of declining inventory, the number of sales dropped by 19.1 percent to 1,825 apartments, down from 2,256 apartments sold in the fourth quarter.

The number of days it took to sell a Manhattan apartment in the first quarter, 98 days, was shortened by more than a month compared to the quarter before.

In addition, the negotiability of the sales price of an apartment was at its lowest level in more than a year. The average discount from list price was 2.6 percent for the quarter, down from the 2.9 percent in the prior quarter and 4 percent in the prior year quarter.

Townhouses have always appealed to families, but in Manhattan’s sizzling hot market, some brokers say there is a growing awareness that you can get more for your money with a townhouse than an apartment.

Jed Garfield of Leslie J. Garfield & Co., a boutique firm that specializes in townhouses, said townhouses represent a much better deal per square foot for a single family on the Upper East Side than buying a co-op.

“At minimum, a house has four bedrooms, and with the traditional family moving from a classic six apartment, with two or three children, they need more space,” he said. “The incremental increase in price to a spacious co-op is astronomical. It’s not that a townhouse is more expensive, it’s just more reasonable.”

Privacy is also a draw. Fenwick-Keats co-principal Jeff Wolk believes when families grow out of a co-op, they want to own their own private home.

“A lot of people do not want to deal with co-op boards, because they have become more and more intrusive over the years,” he said, “and with a townhouse they can have complete privacy and independence.”

Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuel says the appeal of townhouses to families has resulted in a higher level of sales activity over the last few years, with more three- to five-family houses converted to single-family homes.

“It is somewhat unique to the Manhattan market as opposed to Brooklyn, which also has a high number of townhouses,” he said. “The idea of highest and best use is converting to a single-family rather than viewing these properties for their rental potential.”

But converting multiple-family townhouses to single-family townhouses is a difficult feat.

“It’s a complicated and mythical task to convert multiple apartment townhouses back to single families,” said Garfield. “People are under the impression that they can claim need in converting, and it’s more difficult than they initially perceive to get tenants out.”

Renovation of existing single family townhouses is more common, Garfield said.

“With single family houses, it seems lately that everything requires renovation, even if it was done a year ago,” he said.

Averaging $4 million each, with Downtown and the Upper West Side catching up to the Upper East Side [more]

Running a small residential real estate company in Manhattan was always a tough proposition, but increasing consolidation has added to the challenge.

In the current market, characterized by the two biggest firms buying everything in Manhattan that isn’t nailed down, a tough business is tougher, say the smaller players in the multibillion-dollar market.

Business costs are rising, and while boutique firms tout their personalized service, they face challenges in terms of public perception, the ability match the advertising reach of their larger rivals and staying on the cutting edge in terms of technology.

Barbara Fox, president of Fox Residential Group, which has 40 agents in Manhattan, plays up the notion that boutique agencies have top management that is able to stay on top of all deals and offer better service, unlike bigger firms.

“I not only do my own deals, but I’m aware of and on top of almost every single deal that goes on in the office at any one time, and that’s really the difference between a large firm and a small firm,” said Fox.

But Fox acknowledges she would not want to start a small brokerage today, 15 years after her effort.

“I’m sure there are firms popping up all the time, but it’s very hard for people to get a foothold in the industry now,” she said. “It takes a long time to rev up, so you have to have money to cushion you.”

Steve Murray, founder of research firm RealTrends, said that nationwide, 300,000 more brokerages have joined the market in the last few years, bringing the total to 1 million brokerages.

“For everybody in the business, it is harder now, with brokerages paying out more commissions to keep good brokers and business costs going up,” he said.

David Michonski, chairman of Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy, transformed his company from one of the smaller firms to one of the city’s largest over an eight-year span. He said growth was the only option in the nation’s most competitive market.

Smaller companies are often burdened with all the costs of larger firms, he said. For example, Michonski’s company uses one concierge and a public relations director for an agency with over 300 agents today, just as it did years back when it had only 75 agents.

More importantly, small companies face the expectations of agents who demand the same resources provided by larger competitors.

“There’s the constant comparison with the large firms and you have to have the resources to keep your agents, unless the agents don’t want to be on the cutting edge, and there are fewer such agents in the business today,” said Michonski.

Perception can also put smaller firms at a disadvantage, especially when new ambitious agents are looking to enter the business.

“I think the biggest disadvantage is the perception by the industry and the consumers,” said Douglas Wagner, president of Benjamin James Associates, which has around 85 agents. Does it affect the bottom line? “How can it not?” said Wagner, “because the grass is always greener in a big firm with more name recognition.”

Over the past decade, technology costs have risen, and that has increased pressure on smaller firms, even though some view technology as leveling the playing field.

Michonski said many real estate executives now spend up to 50 percent of their time – and massive amounts of money – on technology, particularly their online operations. “I think it’s the primary reason why the small firms have sold out and moved on,” he said, adding that his company estimated about $500,000 worth of technology expenditures were involved in its acquisition of the residential sales division of Charles H. Greenthal last summer. “We just ripped up everything and started over,” he said. “People just didn’t make those investments.”

Many other small firms, however, have made the necessary but costly investments in technology. Barry Dulany, co-owner of Brooklyn Heights-based Harborview Realty, a high-end boutique firm of 15 agents, said there was no need for computers and everything was done on paper when she started out 25 years ago. But seven years ago, she computerized her operations, and has regular technology expenses keeping her systems up to date.

Fox also brought in a full time technology person to run her computer system five years ago, when her company’s former driver switched to overseeing its technology. “Keeping up with technology is the hardest part, and we’ve launched the fourth incarnation of our Web site. You have to keep going on it,” Fox said.

But Wagner thinks technology would pose more problems for a larger operation than a small one, given the sheer volume of their operations.

Michonski would probably agree. He said his company has spent about $700,000 since last summer on computer system upgrades and other technology enhancements.

Many boutique firms also face pressure because they focus on the small, high-end segment of the market, where competition is especially fierce. That’s especially true when the luxury market takes a nosedive, as it did two years ago. Even last year, Michonski said that of the 6.2 million apartments sold in New York City, only 30,000 were in the high-end category, carrying multimillion dollar price tags.

Small firms also face additional pressure from increased consolidation, with the country’s second largest residential brokerage, HomeServices of America, announcing plans last summer to start up in Manhattan by the end of 2005.

In other parts of the city, things might be easier for boutiques firms. Dulany noted that Brooklyn hasn’t seen the consolidation wave that has gripped Manhattan. In the Bronx, Linda Stephens, manager of an ERA Champions Realty franchise with about 40 agents, said it is easier to run a small brokerage in the outer boroughs than in Manhattan, where most of the clientele are “corporate” types who operate like “sharks.” She said she is not worried about rising overhead because her revenues are keeping pace with costs, she said.

To start from scratch today, Michonski said his company would have to raise at least $3 million, compared to the $1 million it started with in 1996. The market today carries greater risk, greater cost of capital, and allows less room for mistakes and greater chance of going under.

Regardless of size and market share, New York real estate firms list advertising as the largest component of their operating expenses, and costs are rising.

Barry Dulany, co-owner of Harborview Realty, a boutique firm of 15 agents based in Brooklyn Heights, said advertising consumes as much as 90 percent of her firm’s overhead costs.

David Michonski, chairman of Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy, and Barbara Fox, president of Fox Residential Group, said that advertising remains the largest chunk of their operating costs – even more than their high office rents.

But Michonski, head of one of Manhattan’s larger firms, thinks the dynamics are better for bigger firms than for small firms. He compared the costs of a large firm advertising 50 of its 800 listings with a small firm advertising all of its 10 listings, both in the Sunday edition of The New York Times.

