Chopping millions off prices
March 19, 2009 05:30PM By Candace Taylor
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From the March issue: For the last few years, price seemed almost an afterthought in New York's real estate market, as penthouses and brownstones speedily sold for record-high figures. But since the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the ensuing stock market crash, price cuts have emerged as the single most important factor in home sales. As Halstead Property executive vice president Brian Lewis put it, "properties that are not really keenly priced are utterly ignored by the buyers." But with so few sales having closed since September and the stock market wildly fluctuating, finding the right price is a tall task. "It's just a moving target," said Kathy Braddock, the co-founder of Charles Rutenberg Realty. "Nobody has ever seen a market like this." Nonetheless, a number of New York's top brokers are beginning to crack the code, shepherding deals into contract despite the uncertain market conditions. To do this, they're fearlessly hacking millions of dollars off listing prices, soothing sellers' frayed nerves, and choosing buyers carefully to ensure deals actually make it to the closing table. This month, The Real Deal talked to some of the city's fiercest "closer brokers" to find out how they do it.
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Comments
Anonymous
The listing at 15 CPW that was 'quietly' on the market for $150 million last year will go down in history as the peak of the monopoly money market insanity. What's the chop on that one? 40, 50 mill?
Comment #1 Posted By: Anonymous 03/19/09
Anonymous
Come list your property with me- I'll lie to you at the onset, and chop off millions during our contract, telling you that "the market has changed"...
Comment #2 Posted By: Anonymous 03/19/09
Anonymous
How do they do it? Try overpricing by a few million dollars, say 10 to 16 million, and then quietly float an insider price that does not reflect the true value. I will get you in at 778 Park for 29, full floor, you know it was at 46 last fall! This is a steal at that price! Qualified buyers laugh and offer 13, take it or bye, bye.
Comment #3 Posted By: Anonymous 03/20/09