Green Habits for New York living

Green Habits for New York living.  These are easy to implement green habits that I do.  It's healthy, saves money and helps our earth.

Greenwich Village

Greenwich Village is the area surrounded by 14th Street, Houston Street, 7th Avenue and 4th Avenue/Mercer St.

Today, we know it as the home of New York University, Cooper Union and The New School.  Historically, it's the Bohemian capital and birthplace of the Beat movement.  Mark Twain and Edgar Allen Poe lived in Greenwich Village.  Today, one could imagine being a writer while sipping cappuccino at Caffe Reggio.  In fact, I brought a client there to do exactly that (sip cappuccino) a couple months ago.

Sandy Weill's $88 million apartment @ 15 Central Park West

Sandy Weill's $88 million apartment at 15 Central Park West.

This is what the floorplan looks like.  Mr Weill bought the apt for $44 million in 2007.  Curbed reports that the buyer is fertilizer magnate Dmitry Rybolovlev who is paying the full asking price of $88 million.

Financial District

Financials District, the area of Manhattan south of City Hall excluding Battery park.  My first deal as a real estate agent was in Financial District, at 88 Greenwich St.  An apartment which transacted at what would be considered such a "great deal" now.  Over time, historical transactions always become a great deal as real estate is a time game. 

Surging demand for luxury New York condominiums

 

Strong demand for luxury New York condominiums.  Buyers snapping up pre-construction property as inventory decreases.

250 West Street

2011 is the comeback year for New York luxury property according to the New York Post.

What buyers want in New York real estate

What buyers "want" vs "need" in New York real estate. 

As published by Business Insider, these are the top three things that New York real estate buyers "want" :
1. A light filled apartment (98% of buyers want this)
2. Ample closets 87%
3. Outdoor space 61%

West Village, an oasis of personality

West Village in Manhattan, New York is a charming village full of personality and character.  Maybe that's why many celebrities call West Village home.  It feels like a village, has neighborhood charm and parts of West Village may even make you think you're in an European town.  The photo of the bakery below is example of the village feel of West Village.

 

Better returns than Manhattan property

CNNmoney.com looked at the appreciation of several French wines over the past 25 years and Chateau Lafite Rothschild had the appreciation rates shown below.


One of the few investments (provided you don't drink it) that exceeds the return on Manhattan property.  Now, I am referring to something that provides consistent return, not the volatile hedge fund / bubble property stuff.

紐約地產

紐約地產 - 常見問答集

What's so special about the 30 year fixed rate mortgage

The 30 year fixed mortgage rate was at 3.99% in November, representing a historical low since record keeping began in 1971.  In New York, the low rate has driven up sales transactions but in the US overall, housing is still slow because of concerns over unemployment.


Historical trend of 30 year mortgage since 1971

美國紐約房地産

美國紐約房地産

New York Chinese property agent on Chinese investors

New York chinese property agent on why Chinese investors are flocking to New York property.  The main reasons are overvaluation of property prices in China/Hong Kong and buying in anticipation of children coming to the US for higher education.

The Ritz Carlton

Property and the Ritz Carlton.

This is the Ritz Carlton at Half Moon Bay.  Many years ago, we (wife, mom, cousins)  stayed at the next door Best Western .  Then wandered around and came to this property.  We did not know it was a Ritz Carlton.  The view was spectacular, facing the Pacific Ocean.

A few years later, I went for an interview with Visa which was around the Half Moon Bay area.  Then, drove all the way to Half Moon Bay just to visit the dramatic view again.  Up to that time, never stayed at a Ritz Carlton.

Selecting property agent in New York - 3 simple steps

After leaving the corporate world in 2006, I became a full time property investor in New York during which my partner and I viewed thousands of properties and interacted with a lot of property agents.  Back then, I seldom actually interviewed agents and would just look at properties with any agent as long as the listings they sent me looked OK.

Through experience, I learned that there is a process in selecting a property agents similar to the process of interviewing an employee or financial adviser.  Spending time to properly interview agents and selecting the best fit will save a lot of time, money and ensure a productive experience.

Most people view an agent as a mere salesperson who just needs to send some listings and open doors to properties.  Most don't give much credibility to agents because the thought is that anyone can become a property agent.  That's true in 90% of agent/client interactions.  That's also the reason why most clients don't have a good experience with their agent.