“As a larger firm, you’ll spend a smaller percentage of your money on ads than a smaller firm,” he said. “If you’re a small firm, you spend a lot more money on ads as a percentage of your company dollars to give the appearance of being bigger.”

Larger firms are able to distribute advertising costs over more agents, Michonski added.

But the cost-benefit calculus of advertising dollars can be looked at differently, according to Fox, whose boutique agency has 40 brokers.

“Because the large firms have so many brokers, we advertise more per listing per broker than the bigger firms,” she said.

Plus, large firms only devote a certain amount of money to advertising regardless of how many properties are being sold. That’s different from her own firm, where they push the product until it is sold, Fox claims. “Each individual exclusive listing that gets advertised here is advertised a lot more than in the large firms because those firms have so many,” she said.

Douglas Wagner, president of Benjamin James Associates, a mid-size firm with around 85 agents, said the Internet initially allowed small firms to maximize their advertising budgets, but the increasing cost of Internet ads, particularly at the heavily used Times site, has put an additional squeeze on small brokerages.

Competitors say they aren t too worried about Dottie s latest purchase [more]

William B. May appeared to be fending off a takeover bid by Terra Holdings at the end of last month after William B. May president Peter Marra sold his minority stake in the company to Terra, the parent company of Brown Harris Stevens. Marra defected to the rival firm. Marra, son-in-law of William B. May Jr., reportedly sold shares which amounted to 10 to 12 percent of the company to Terra.

Meanwhile, May family members holding controlling shares of the company said they planned to thwart any takeover attempt, and named 21-year veteran Roberta Benzilio interim president of the firm.

Brown Harris Stevens and William B. May executives could not be reached for comment by press time. In a statement, Terra Holdings co-chairman William Lie Zeckendorf said the deal took place in just four days.

“Our debt-free balance sheet and private ownership structure permitted us to negotiate and close this transaction in just four days,” he said. Marra will join Brown Harris Stevens as executive vice president in its residential sales division, and will head the firm’s new office at 1121 Madison Avenue.

Christian Deutsch, chief executive officer of William B. May Real Estate, said in a prepared statement that Marra “was only a minority shareholder” in the firm.

“The May family continues to own William B. May, and the company is not controlled by any other firm,” he said. “We will continue to operate independently.”

William B. May interim president Benzilio, who most recently served as executive vice president, said it was “business as usual” at the company.

Read updates on the story at the breaking news section of this website.

Though still largely a West Coast phenomenon, home staging in NY grows [more]

A century-old former telephone exchange being converted to condominiums near the Time Warner Center has benefited from the buzz surrounding the opening of the mammoth project, even if the publicity and sales activity was largely accidental.

A boutique condominium with 16 residences at 426 West 58th Street, which will be known as West 58, opened for sales three weeks after the Time Warner Center did, six months later than expected.

“Moving out was a big job for the one former tenant there,” said Iva Spitzer of Douglas Elliman, marketing and sales agent for the condo. “The project was pushed back half a year, and the Time Warner Center opened three weeks before we did.”

As a result of its timing, the project has seen four price increases since sales began, and nine of the 16 units have already sold, Spitzer said. One apartment was sold to a buyer from Los Angeles over the phone, she said.

The area surrounding the project has been among the hottest in Manhattan, with the average price per square foot rising to $1,020 in the first quarter, up from $703 a year ago, according to a recent Brown Harris Stevens report.

West 58 features an existing five-story structure, the previous home of the nonprofit Bureau of Jewish Education, which will house 11 two or three-bedroom apartments. A new six-story addition that will be built on top will include five apartments between 2,600 to 3,700 square feet.

Prices range from $1.4 to $5 million, and occupancy is expected early next year.

While not all of the Time Warner Center – including some restaurants and Jazz at Lincoln Center – is open, Whole Foods is clearly the biggest draw for the building and the neighborhood, pulling in hordes of shoppers.

“It’s astonishing how one thing – a supermarket – can change an area,” said Spitzer.

Spitzer said prices at West 58 run from $1,000 to $1,200 a square foot, compared to $2,500 a square foot at the Time Warner Center.

Situated between Ninth and 10th Avenues, Spitzer acknowledges that the project is “pushing a boundary” because of its westerly location, particularly in terms of retail offerings in the area. But she says retail will soon follow.

HARLEM

Strivers Gardens

300 West 135th Street

Two towers, one 12-stories tall and one seven stories, with 170 condominium apartments. Apartments are for sale by lottery, with the minimum household income required at $48,000, and the maximum at $157,000. Preference for half the apartments is to be given to applicants living within Community Board 10. Apartments range from a 673 square foot one-bedroom for $143,000 to a 1,182 square foot three-bedroom penthouse with rooftop terrace for $529,000. Applications can only be mailed and must be postmarked from April 21 to June 21. The project is expected to be completed by January. Contact: striversgardens.com.

.

GRAMERCY HILL

120 East 29th Street

Restoration of five 1880 s era contiguous brownstones. Project includes adding two and a half stories to the five-story buildings, which will have a total of 25 one-to-four bedroom condominiums, priced from $675,000 to $2.4 million and ranging in size from 1,000 square feet to 2,659 square feet. Features will include oversized windows, high ceilings, and new oak floors with walnut inlay trim. The six ground-floor duplexes will have private gardens while 11 of the residences will offer either a private terrace or balcony. The developer is Alchemy Properties and Hustvedt Cutler Architects was retained for the project, which is expected to be completed by December.

.

MADISON SQUARE PARK

50 Madison Avenue

Combines a restored 1898 five-story mansion with a new eight-story tower on top, overlooking Madison Square Park. Contains eight 3-bedroom, 3.5 bath residences priced from $2.65 million and a duplex penthouse priced at $5 million. The penthouse has 3,500 square feet of space and two terraces that together comprise 1,000 square feet. Kitchens will offer cherry cabinets, granite countertops, Sub-Zero refrigerators and freezers, Viking and Bosch appliances and kitchen islands with wine coolers. Samson Management LLC is the developer. Sales began last month, and occupancy is slated for spring 2005. Contact: Halstead Property and senior vice president, Louise Phillips Forbes, 212-381-3329.

.

UPPER EAST SIDE

205 East 59th Street

27-floor condo building across the street from Bloomingdale s. There will be 62 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments varying from 1,113 to 1,552 square feet, ranging in price from $1.47 million to $3 million. There will also be a 2,702 square foot penthouse, not yet for sale. Each apartment is to have a gas-burning fireplace and at least one balcony, and two apartments on each floor are to have solariums. Some apartment will have living rooms with 20-foot ceilings. The building also features a park for dogs as part of an outdoor area on the fifth floor. Construction began last March and is expected to be completed early next year. Contact: The Sunshine Group, 212-750-0500.

.

UPPER WEST SIDE

The Hopkins

172 West 79th Street

Pre-war apartment building being converted from rental to condominium ownership. The 20-story building, which was constructed in 1929 and has been under the same family ownership for over 60 years, will be bringing a total of 99 apartments to market. Apartments will include 17 three-room and 37 four-room apartments, all potentially convertible to two-bedroom residences. There will also be 35 two-bedroom/two bath units as well as 10 large “irregular” apartments containing six or more rooms. Apartments range in size from 800 square feet to over 2,000 square feet. Opening prices are expected to range from $550,000 to more than $2.5 million. As part of a year-long, $3 million renovation and capital improvement program, the building will soon feature two new elevators, new windows, a new boiler, a newly furnished and decorated lobby, new corridors and a new security system. Apartments will feature new kitchens, bathrooms and washer/dryers in every unit. Sales are expected to begin later this spring. Contact: Jud Ebersman, Walter & Samuels Inc., (212) 696-7128.

