Liebman says 30% cuts make sales
May 15, 2009 12:50PM By Adam Pincus
Left to right: Jared Kushner, Tom Acitelli, Ivanka Trump, Pamela Liebman, Dottie Herman, Jonathan Miller (Source: Dan Marino)
Residential apartment buyers want prices to be nearly one-third off the market's high mark to convince them to go into contract, Pamela Liebman, CEO of the Corcoran Group said at a panel discussion yesterday.
"My brokers are telling me, 'The way I am making deals right now is if I can prove to the buyer that this apartment [is] actually selling for 30 percent less than it sold at the height of the market,'" she said.
Liebman said price cuts and new product releases are driving buyers to look at apartments, in a market where prices are generally considered to be down an average 20 percent.
Liebman spoke on a panel that was part of a residential real estate event called Observer Living, hosted by the New York Observer in Soho last night.
The panel also included Ivanka Trump, executive vice president of development and acquisitions at the Trump Organization; Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel; and Dottie Herman, president and CEO of brokerage Prudential Douglas Elliman. The panel, one of three during the event, was moderated by Observer senior editor Tom Acitelli.
Trump said despite the weak market and the offers at steep discounts, buyers' expectations of extreme price cuts are fading.
"I am sure everyone sitting up here has received a plethora of 50-percent-off offers by sort of 'predatory buyers' who thought that every seller was distressed," she said, but added that such offers were on the decline.
The market would continue to retreat, though, said Miller.
"We are well over half way in terms of what we have seen in terms of price decline. But I don't think we are saying right now we are at the bottom," he said.
Miller said the relatively looser lending standards for conforming loans have pushed up the relative number of new homebuyers.
"Fifty percent of all purchases, as best as we can tell, appear to be first-time buyers," Miller said.
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Comments
Anonymous
Next time they need to hold Observer Living in the winter. There's enough hot air in there to heat Manhattan for five months.
Comment #1 Posted By: Anonymous 05/15/09
Anonymous
Who would believe anything that Ivanka Trump (second generation snake oil salesperson) says. Ask her if they've sold any condotels in Trump Soho over the last two years. The answer is they have not! So what does she know about what people are buying.
Comment #2 Posted By: Anonymous 05/15/09
Anonymous
#2 you are so right!!!!
Comment #3 Posted By: Anonymous 05/15/09
Anonymous
The fact is that Ivanka is part of one of the country's largest development companies. If you don't think they have better data in to the market than you average joe, then you will be sold snakeoil.
Comment #4 Posted By: Anonymous 05/15/09
Kent Watch
Speaking of snake oil, where was Kent Swig?
Comment #5 Posted By: Kent Watch 05/15/09
Anonymous
The Trumps go bankrupt like I take a dump.
Comment #6 Posted By: Anonymous 05/15/09
Anonymous
#6 you must be very regular!
Comment #7 Posted By: Anonymous 05/15/09
Anonymous
When you suck as a sales person then you need to advised your clients to price em low and watch em go.
Comment #8 Posted By: Anonymous 05/15/09
Kush Camp
Ivanka is all class and sexy as hell. Please no hating on my lady.
Comment #9 Posted By: Kush Camp 05/15/09
Anonymous
NY is in trouble if those are the "experts."
Comment #10 Posted By: Anonymous 05/15/09
Anonymous
The fact is that those people see more residential data than anyone else. Whether they are cheerleaders for the market or not, they do have a lot of info to share.
Comment #11 Posted By: Anonymous 05/15/09
Anonymous
Another fact is that, in most areas outside of NYC, "regular" real estate agents have as much data as any of the above, on a daily basis, through well-run MLS's. The info that they're sharing is common fare in ethical areas- not sure they'd understand that.
Comment #12 Posted By: Anonymous 05/15/09
Anonymous
Who cares what a Trump has to say. They should not be taken seriously. They pollute our society through tacky "reality" television programs and an inflated sense of self confidence due to having money. They are disgusting.
Comment #13 Posted By: Anonymous 05/15/09
Anonymous
"As far as they can tell." I guess that says it all.
Comment #14 Posted By: Anonymous 05/15/09
Anonymous
Sellers: Be aware that Corcoran agents are being counseled by their leader that your property needs a 30% decrease in order to sell. That's the company you want listing your property? Why don't they just provide you with the right price up front, since they "see more residential data than anyone else"- what a bunch of BS.
Comment #15 Posted By: Anonymous 05/15/09
Anonymous
Ivanka gets a pass because she isn't Paris, and could have been. The rest are just losers, so competitive that they completely forget about sellers and buyers- just horrible people in the real estate industry that should be outta here. Give your agents access to data by getting an MLS- except, we don't want consumers to know too much, right? Horrible.
Comment #16 Posted By: Anonymous 05/15/09
Anonymous
in the real estate industry are new hires all vp's
Comment #17 Posted By: Anonymous 05/15/09
Anonymous
Ivanka is just tacky Trump T&A. She just says what she's told to say...blah, blah, blah. I know lots of people in the industry and they all joke about and laugh at the Trumps behind their backs. We all think of them as hucksters.
Comment #18 Posted By: Anonymous 05/15/09
Anonymous
Miller says we are more than half way done with the price decline. However, there have been hardly any foreclosure sales. His comment makes no sense.