Manhattan, New York property price to rent ratio

Manhattan property price to rent ratio from Manhattan's analysis guru/blogger Jonathan Miller of MillerSamuel.  A price to rent ratio is median price divided by median rental price and this shows how many years' annual rent it takes to buy property at a certain point in time.  The chart shows that the historical price to rent ratio in Manhattan, New York is 16x.  In 3Q'11 it was 25x.



If trends always revert to the mean (go back to normal levels), the current price to rent ratio would have to go down to closer to 16X.  This means either

US 30-year mortgage loan rate below 4%, New York transactions up

US mortgage loan rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.99% last week according to Freddie Mac.  This is the second time in history it fell to below 4%. 

The 30 year fixed mortgage is unique to the US where the mortgage interest rate is fixed for 30 years.  For the mortgage borrower, this is great because the carrying cost of financing a property here in the US is fixed.  While over time, the property price and rental income increases.  In most other countries, the mortgage loan rate is variable, which means it fluctuates with the overall interest rate environment. 

Sunday property preview

Previewed 5 properties for client with partner Susan today.  In between, saw a piano player performing at Washing Square Park and had coffee at this very cool shop, La Colombe where there is no coffee menu.  Just hot or cold coffee. 

Visit us at Castle Avenue Partners

New York property tax discount in new buildings

Property buyers in Manhattan, New York has always discussed the issue of buying in a new building which usually comes with a 421A tax abatement.  The tax abatement basically means for the first 10 years, the new property owner will pay a discounted tax amount.  The tax amount usually increases over 10 years to the full tax amount.

For example, if the full tax amount is $1000 per month, the owner of a new building may pay $100 per month the first two years, $200 per month the next two years etc.

Reasons for investing in New York property

New York is now the #1 ranked destination for global property investment.  Currently Chinese investors are a driver but depending on time period, New York has always had strong demand from foreign property investors.  As a broker interacting with foreign investors on a weekly basis, here are key reasons as to why wealthy individuals globally are investing in New York.

Chinese investors buying New York property

Chinese investors have been aggressively buying up Manhattan New York property in the past year.  I have been interviewed by CNN (Foreigners scoop up U.S. homes), New York Times (China's Wealthy Buying Condo Apartments) and Bloomberg on the topic and thought I'd do a summary of the trend in this blog post.


Overall, there is fear of a double dip in the US economy and the fear is reinforced by current news about the European debt crisis.  China's property market is beginning to slow and it seems there are few safe havens for investment.  Manhattan, New York property may be one of these few safe havens.  Chinese investors observed New York's price stability from the prior recession and view now as a time to enter the New York market while prices are recovering.

New York up 9.3% in Knight Frank's 3Q'11 Global Market Report

Knight Frank's 3Q'11 global prime properties report:



Summary points from Knight Frank's 3Q'11 global prime properties report:
1. Prime properties price growth slowing for the first time since the recession of 2008/2009.  On average, prime property price increased 4.3% in Sept 2011 compared to a year ago.  The cooling down is partly due to government deflationary measures in Asian cities.

2. New York prices up 9.3% during the same period, outperforming the global average.

This is New York

Metropolis - A New York City Timelapse from Will Boisture on Vimeo.

Sunday Apartment Preview

Previewed 7 apartments today, finishing at Century, 25 Central Park West.

Previewing apartments is something all good brokers should do.  I realize, from personal experience as a buyer, that most brokers don't preview apartments that they bring clients to.  In fact, many use the clients as the opportunity to look at more apartments.

CNN story on foreign buyers of US property (yours truly interviewed)

Les Christie is a famous CNN real estate writer whose articles I have been following for a few years.  Two days ago, I had the opportunity to speak to him about Manhattan real estate.  The article came out today, below for your convenience.  Click the title to go directly to the CNN source website. 
Foreign buyers scooping up U.S. homes
By Les Christie October 21, 2011: 5:23 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Hey, wealthy foreigners! Want to live in the U.S.? Buy a home here.

Foreign buyer - Buy a house, get a U.S. visa

Senators Charles Schumer (New York) and Mike Lee (Utah) are proposing a bill that gives foreign buyers a U.S. residence visa if they spend $500,000 cash in a property.  The visa does not allow them to work in the US but allows them to live here in the US as long as they own the property.

Brunch at Bubby's

Brunch at Bubby's last weekend.  The food was nice.  The waiter was nice.

But it was too loud maybe 'cos I was sitting in the middle of the room and the sound just bounces back to the middle.  It was expensive too, and cash only.