.

UPPER WEST SIDE

West 58

426 West 58th Street

A century-old mid-rise building on top of which six modern penthouse floors are being built. The condominium features 16 two and three bedroom units. Nine of the units are already in contract for prices ranging from $1.4 million to $3.3 million. The remaining units are currently priced from $1.4 million for two-bedroom residences to $5 million for the penthouses. Prices on the units have been raised four separate times since going on sale. The developer is Elad Properties. Occupancy is scheduled for early next year. Contact: Iva Spitzer, Douglas Elliman, 212-247-5858.

.

.

FROM APRIL 2004 ISSUE:

.

GREENWICH VILLAGE

505 Greenwich Street

A 14-story condo building with 104 units. Building will contain 25 three-bedroom, 42 two-bedroom, and 37 one-bedroom apartments. Prices range from $825,000 to $3.5 million. Individual units have large living rooms with mahogany flooring, and kitchens feature top appliances including wine refrigerators. The building includes a 24/7 concierge, resident manager, private courtyard, fitness center and pet spa. The project is being developed by Metropolitan Housing Partners and Apollo Real Estate. Occupancy is scheduled to begin this autumn. Contact: 505 Greenwich Street Presentation Center, 212-505-9600, or visit 505greenwich.com.

.

HARLEM

Rosa Parks Condominiums

163 St. Nicholas Avenue (at 118th Street)

A six-story, 64-unit condo building with one, two and three-bedroom units.

Prices range from $195,000 to $260,000 for a one bedroom, $500,000 to $640,000 for a two bedroom, and $600,000 to $825,000 for three-bedroom penthouses. Building features 24-hour concierge, video security, gym, rooftop garden, and wiring for high-speed Internet. Taxes are $7 to $25 annually, and building features low common charges, including $166 to $200 for a one-bedroom apartment. Developed by Artimus Construction. Set to open in April. Contact: Douglas Elliman Development Marketing Group, 212-702-4060, or visit rosaparkscondos.com.

.

LOWER MANHATTAN

15 Broad Street.

Conversion of former J.P. Morgan building to 250 condos. Project is being developed by LB Lev Leviev/Boymelgreen. Philippe Starke is also working on the project, his first residential building in New York. The building will include basketball courts, bowling alley and a pool. Scheduled to open in May. Contact: The Sunshine Group, 212-750-0500.

.

LOWER MANHATTAN

63 Wall Street

Conversion of former Brown Brothers Harriman headquarters to 476 rentals, with leasing to begin this month. Monthly rents for studio to two-bedroom apartments will be $1,700 to $3,600. The project is being developed by Nathan Berman and Ronny Bruckner.

.

MIDTOWN

425 Fifth Avenue (at 38th Street)

A 67-floor building by architect Michael Graves with 176 condos. Includes a 24-hour doorman. Gym (with sauna, steam room and lap pool) available. Office space on the first six floors of the building. Studios are priced from $420,000 to $730,000, one bedrooms from $525,000 to $1.4 million, two bedrooms from $750,000 to $2.5 million, and three bedrooms start at $2.9 million. A 3,706 square foot duplex penthouse is on the market for $10.5 million. About 80 percent of the building was already sold as of last month. The building will officially open in June. Contact: The Marketing Directors, 212-683-3331.

.

TRIBECA

The Grabler

44 Laight Street

Conversion of former warehouse to 18 units ranging in size from 1,580 to more than 4,500 square feet. Apartments in the lower floors are unfinished; eight apartments on the top three floors are fully finished, most also have 1,500 square foot terraces. Prices range from $1.295 million to $2.95 million. 14 parking spaces are also for sale for $169,000 apiece. The building is already 50 percent sold and will open this summer. Contact: Corcoran Group Marketing, 212-343-5400.

.

UPPER EAST SIDE

47 East 91st Street.

Eight-story condominium building. Seven apartments, each full-floor, will be 4,100 square feet, while the other, a duplex penthouse, will be 5,800 square feet plus a wrap-around garden. Prices to range from $5 to $15 million. Occupancy expected around May. Stribling Marketing Associates is marketing the building. Contact: Sales office at 212-828-7033, or visit 47east91.com.

.

WILLIAMSBURG

170 Broadway

Newly built seven-story condominium with a total of 12 two-bedroom apartments. Prices range from $400,000 to $525,000. All residences have a balcony or terrace. Units feature solid oak strip flooring, recessed lighting, central heat and air conditioning, a stacked washer/dryer, fully equipped kitchen with solid birch wood cabinets, and bathrooms with marble floors and walls. Sales are underway, and occupancy is expected in the late spring. Contact: Helene Luchnick, Douglas Elliman, 212-965-6008.

.

.

FROM MARCH 2004 ISSUE:

.

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN

Smith, Schermerhorn, State and Hoyt Streets

A 500,000 square foot mixed-use project will begin on a block currently vacant except for five National Register brownstones. The project, a joint venture of Time Equities Inc. and Hamlin Ventures, will include single-family townhouses on State Street, condominium lofts and mews on Hoyt Street, and rental apartments on Smith Street. Schermerhorn Street will be the focus for the project s retail space. Construction will begin on the townhouses in late spring. Contact: Time Equities, 212-206-6000.

.

GREENPOINT

82-88 Green Street

New 16-unit condo building with two bedrooms ranging from 900 square feet to 1,600 square feet. Prices range from $425,000 to $550,000. The building, a project by developer Josh Guberman, is nearly 50 percent sold out. Another project, the Russell Court Condominiums at 190 Green Street, includes 26 units in a cluster of five buildings, with sales beginning a month ago. Contact: N/A

.

NORTHERN MANHATTAN

400 Lenox Avenue (at 129th Street)

The first luxury, doorman, non-subsidized housing in the immediate area in the past 75 years was given the green light by the city last month to begin construction. The 12-story building will include 92 units covering 130,000 square feet. There will also be 11,000 square feet of commercial space. Contact: N/A

.

SOHO

73 Wooster Street

A four-story building that previously housed a cardboard box manufacturer is being converted into a condominium with six lofts. Units are selling for $4.25 million to $6.75 million, and include four 4,300 square foot apartments and two 5,000 square foot penthouses. Sales began early last month. Contact: Douglas Elliman Development Marketing Group, 212-702-4060.

.

SOHO

60 Spring Street

39 apartments in the 1923 Cass Gilbert building range from one to three bedrooms, from 1,100 square feet to 2,200 square feet. A penthouse apartment features a large terrace and a fireplace and measures 2,750 square feet. Prices range from $1.48 million to more than $7 million. The building, which is being developed by Boymelgreen Developers, was 75 percent sold as of January. Occupancy is scheduled for March. Contact: The Sunshine Group, 212-750-0500.

.

TRIBECA

114 and 116 Hudson Street

$14 million residential project being developed by actor Robert DeNiro in conjunction with with AFC Realty Capital. The project will join an existing five-story brick building at 116 Hudson Street with a new seven-story glass structure that will be built on a lot at 114 Hudson Street. The project will include five loft condominiums, including a duplex penthouse. Four apartments will be 2,000 square feet and cost $2 million, and the penthouse will be 3,000 feet at cost $3.5 million. Sales are set to begin in March. Contact: Stribling Marketing Associates, 212-941-8420.

.

TRIBECA

The River Lofts

92 Laight and 424 Washington Streets

The project consists of two buildings, one new and one old. 92 Laight is a new brick tower with 38 units and 424 Washington is a converted industrial building with 30 lofts. Units range from one to four bedroom apartments (1,100 to 3,900 square feet), priced from $1.125 million to $8.55 million. The project, by Boymelgreen Developers, will be ready for occupancy in 2005. Contact: The Sunshine Group, 212-750-0500.

