This Week in Comments

Bedbugs cause panic among dwellers
Co-op and condo owners should develop a better way of handling the problem as they are causing it to spread by “not reporting” their infestations. It is a whispered topic here in Bay Ridge and in an attempt to protect property values they are allowing the critters to jump on your laundry basket for a ride up to your apartment when you use the washer in the communal laundry room.

Gwathmey’s best recent work in New York: Soho Mews
It’s a failed project because of timing, not because of anything Gwathmey or the developer did. The developer probably paid too much to construct the building and did not want to take a loss to get more apartments sold early on. The lender will reduce prices once they foreclose on the project. The apartments will all sell at the right price.

How will inflation affect the New York City real estate market going forward?
1. When inflation finally arrives there will be no added value left for real estate. Carrying costs in New York City are too high and there is no way that new investors — residential and commercial — will enter into this market at the current prices/rent/carrying costs/maintenance/taxes. Large investors will probably have to liquidate their portfolios at some point. We’ll probably see foreign buyers buying what they like at the price they want.
2. I don’t see any inflation coming for the next several years. First you will have to have high demand and spending to create inflation. If the dollar keeps on getting weaker and if interest rates remain low then I believe real estate, along with other products, will be more expensive. However, if the government or the market starts increasing rates then it’s going to be more expensive to purchase a house and the values will most likely stay flat or go down.

Home prices show marked improvement
Ridiculous statistics. We’re going to see at least another 10 percent drop before this is over.

Spanish investor pays $1,700 per square foot in Flatiron District
I think a lot of these foreign buyers are just buying in New York City for vanity purposes, and because they have too much money laying around. Few of them have very good grasps of the local market or where its headed.

Broker creates $22.5M six-unit listing in FiDi
FiDi is definitely growing as a neighborhood, in both population and appeal, but this might be too early for this type of deal.

With unofficial tax credit deadline tomorrow, Manhattanites shrug
[The] $8,000 tax break is not a big help to New Yorkers who want to buy. The tax break needs to scale with [the] price of property and current estate taxes per state.

Connecticut auction postponed
Postponed equals not enough interested buyers.