Comment #19 Posted By: Anonymous 05/15/09
Anonymous
@#19 This isn't Miami. If you're waiting for foreclosures in Manhattan you're misled.
Comment #20 Posted By: Anonymous 05/15/09
Anonymous
Pamela Liebman says drop your prices. Everyone please listen to pamela Liebman she is the expert she knows more than anyone about real estate.
Comment #21 Posted By: Anonymous 05/16/09
Anonymous
#19 is right, the high level of co-op stock in manhattan will prevent forclosures from being a major issue in Manhattan
Comment #22 Posted By: Anonymous 05/16/09
Anonymous
Pam Liebman holds these panel as completely self servicing advertising. Who cares what they say? Anyone who understands real estate knows we are not at the bottom. So long as unemployment stays where it is or rises prices have not fully corrected. Couple unemployment with tight credit and too much housing inventory and prices must drop more. This is oversimplifying it but in this case it is dead on accurate.
Comment #23 Posted By: Anonymous 05/16/09
Anonymous
You're hugely mistaken about foreclosures in NYC. The banks are now being pressured to release the inventory that they've been hiding (in order to look better during the "stress test") - they do NOT want the gov't to know just how badly they're doing, and how many properties they actually have. They've been hiding stuff for a few years now, but the jig'll be up shortly. They are criminals doctoring books in order to look solvent (which they're not).
Comment #24 Posted By: Anonymous 05/16/09
Anonymous
Rest of world to Manhattan: Just f*cking DIE already.
Comment #25 Posted By: Anonymous 05/16/09
Anonymous
#24 gets my vote for post of the day
Comment #26 Posted By: Anonymous 05/16/09
Anonymous
looks like Liebman finally got that boob job to go with the farrah fawcett hair...
Comment #27 Posted By: Anonymous 05/16/09
Anonymous
Prices always go up. It's a great time to buy. They're not making any more land. Everybody wants to live here. Foreign investors will keep the market going. It's different here!
Comment #28 Posted By: Anonymous 05/16/09
Anonymous
Funny the agent says he has to "prove" the buyer that the apt is 30% less than peak comp. It shows that people assume brokers are liars by default. Anyway, never trust a broker, people, go to steeteasy.com or propertyshark.com to get these info. It will give you some strong argument to counteroffer these bullshiters.
Comment #29 Posted By: Anonymous 05/17/09
Anonymous
#27 Boob job and Farrah Faucet hair cannot ever make Pamela liebman hold a stick up to Ivanka trump. She is one fine woman. Even if her father wasn't the Donald she is one FINE woman.
Comment #30 Posted By: Anonymous 05/17/09
Anonymous
NYC agents are scumbags... What justification for not having an MLS other than being scumbags is there? #20 is an idiot #25 is a classic
Comment #31 Posted By: Anonymous 05/17/09
Anonymous
3rd quarter 2010, adious amigos
Comment #32 Posted By: Anonymous 05/18/09
Anonymous
There's an ad for an agent in the Hamptons that brags that she sells 75% of her own listings. Sellers, that's a 75% lower chance that other agents are bringing in HIGHER offers. These agents are just amazingly uneducated- sellers need to understand real estate, but they are NOT going to understand the horror of these people without doing it themselves. Buyers need to understand that if they just bought from the listing company, they just got ripped off. Get you own representation. An MLS would level the playing field, UNLESS there are board members on the take, facilitating the larger companies, like MLSLI seems to be. REBNY is a classic example of a garbage board, absent an mls.
Comment #33 Posted By: Anonymous 05/18/09
Anonymous
#30 i guess Ivanka is "fine" if you like the street walker look. haven't you seen the billboards of her advertising Trump Casinos in which she is almost naked with her breast implanted boobs hanging out all over the place? would you want your mother, daughter, sister or girlfriend to portray herself that way. i think she's just like her father. a tacky cartoon character.
Comment #34 Posted By: Anonymous 05/18/09
Anonymous
> @#19 This isn't Miami. Yes, it is worse. The source of 30% of their income didn't just get blown up.
Comment #35 Posted By: Anonymous 05/19/09
Anonymous
"The fact is that Ivanka is part of one of the country's largest development companies. If you don't think they have better data in to the market than you average joe, then you will be sold snakeoil." Hmmm... the same development company that has, uh, gone bankrupt 3x and lies about its holdings. Dude, stop drinking the snake oil.
Comment #36 Posted By: Anonymous 05/19/09
Anonymous
If they priced their listings correct in the first place we wouldn't be in this mess. Also, Ivanka Trump is nothing but a image whore put up by her dad to sexualize the RE industry. Have you seen the billboard for Trump's Gaming division with her face as their "new" game face? He's a joke and Trump Soho is completely unsuccessful. OUT THE TRUMPS!
Comment #37 Posted By: Anonymous 05/29/09
Anonymous
With the exception of Jonathon, all of these people no nothing or very little about real estate. Especially Pam and Dottie, who are marketing people. And Jonathon with his bogus absorption rates and hooky dooky trending is seen as a sell-out by most, and just a statistics guy by others. He tows the broker line all the time. I'm disappointed in Jonathon and frightened at the very existence of the remainder of the panel. I mean how do you put Kushner on a real estate panel with a straight face.
Comment #38 Posted By: Anonymous 06/09/09