.

UPPER WEST SIDE

43 West 64 Street

Features 32 open, loft-style residences ranging from 1,600 to 6,151 square feet, listed from $1.5 to $10.2 million. Over ninety percent of the residences have been sold, including three of the four penthouses. There have been 20 units totaling approximately $70 million sold within the last four months, including the three most expensive properties in the building, according to the Athena Group. O Neal s Restaurant, by restaurateur Michael O Neal, opened on the ground floor of the building at the end of the year. Contact: The Athena Group, 212-459-0200, or visit 43west64.com.

.

UPPER WEST SIDE

44 West 63rd Street (Empire Hotel)

Financing was recently arranged for a project to convert the 373-key Empire Hotel to 125 luxury condominium units. The 14-story, W-shaped building on Broadway will include more than 200,000 square feet of apartments and 25,000 square feet of retail space. Contact: N/A

.

UPPER WEST SIDE

The Opus

2770 Broadway (at 107th Street)

Plans were unveiled last month for a 64-unit condominium building to be developed by The Clarett Group at the site of the former Olympia Theatre previously owned by Cablevision Systems. The homes at the $75 million project will take their inspiration from the “Classic 6″ and “Classic 7″ apartments constructed in the area at the turn-of-the-century, the developers said, and the building will also feature 7,500 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. Apartments range from 1,200 to 2,200 square feet, with two to five bedrooms. Prices range from $900,000 to $3 million and opening is set for January 2005. A sales office has already opened a block north of the building, and nine contracts were out on the condos as of early last month. Contact: The Clarett Group, 212-399-2400 or visit clarett.com.

.

.

FROM FEBRUARY 2004 ISSUE:

.

COBBLE HILL

The Arches at Cobble Hill.

57 units in new development. Units range from one to four bedrooms (875 to 3,000 square feet). Prices range from $535,000 to $1.8 million. Set to open around this fall. Contact: www.thearchesatcobblehill.com.

.

GREENWICH VILLAGE

The Greenwich Street Project

497 Greenwich Street

Six-story condominium with 22 units in former warehouse building. Prices range from $1.2 to $7 million. Units range from two to four bedrooms (1,600 to 3,500 square feet). Approximately 65 percent of the units are still for sale, mostly between $2 and $3 million. Set to open in late February or early March. Contact: Cantor-Pecorella, 212-925-3333

.

GREENWICH VILLAGE

One Morton Square.

Town houses, lofts, rental apartments and 147 condominium units. Two-bedroom, 2.5-bath condo units are priced at $1.3 million. Three-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath town houses with home offices, private elevators and back gardens start at $3.75 million. Scheduled to be ready for occupancy this spring. Contact: 212-366-1515 or visit www.mortonsquare.com.

.

LOWER EAST SIDE

7 Essex Street

11-story condominium with 16 units. Units range from 1,584 to 3,690 square feet. Prices range from $825,000 to $2.275 million. Four units were still available as of last month, ranging in price from $1.9 to $2.6 million. Contact: 7 Essex Street, LLC, 212-925-9991.

.

SOHO

Soho 25

25 West Houston Street

Nine-story condominium with 32 one and two-bedroom lofts. Prices start at $600,000 and go up to $4.5 million. The building, unusual for SoHo, is being sold to non-artists. All but one of the residences had been sold as of December. Set to open this spring. Contact: The Marketing Directors, 212-368-2500, or visit www.soho25lofts.com.

.

WILLIAMSBURG

The Gretsch Building

60 Broadway

10 story condominium with 130 apartments. Units range from studio to three bedrooms (620 to 2,500 square feet). Prices range from $309,000 to $1.27 million (and higher for two and three bedroom penthouses). Approximately 34 units in the building remain unsold. Set to open this fall. Contact: 1-888-GRETSCH.

.

.

FROM JANUARY 2004 ISSUE:

.

CHELSEA

The Aston

The 38-floor rental tower on the Avenue of the Americas between 27th and 28th Streets was scheduled for completion by the end of 2003. The building includes 269 units is being developed by the Manhattan-based Adell Corporation.

.

GRAMERCY PARK AREA

49 East 21st Street

Former United Federation of Teachers office building converted to a condo with 43 units by developer Elad Properties of Fort Lee, NJ. The 12-story building features “loftlike” apartments, which range from $910,000 to $2.6 million. The sales office opened on the ground floor of the building in November.

.

HELL S KITCHEN

Loft 55

419 West 55th Street

A new residential sales building that was scheduled to open in mid-November. All lofts in this 24-unit, seven-story co-op building have 10- to 12-foot ceilings. Studios start at $395,000, one-bedrooms at $425,000, and two-bedrooms at $475,000. The penthouse, a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment with a separate studio, gas fireplace, and skylight, and 1,000 square feet of outside private terrace will sell for $1,395,000. Contact: Developer Anbau Enterprises Inc., 212-741-1325.

.

TRIBECA

48 Laight Street

Six-story condo building with nine apartments. The units range from 1,400 to 1,900 square feet and from one to three bedrooms.. There will also be a 2,300-square-foot penthouse. Preconstruction prices are to be $975,000 to $1.6 million for the apartments and $3 million for the penthouse. Sales begin Jan. 5. Contact. Citi Habitats, 212-685-7777.

.

UPPER WEST SIDE

455 Central Park West

The 26-story condo tower between 105th and 106th Streets includes 53 apartments, 44 of which went on the market in December at prices of $1.35 million to $4.5 million. Units feature large rooms, eat-in kitchens, formal dining rooms, high ceilings, granite countertops, marble bathrooms with showers and tubs, and a lap pool in the building and concierge services. In addition, a French Renaissance chateau at the front of the property, which has sat vacant for decades, is also being renovated, and will be finished at a later date. Each of the 17 units in the chateau are expected to sell for between $3.5 and $7.5 million. Contact: The Marketing Directors, 212-665-5100, or visit www.455cpw.com.

.

.

FROM NOVEMBER 2003 ISSUE:

.

CHELSEA

The Paradigm

146-148 West 22nd Street

The twelve-story condo building plus penthouse includes a retail space and twelve apartments (one on each floor). Eight of the 12 units have three bedrooms and three bathrooms; the rest have two bedrooms and two baths. All the apartments have at least two balconies, and four have terraces. Prices range from $1.4 million to $2.2 million. The building will be ready for occupancy in early 2004. Contact: www.chelseaparadigm.com.

.

LOWER EAST SIDE

The Coda

114 Ridge Street

Newly constructed, seven-story rental building with 29 studio, one- and two-bedroom units for between $1,500 and $4,500 per month. The Coda was completed in August and currently leasing. Contact: Citi Habitats, 212-685-7777.

.

MURRAY HILL

East 29th Street

Conversion of a seven story building in Murray Hill with 25 residences, with maple floors, top appliances and other features. Many of the units will feature outdoor space with the penthouse offering an outdoor hot tub. Sales expected to begin this fall. Contact: Alchemy Properties, 212-732-0372.

.

BROOKLYN

The Atlantic

Rental building on Atlantic Avenue between Henry and Hicks Street. Five-story building with 58 units. Studios start from $1,600, one-bedrooms from $2,000 and two-bedrooms range from $3,000 to $4,000. Leasing is expected to begin in mid-November, and occupancy is expected in December.

ATLANTA

Residential/Commercial

Four of the 10 fastest-growing counties in America are in Atlanta’s suburbs, according to a Census Bureau report released last month. Job opportunities and affordable housing are drawing people from around the nation to the four counties, which form a semicircle around Atlanta. The populations of Forsyth, Henry, Newton and Paulding counties have each grown by about 25 percent from April 2000 to July 2003. The area has also experienced some of the worst traffic congestion in the country as a result.

