Brooklyn beckons in New York property war

Flourishing across the East River are tempting homebuyers - and expats in particular - away from their former favourite area. And it is not only the prices that are drawing them, but a cultural vibrancy that the city's central borough has lost.

While the rest of the country has experienced a drop in property prices, the city's market has defied its many Jeremiahs by staying buoyant.

As recently as August, when the sub-prime mortgage crisis was already making daily headlines, the New York Times property supplement ran a banner headline proclaiming "The Manhattan Real Estate Slump that Wasn't".

Manhattan Real Estate Takes A Dip

The notion that troubles on Wall Street are starting to filter out to the broader New York City economy got a boost this morning when a real estate group released its latest rental market report showing that all average apartment rents decreased in October. The downturn in rents was most sharply felt in doorman one and two bedroom units, according to The Real Estate Group which released the report.

This marks the first time this year that average rents in Manhattan decreased. But tell your studio-dwelling friends not to get too excited—rents for studios remain stable.

Apollo Real Estate devours more Big Apple housing

Pretty soon the words "affordable housing" will vanish from the New York City real estate vocabulary. That's because companies such as Apollo Real Estate Advisors have been acquiring affordable housing rentals in New York City with the intent of sprucing them up and working within the laws to push rents as quickly as possible so they can generate more from their investments or prepare the property for another sale. The New York-based real estate fund manager added another affordable development, the 1,590-unit complex known as Knickerbocker Village in Manhattan's downtown area near the South Street Seaport, for about $200 million, according to TheRealDeal.

A Shift in Momentum: Harlem's Real Estate Bubble Bursting at the Seams

There is a common misconception in the news media that Harlem's economic value has plummeted. In reality, investors who have purchased properties in this area have enjoyed huge profits from the properties they have picked up.

Harlem still has a lot to offer investors who seek advice from the right people. One of the "right people" is Sean Cohane, an innovative commercial real estate agent that has made a name for himself and his company (Marcus and Millichap, the biggest commercial real estate company in the nation).

PKA dives into real estate

DENMARK - Pensionskassernes Administration (PKA) has committed DKK400m (US$75m) to a real estate project in Manhattan, New York. PKA will participate in the regeneration and subsequent rental of Peter Cooper Village/Stuyvesant Town, purchased in a joint venture between BlackRock and Tishman Speyer Properties for US$5.4bn a year ago.
Nikolaj Stampes, head of real estate at PKA, told Global Pensions: “We didn’t set out to invest in the US, but as we are opportunistic we found this prospect too interesting to let go.”

Why Fat-Cat Foreigners Are Buying Up Manhattan

Attributed partially to the weakening dollar and the strengthening euro, pound and peso, sales are further bolstered by the multiplicity of property choices New York City has to offer foreigners. "Anything you want is being built, and much of what will be sold over the next few months doesn't even exist yet," Sloane adds. And one of the most sought-after real estate options, historically renovated condos, have carved out a comfy niche in the city's foreign-buyer market. Americans are not as secure in their jobs, and company bonuses, which drive the real estate market from Dec. 1 to March 15, are declining, says Sloane. "People in general are reticent about over investing in anything."

Manhattan real estate bubble hasn't burst

Whether it was square footage or median prices, the housing bubble has not burst for Manhattan as it has for the rest of the region, according to third-quarter reports compiled separately by three big-name real estate firms. A combination of lower inventory, new condos coming onto the market and the borough's strong economy have led to a record-setting year, according to data released by The Corcoran Group, Prudential Douglas Elliman and Brown Harris Stevens. Each firm has slightly different numbers, depending on how much proprietary information they were able to obtain, but estimates on the percentage increase went up by as much as 12 percent from a year ago.