Commercial

Capital City Plaza, a 410,000-square-foot building in the Buckhead district, was sold last month for the largest price per square foot for an office property in the city. Parkway Properties paid $78.6 million, or $192 per square foot, for the 92 percent-leased Peachtree Road building. The building also lays claim to signing the largest office lease of the year to date. Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Georgia renewed its lease on 265,000 square feet for 10 years at an estimated aggregate rent of $53 million, by far the biggest deal of its kind in metro Atlanta in the last five years, according to local brokers.

.

BOSTON

Commercial

Washington Street, South End’s main drag, has seen considerable revitalization in recent years. This past month, construction got underway on the street for Gateway Terrace, a $60 million condominium loft project to be completed by the end of 2005. Seventy of the 133 units sold before the first brick was laid. A major redevelopment push over the last six years has led to about $500 million in public and private investment in housing, parking, retail, streetscape, parks, and an elementary school along a 1.4-mile stretch from the Massachusetts Turnpike to Melnea Cass Boulevard. Except for the South Boston Waterfront, the city has directed the highest amount of development money into this corridor, according to experts.

Residential

Massachusetts has experienced robust growth in high-end home sales, despite the state’s slow economic recovery and steadily declining employment rate. Fifty single-family homes sold for $2.5 million or more before the end of the first quarter, representing a significant increase from the 20 luxury units sold during the same three months of last year, according to MLS Property Information Network.

.

CHICAGO

Commercial

The far southwest suburbs have emerged in the past two years as the hottest retail development corridor around Chicago. By the U.S. Census Bureau’s reckoning, the three fastest-growing towns in Illinois are southwest suburban Romeoville, Oswego and Plainfield. In Oswego, the population has grown six-fold, to 19,000 since 1990. Retailers such as Home Depot, Target, Wal-Mart and Ikea are already there or arriving. Land suitable for retail can still be had for $3 to $5 a square foot, compared with $4 to $6 in the northwest suburbs. The lower price can add an extra 10 percent to profits on a finished project, developers say.

Residential

Low mortgage rates have home prices rising swiftly – and fears are multiplying that the housing market will crash when rates rise. But the typical Chicago-area homeowner needn’t worry. While the median home price in the San Diego area rose 94 percent between 1998 and 2003, for example, the median price in Chicago gained just 39 percent. The median home price in the city, $229,470, will keep climbing – albeit at a slower rate – even if the local 30-year mortgage rate rises to 7% from its current 5.4%, according to a forecast by Fidelity National Financial.

.

DETROIT

Commercial

A pair of high-profile business closings in Sterling Heights has the city’s leaders taking a closer look at how they can keep retail spaces filled – and even whether some of those buildings should continue to be used for commercial purposes. But city planner Don Mendes said Detroit has a 13 percent commercial vacancy rate, calling it one of the lowest in the area. It is substantially below the national average of 16.3 percent cited in a third-quarter survey by Colliers International.

.

MIAMI

Commercial/Residential

The Related Group plans to build a 1,000-unit condominium project on Miami’s Brickell Avenue, a venture that could test both the draw of downtown living and the endurance of South Florida’s frenzied real estate market. All 1,000 units would come to market at the same time, and analysts are warning of a potential glut from the crush of condo projects. Miami’s Downtown Development Authority said there are about 10,000 residential units planned for Brickell, downtown Miami and the area near the new performing arts center, with most slated to open by 2006.

Residential

One Florida county is among the top 10 fastest-growing counties in the nation: Flagler County, where one in five people are a new resident since 2000. The tiny beachfront county, sandwiched between Jacksonville and Daytona Beach, saw its population mushroom by 12,374 to 62,206 – a 24 percent increase from 2000 to 2003.

Commercial

The scarcity of developable land has forced developers in South Florida to turn to mixed-use designs in order to justify exorbitant land costs. Developers are finding that residential components drive up a project’s value, as well as allow residents to live, work and play in one location. Recent projects include K-Group Holdings’ Metropica in Sunrise and WestCity Partners’ Villages of Plantation.

.

LOS ANGELES

Commercial

Culver Studios, where such films as “Citizen Kane” and television classics such as “Lassie” were filmed, has been sold to a private investment group for $125 million. Sony Pictures Entertainment has owned the 17 acres of back-lot sets and soundstages since 1991, and will continue to own its nearby lot. The buyers, known as Studio City Los Angeles, include Lehman Brothers, Pacific Coast Capital partners and Pacifica Ventures.

Residential

About a quarter of California’s housing stock currently consists of developments ruled by private homeowners associations, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. The number of these developments has risen exponentially over the last 40 years, with more than three million housing units now belonging to such communities, with a high concentration in the Sacramento and San Diego area.

.

PHILADELPHIA

Commercial

In a city that has a reputation as a difficult, pricey place for doing business, the Keystone Opportunity Zone program has won some big fans. The tax-incentive program has been credited with saving or creating thousands of jobs in the state since 1999. This year, the agency administering the program attributed 17,614 jobs statewide to the program.

Commercial/Residential

A Santa Rosa lender has set its sights on turning the cavernous Mission Armory into a 207-unit condominium complex. Bar K LLC, the lender and owner of the Armory, is about to submit plans to the city for a residential project that would include a striking doughnut-shaped structure within the huge brick edifice. During San Francisco’s dot-com boom, developer Eikon of Dallas ran into some of the fiercest neighborhood opposition anywhere in the city when the company proposed creating 300,000 square feet of office space at the Armory, which was built in 1912 and has been empty since 1970. It was defeated on grounds that the working-class Mission neighborhood would be instantly gentrified by hundreds of well-paid tech workers.

.

SEATTLE

Residential

Single-family property sales rose 23.5 percent in King County during the year-over-year period ended in March. In Seattle, the metropolitan center of the county, first-time buyers must fork over close to $350,000 for an entry-level home or look elsewhere, according to brokers. Active listings slipped during the year-on-year period from 28,708 to 23,971.

Commercial

Seattle area retail appears to be healthy compared to the weak office sector. At the end of 2003, about 1.1 million square feet of retail space was under construction in the Puget Sound area. Nearly half of that space – 453,000 square feet – consisted of the expansion of the Alderwood and Everett malls north of Seattle. At year’s end, the retail vacancy rate was at 6.2 percent.

.

WASHINGTON D.C.

Residential

Thanks to housing shortages brought on by increasingly severe development restrictions in central and northern Virginia, many people who work in Washington, D.C., are moving to West Virginia. As a result, there’s a market boom in West Virginia’s “panhandle,” the narrow area sandwiched between Virginia and Maryland. Prices there continue to skyrocket. The average home price in Jefferson County, the county closest to Washington, D.C., has risen from $123,000 in 1999 to $215,000 in 2003, a 75 percent increase, according to brokers. During 2003, the average home price increased by 12.5 percent. In Berkley County, the next county over, the average price has risen 56 percent, from $94,900 in 1999 to $147,795 in 2003. In 2003, the average price increased by 16.5 percent. In addition to the absence of no-growth restrictions, homebuyers are attracted to West Virginia by the fact that the state’s property taxes are one-third of those in Virginia and Maryland. The panhandle is a 90-minute commute from both Washington, D.C. and Baltimore.

Central Park views are among the priciest in the city – unless you’re talking about the views from Central Park North, which has long been cast in the role of poor relation to the park’s other, swankier peripheries to the east, south and west.

But that’s starting to change, as more middle-class buyers and renters converge on Central Park North, enjoying large spaces and views of both the park and midtown for prices that are a fraction of those paid by their neighbors across the green, brokers say.

“Until the past few years, there was still a stigma to the area,” said Stephen Kliegerman, director of project marketing at Halstead Property. The firm recently handled the conversion of the Washington Irving mansion on the corner of 112th Street into 133 high-end condos.

“Now rents on Central Park North are much closer to regular parkside,” Kliegerman said.

Of course, there is still a long way to go before prices on the northern side of the park catch up to Central Park South and the prime real estate along Fifth Avenue and Central Park West.

Kliegerman said space on Central Park South costs about two-and-a-half times as much as space on the northern end of the park. But five years ago, the difference between north and south was closer to a 5-to-1 ratio.

Even a year ago, space on Central Park North went for about $425 a square foot, though it is now up to about $525 or $600 a square foot, said Tony Oakley, a vice president at the Corcoran Group. Oakley and business partner Larry Comroe, also a vice president at Corcoran, are handling the sale of 16 apartments on West 117th St. Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.

An indication of how much the neighborhood at the top of the park has changed is the fact that every one of those condos starts at over a $1 million, Oakley said.

He said the neighborhood’s transformation began with Harlem townhouses, which became destination for frustrated would-be buyers to the west.

“The real job happened with the townhouse market,” he said. “People who were losing out on condos in the Upper West Side began moving into Harlem to get more space for the money.”

Now, it’s spread to apartment buildings, including condo conversions and rental buildings in which apartments are renovated one by one, Oakley said. “As the older tenants move out, landlords have been upgrading,” he said.

The area has convenient access to a number of subway lines, including the B and C trains on the park’s northwest corner, the 2 and 3 trains in the middle of the park and the 4, 5 and 6 lines to the east. The neighborhood is seeing more coffee shops, bakeries and local shops open as it becomes more desirable, he said.

“The area has been gentrified,” Kliegerman agreed. “As New York continues to prosper, neighborhoods that have not are starting to catch up to the rest of the market.”

New York’s property tax delinquency rate increased by 50 percent last year, according to a new report issued by the city finance department.

The number of delinquent Class One parcels at the end of fiscal year 2003 doubled to 137,578, and the amount owed increased 16 percent to $62.9 million.

Similarly, the number of delinquent Class II condominiums – where apartment owners are responsible for their own taxes – increased from 8,840 in 2002 to 15,688 in 2003, going from a 3.3 percent delinquency rate to 4.6 percent. Another 3,000 condos in Class One were also delinquent, versus 1,907 the year before.

“It’s a perfect example of the effects of the 18.5 percent property tax increase and the hardship it entails, and why we are looking to roll it back,” said City Councilman David Weprin, who heads the Council Finance Committee. “People find it hard to make ends meet.”

Department of Finance spokesperson Sam Miller blames the uptick in homeowner delinquency on a mid-fiscal year rebilling and a rate increase in the same bill. “It’s confusion, not hardship,” Miller said, adding, “The amounts are also small.”

Class One delinquencies, Miller said, totaled 127,581 on March 31, 2003, while 81,453 owed money on March 31, 2004. These numbers were not available in the report, which covered the fiscal year from July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2003.

Delinquency rates went down for the other tax classes, Miller said.

An 18.5 percent across the board tax increase became effective last year, and the administration is now seeking a $400 rebate that would need approval in Albany. The council is seeking a 2 percent rollback in the tax rate for all taxpayers.

The increase in non-payment also follows a 13.59 percent increase in the market values of the individual homes – the most of any kind of city property – and a 4.91 percent increase in taxes due.

The taxes on these properties are capped by legislative mandate at no more than 5 percent per year, or 20 percent in any five-year period.

The Annual Report on New York City Property Tax 2004 states, “Housing sales data for the first half of calendar year 2003 indicate a continued increase in home values throughout the city. Median prices in the second quarter of 2003 for single-family homes grew by 15 percent compared to the same period in the previous year.” Condominium market values also increased by 11.6 percent.

Statistics from real estate firms continue to show escalating sales prices.

Weprin said his own home’s market value went up 30 percent last year, and his taxes rose as well.

“These finance statistics support the fact that [the tax increase] was hard, and supports the attempt to roll it back,” Weprin added.

While homes comprise 49.9 percent of the full market value of all city property, they still pay less than apartment buildings and commercial properties. In fiscal year 2004, homes picked up 14.9 percent of the entire $98.6 billion tax levy, versus 11.29 percent the year before.

Class One’s share of the tax levy has also doubled since 1991, while its tax rate rose from $9.92 to $14.55 per $100 of assessed value.

These increases have combined to put extraordinary pressure on long-time homeowners and seniors whose mortgages are paid off, taking the lenders out of the loop of ensuring the taxes are paid.

Also, those on fixed incomes and social security have not seen their incomes rise at the same pace as rising taxes, and are essentially house-poor.

An administrative glitch at the finance department also makes it difficult for people making coupon payments to pay the correct amount for the second half of the tax year.

Finance continues to send out four printed payment coupons in June, even though the tax rate and bills typically change for the January and April payments. Those using these last two coupons and not the newly minted December bills will either over- or underpay, depending on their tax class and the tax year.

When it comes to the far West Side’s redevelopment, the numbers and stakes are big. Daniel Doctoroff, New York’s deputy mayor for economic development and rebuilding, says the city sees potential for close to 30 million square feet of commercial space and 12 million square feet of residential space over the next 40 years. All that would be alongside a new Jets stadium and an expanded Jacob K. Javits Center.

The office and residential space would be vital to the area’s survival, according to the city’s financing plan. Much of the needed infrastructure improvements would be paid for by that development through payments in lieu of taxes, known as “pilots.” Pilots would raise $7.2 billion to pay to extend the No. 7 subway line to 11th Avenue, create a platform for a park and new buildings and a street network for rezoning. This $2.8 billion infrastructure would be the basis for future development, and the new tax revenue generated in the 59-block district would remain there, making it financially self-supporting.

But the question about whether the far West Side offices and residential development actually pays for itself ignites debate. Supporters see nothing but potential for an underutilized area. “This isn’t upgrading Jersey City,” said Kathryn S. Wylde, president and chief executive officer of the Partnership for New York City, a business group. “There is significantly more potential value on this site.”

Even if demand for offices proves weak, Wylde said the land has value for residential development. By using the new tax revenue to pay for the area’s infrastructure upgrades, Wylde said this makes it private sector funded. “It’s the only way to do it. We aren’t in a financial situation to do it any other way.”

Critics say otherwise. They say demand is soft now for office space, meaning there’s no need for a huge expansion of midtown. Keeping taxes in the area only hurts other parts of the city that need that money. “You cannot create a central business district by government fiat. There is no market,” said Brian Hatch, who runs a website, www.newyorkgames.org, and supports getting the Olympics to Queens, not Manhattan.

While there may be some demand for office space on the far West Side, critics say it’s mostly for Class B space. “That is not to say there is not demand on the West Side,” said John Fisher, spokesman for the West Side Coalition, an umbrella group opposed to the mayor’s West Side plans. “But how much demand? And how does that demand fit into the region?”

Initially, the idea was to use something called Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for pay for the far West Side infrastructure improvements. Under TIF, the property taxes are frozen and the growth in revenue of taxes stays within the designated redevelopment area. But that plan was switched more than six months ago to pilots, which critics say keeps even more tax revenue in the area. City Hall wants to make the project’s bonds attractive and keep them from “junk” status. Neither TIF nor pilot-backed bonds have ever been sold by New York City.

Robin Prunty, director of the public finance department for Standard & Poor’s, said it’s common to use TIF for projects that are “future growth oriented and there is a limited area that is benefiting from the improvements that are being put in.” Whether the bonds will be junk status depends on how the city structures it, but the TIF bonds are generally less credit worthy.

Between 2005 and 2035, $16.2 billion in revenue would be generated from other sources besides the $7.2 billion in pilots, according to the city’s plan. There would be $5.4 billion in residential property taxes, $1.7 billion from on and off-site developments rights through the platform atop the Long Island Rail Road yards east of 11th Avenue, $111 million from land sales and ground leases, $1.3 billion in bonus density payments and $415 million in payment in lieu of sales taxes. During the early part of the project, short-term debt in the form of commercial paper would fund interest payments.

Doctoroff’s office could not be reached for this article, but he is busy selling the project to investment houses. If he is successful, other parts of the city might see TIF-style arrangements to fund upgrades. “I think it’s really an important step forward in how the city approaches development,” said Wylde.

If you can’t sit still, love talking on the phone, meeting new people, networking, and juggling 20 tasks at once, you might have attention deficit disorder, also known as ADD. Believe it or not, real estate can be a great career for you.

Of course, having a straight or queer eye for architecture, fashion, spatial relationships and synergies helps.

It also helps to know math – but that’s what calculators and assistants were made for.

People affected by ADD recognize the flexibility of working on real estate deals, financings, construction projects and leases, which makes for a more enjoyable career than sitting at a desk all day.

There are times you have to do that, too, though.

But if you can’t sit still for long – get up and take your mobile phone and sit in the park. Bring your WiFi-enabled laptop, a Blackberry or what have you. Keep on working your leads, and making decisions – even if you have to sit through a luncheon or keynote meeting speaker.

Television superstar and real estate billionaire Donald J. Trump says no one ever told him he had ADD – but admits he probably has it. “I can understand that [a lot of people in real estate have it]. I probably do, but I didn t know it,” he says.

One prominent leasing broker says he figured out he must have ADD when his son was diagnosed with the disorder by a doctor. “When I was a child, they labeled it different things,” he recalls. “Clearly I had to work harder at school and was never an A student. It was hard to sit still and focus on doing my work.”

To overcome those potential handicaps, he became a people person.

“I’ve had compassion and understanding and been listening and solving problems since I was 10 years old. Now I solve clients’ problems,” he says.

Those with ADD have difficulty focusing on one thing at a time, but once the condition is understood, it becomes an advantage, since most sufferers multitask very well.

“I turn the impulsivity into drive and energy to tasks that I can accomplish for my clients,” explains the broker.

Since he also lacks the confidence he believes would automatically come along with an MBA from Harvard, a credential some of his competitors can claim, he says he strives to do his due diligence and be complete in his presentations.

“Not having the academic success gives me the drive to be successful,” he says.

CEOs from companies like Cisco, Jet Blue, and even Charles Schwab have recognized they have learning difficulties to overcome. When they have to give public speeches they rehearse and practice them well beyond what other chief executives would do. Cisco’s John Chambers is a visual thinker who warns his staff that if they can’t make it simple, he won’t understand it. They want an executive summary where less is more.

Another owner-investor also hasn’t been formally diagnosed with ADD, but recognizes he would likely be told that today. His child was recently diagnosed with a similar condition.

“We all tend to be bouncing around from deal to deal and I see my child having issues that probably come from me,” he says. “I work hard on focusing on what I need to get done.”

This owner says he was not an A student like his siblings but a B-minus student who just wanted to get out and work — and did that successfully.

To focus, he makes lists of things that need to get done and keeps updating the list. “To stay focused I consciously tell myself I can’t start one item until I finish another,” he says. Otherwise, he knows he would indulge his tendency to jump from item to item. “I have conditioned myself to focus and stay on the project.”

Many folks with ADD get bored easily and so enjoy the constant challenge of the next real estate deal with its individual permutations. Some may need a structured environment while others enjoy the entrepreneurial challenges and constant deadlines.

Legal medications targeted to ADD also help keep executives focused without the risks associated with self-medication from drugs such as nicotine, marijuana or alcohol. Medical research documents that many affected teenagers explore these options before they are properly diagnosed.

In 1995, as New York City struggled to recover from the recession that swept through the markets earlier in the decade, the commercial real estate world waited to learn the outcome of two signal events.

The first was the acquisition of Rockefeller Center’s landmark complex, and the disposition of the Olympia & York portfolio. Both involved bankruptcy courts, and each was resolved, despite fierce struggles, to some satisfaction. And each site, under its new ownership – Tishman Speyer and Goldman Sachs at Rockefeller Center, and Brookfield Properties with the core of the O&Y empire, the World Financial Center- played a major role in the subsequent resurgence of New York real estate.

As I write in late April, the city awaits the outcome of another property/courtroom drama, this one in a jury trial in state court: The infamous “One Event or Two” battle between Silverstein Properties and the insurers of the World Trade Center. As you read this in early May, it is more than likely that the jury has returned its verdict. One or Two – besides the not insubstantial sum of $3.6 billion – what difference will it make?

A fascinating one. Commercial landlords across the city have to be feeling torn. Of course, they want to see their colleague Larry Silverstein emerge triumphant, a warrior hero with an unfathomable bundle of cash in hand.

If he does, then they smell trouble. With the Downtown office market barely emerging from intensive care, and Midtown just beginning to see the light of equilibrium at the end of the dark shadow-space tunnel, the prospect of a developer with such a bundle of cash in hand still means only one thing: more building, regardless of interest rates or inflation fears. Why, Silverstein just might manage to replace the Twin Towers’ lost 10 million square feet by the end of the decade.

That prospect, however, will have tenant reps and end users chortling and chomping at the bit to start lease negotiations – but not to end them. Meanwhile, downtown could experience a renewal of its long-gone cachet as a center of wealth and power. It will have the best and brightest transportation in the city, thousands of new residential units, a waterfront under revitalization and resplendent retail.

And the new office buildings could create what we’ll call the Chicago effect. That’s what happens when major tenants decline to move anywhere but into a brand-new, efficient, secure and state-of-the-art office building and thus leave large gaps among existing buildings in a market with little growth potential.

Of course, there’s always the other scenario. The insurers carry the day, and downtown renewal proceeds at a less hurried pace. Freedom Tower (I love freedom, but I cringe at that politically motivated moniker – might I suggest French Tower?) is built and occupied. Seven World Trade, too, rises on schedule.

And then, perhaps, instead of just building something because we can spend the money, we’ll have time to see what we really need to build to help New York City move forward at its very best.

Despite the Bush administration’s retreat on mortgage settlement reforms, any home buyer who wants a guaranteed, fixed-cost loan can easily find one.

That’s because all the major lenders who currently offer “packaged” mortgage deals say they don’t intend to pull back their fixed-fee programs for home buyers, no matter what the federal government does.

The Bush administration’s move last month – under heavy congressional pressure – essentially delayed or killed proposed federal standards for lender-guaranteed mortgage settlement costs. The proposals would have set national standards for guaranteed mortgage packages (GMPs). With a GMP, a lender quotes not only an interest rate, but a fixed-cost, bottom line number for all origination and settlement-related charges for the mortgage.

That is in stark contrast to today’s predominant practice of quoting rates but giving only “good faith estimates” of origination and settlement fees.

Frequently, home buyers find the estimates to be far off the mark when they get to the settlement stage. Lenders and title companies are free to tack on whatever additional fees they care to at settlement, with no legal recourse for consumers stuck with hundreds or thousands of dollars of unexpected, last-minute closing expenses.

Under the GMP approach, by contrast, home buyers could shop and compare rates and guaranteed closing expenses from lender to lender. Lender A, for instance, might quote a 5.5 percent rate on the mortgage and $2,800 in guaranteed closing fees. Lender B might quote the identical rate, but cut the guaranteed closing costs to $2,300. With the federal standards defining the rules of the game, consumers would know precisely what services were covered by the guaranteed prices, and could therefore shop and compare competing loan deals intelligently and with confidence.

The Bush proposal may be revived later this year, but home buyers – and their professional advisers – need not wait for the federal standards. Fixed-fee packages are a fast-growing concept in the marketplace, even without government intervention. Consider these facts:

* GMAC Mortgage Group, the home lending subsidiary of General Motors, says it has closed over $60 billion in guaranteed fee packages, much of it through its Ditech.com unit that advertises heavily on cable TV. Ditech offers a $395 “flat fee” mortgage package, plus a zero-cost “rolldown” package and other fixed-fee options. Some of the package plans include slightly higher interest rates, allowing the home buyer to finance a fixed-cost package of settlement expenses over the term of the loan. The company says the Bush administration’s pullback of its GMP reform proposal will have no effect on its packaged offerings.

* ABN-Amro Mortgage, another of the country’s highest-volume loan originators, says it has closed over 175,000 ($25 billion) of its “OneFee” packaged home mortgages during the past 18 months alone. Senior vice president Garth Graham says that although his firm “welcomed” the Bush proposals for setting national standards, their absence in the marketplace does not affect consumer demand for fixed-fee mortgages.

* E-Trade Financial, E-Loan and Greenlight Loans, among others, all offer packaged mortgage deals.

* Local title and settlement agencies are joining with local mortgage companies to offer customized fixed-fee loan packages. Example: A McLean, Va.-based title agency, Monarch Title, has joined with First Savings Mortgage to offer a guaranteed-price home buyer package it calls “the Edge.” The program even provides credits averaging $1,200 back to buyers who sign up for the loan, title and settlement features.

The bottom line here? Fixed-fee mortgage packages are out there for home buyers already. There’s no need to wait for the feds – and certainly not Congress – to bestow their blessings.

–

Ken Harney is a real estate columnist for The Washington Post.

You can call them liar loans. You can call them NINAs. But whatever you call them, two of the country’s largest private mortgage insurers have their own word for them: trouble.

NINA is the lending industry’s acronym for No Income, No Asset verification home mortgages – a fast-growing segment of the frothing real estate market of the past three years.

NINAs are the ultimate form of “limited documentation” lending. You basically show nothing. In exchange for an interest rate that may be anywhere from 1 1/2 percent to 3 percent above the going market rate, the lender asks for almost no personal information about you at application.

You write down your name, the address of the property you’re buying and allow the lender to check your credit score. You don’t have to prove you hold a job, earn income or pay taxes. You don’t even need to prove that you have a bank account or own any assets.

Some large banks that offer NINAs to high-income customers seeking maximum privacy require high FICO (Fair Isaac) credit scores and substantial down payments as conditions for making the loans. But some mortgage brokers and bankers offer NINAs to home buyers with spotty credit and as little as 5 percent down. Virtually all NINAs with down payments less than 20 percent require private mortgage insurance to protect the lender against costly defaults. But now, the two biggest providers of mortgage insurance on NINAs say they are either suspending or sharply cutting back their activities.

“We have informed our customers that it is our intention no longer to insure (NINAs) in the near future,” said Kurt Smith, vice president of risk management for United Guaranty Residential Insurance Co. The CEO of a second prominent underwriter, Curt S. Culver of Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp., said his firm is also limiting its appetite for new NINAs.

The reason in both cases: Too often, NINAs turn out to be liar loans indeed. Smith said that as of the end of 2003, delinquency rates on NINAs were five to six times that of other, full-disclosure home mortgages insured by his company. Even NINA applicants with high FICO scores are poor risks. NINA borrowers whose applications indicated they had cream-puff FICO scores of 740 or higher turn out to be 12 times more likely to default than full-doc applicants with 740-plus FICOs.

Worse yet, a case-by-case investigation by United Guaranty of a sample of NINA home buyers who defaulted in the first 12 months of their mortgages found that roughly 90 percent of the loan officers involved knew that the applicants were not financially qualified to handle the monthly payments, said Smith.

A spokeswoman for United, Liz Urquhart, said high default rates on NINAs are not just a problem for the mortgage insurers out thousands of dollars in claims.

“The borrowers themselves are also hurt,” she said, especially “when they’ve been steered to complete transactions they don’t understand and don’t qualify for.” United Guaranty’s research documented that NINAs sometimes were used by unscrupulous loan officers who put home buyers into properties far beyond their economic means. Other common situations included identity thieves buying homes by using their victims’ names and Social Security numbers.

None of this surprises experienced mortgage brokers such as Paul Skeens of Carteret Mortgage Co. in Waldorf, Md.

“NINAs are bad news,” said Skeens. When they involve low down payments, “the only reason why anyone would want to pay a higher rate to hide their true income and assets is that they’re not sufficient to qualify them” for the mortgage needed to buy the house. If the realty agent and the loan officer know the client isn’t qualified, but go for a NINA to close the deal and reap their fees, “that is really abusive,” said Skeens.

The bottom line on NINAs? If you want the cloak of financial privacy and you’ve got excellent credit scores and a solid income, a NINA may work for you, provided you’re willing to pay the higher price. But why not

consider some other form of limited-doc loan, such as a “stated income” mortgage that allows the lender to verify your assets but not require W-2s or tax returns?

Most stated-income mortgages have lower rates than NINAs, and work well for self-employed individuals who prefer not to spread years worth of company and personal tax returns in front of the eyes of strangers.

—

Ken Harney is a real estate columnist for The Washington Post

Office space in New York may not be a bargain compared to Jersey City or Stamford, but compared to some world capitals, the Big Apple offers more bang for the buck.

Despite a global decline in high-end office rents, prices are still steep in the best parts of the best towns, according to Cushman & Wakefield s 2004 survey of global business space.

New York ranked fourth on the list at $84.82 a square foot, slightly more than half of rates in London, the world s most expensive city.

The study looked at rents in the most expensive areas of each city. In New York, that meant Midtown. In London, space goes for $164.70 a square foot in the posh Mayfair district.

Paris, at $105.78 a square foot, overtook Tokyo this year for the No. 2 spot. At $91.33 a square foot, Tokyo has fallen to the third-priciest slot. New York is number four, and proud.

“New York is highly competitive on the global stage, which makes it a great place to do business for international companies,” said Bruce Mosler, president of U.S. operations at Cushman & Wakefield.

“Generally speaking, rents have come down in New York,” said Robert Bach, national director of market analysis for Grubb & Ellis. But rents in Asian markets are even more depressed, he said.

The Cushman & Wakefield survey bears out that conclusion; Tokyo dropped down one place, Seoul fell from 11th to 13th and Hong Kong went from 12th to 17th.

“Some Asian markets were hit a bit harder – there has been more turmoil,” Bach said, referring to the Chinese takeover of Hong Kong and SARS, combined with the general worldwide economic downturn. “And Tokyo has been flat on its back for the last 10 years.”

But the Cushman & Wakefield report sees signs that the market is coming back – both here and abroad.

“The worst is behind us as the early signs of economic recovery and more upbeat business sentiment filter through to the world s key office markets,” said David Hutchings, head of research for Cushman & Wakefield s European operations.

Overall, rents fell by an average of 3 percent worldwide between 2003 and 2004, the survey found. That s an improvement from the 7 percent decrease the year before.

“As the business environment continues to improve, it will take time for rents to increase,” Hutchings said.

Research from Grubb & Ellis comes to the same upbeat conclusion. Its most recent global forecast said: “Most office markets around the globe have stabilized as 2003 draws to a close.”