美國紐約房地產，展示豪華水景公寓

美國紐約房地產，展示豪華水景公寓

美國 紐約 中央公園 房地產

美國 紐約 中央公園 房地產

Manhattan 3Q 2011 rents increase, concessions disappear

3Q 2011 average rent in Manhattan, net of concessions, increased by 6.9% to $3,491 according to the Miller Samuel Rental Market Report.

Searching for New York luxury apartment with water views

Searching for luxury apartment with water views on NBC's Open House NYC.



Wei Min brings client Mei to view luxury apartments with water views at the $2 million price point.  The client is looking for water views, high ceiling, close to a park.

Eataly

Darren China, architect, an me discussing real estate projects at Eataly.  This rooftop restaurant is amazing.  The restaurants I frequent are the usual 3 or 4 that are kid-friendly.  We each said we'll bring our wives next time.

Love what you do. Keep looking, don't settle.

"Love what you do.  Keep looking, don't settle."
"Your time is limited, don't waste it living someone else's life."
"Stay hungry, stay foolish."

- Steve Jobs

New York ranked #1 globally for property investment

New York beats London as #1 destination for property investment for the first time since 2007.

According to Cushman Wakefield, real estate investments in New York grew 166 percent to $29.7 billion in the last 12 months through August when compared to a year earlier.  London, at #2, saw investments increase 2.4 percent to $27.2 billion.

Manhattan New York Property Report 3Q 2011

Manhattan, New York Property Report 3Q 2011



Manhattan, New York:  Sales volume for both condos and coops jumped 17% compared to a year ago, fueled by demand from foreign investors and entry level buyers who took advantage of record low mortgage rates.  Specific to condos, sales volume increased by 33 percent.

Stocks vs Property

Stocks vs Property

I wonder how many people actually stop to think about the long term performance of their stock portfolio vs their real estate portfolio.  In the past few years maybe a lot more.  But it used to be that stocks were THE thing to invest in.

New York Market Report Sept 2011

Manhattan, New York real estate is an exception to the challenges facing the American economy.  While the US's credit rating has been downgraded and unemployment is still high, New York Magazine's article "New York Exceptionalism"  points to data that show Manhattan real estate is continuing its improvement.   

Reasons Manhattan property continues to improve are:

Best New York Property Agent

The Best New York Property Agent is a bold claim.  As a buyer looking through a sea of property agents, how does one determine who to work with?  How can you decide when every agent seems to say the best things about themselves?  Here are differentiation factors for us which I feel an investor could use as a platform when interviewing potential agents.



I feel I am one of the best New York property agents because of (i) a corporate level financial background, (ii) investment property ownership experience, and (iii) strong market knowledge as evidenced by media presence in NBC, New York Times and the Wall Street Journal on New York property.

Top public elementary and middle schools in Manhattan

Top public elementary and middle schools in Manhattan compiled by the The School Boards based on DOE scores.

Top public elementary schools in Manhattan based on 2010 NY State ELA & Math Tests

Excerpts from TheSchoolBoards.com - "Since middle school applications use 4th grade test results as one of the admissions criteria, we sorted the data by the mean scale scores. Here's what we came up with for the top public elementary schools in Manhattan based on the ELA and the Math test scores."

World Trade Center development

Computer visualization of World Trade Center development.  A lot of construction is being done below ground.




Visit us at Castle Avenue Partners - New York investment property

US housing to rebound stronger than expected

Seeking Alpha:  Housing To Rebound Stronger Than Expected (click for actual article)
A rather long writeup published in SeekingAlpha regarding US housing.  Here my summary for your convenience.

China's wealthy buying New York luxury condo apartments

Wealthy buyers from mainland China buying New York luxury condos.  New York Times article in which I was interviewed.

The boxy glass 15 Union Square West appeals to Chinese buyers, brokers say.

By CLAIRE WILSON

Published: August 12, 2011

New York apartment rent increase 8%

Manhattan New York July 2011 average monthly apartment rent increased 8% to $3,358 compared to a year ago.  This is just $36 shy of the record of May 2007.  The vacancy rate was at 0.86%, the lowest in the nation.

Manhattan Real Estate Prices Continue Growth, Fueled by Foreign Buyers

Best-performing cities, from left: Hong Kong, St. Petersburg and Paris

Luxury residential real estate prices begin to slow but Manhattan continues to post gains, driven by
(i) Spring buying season
(ii) influx of foreign buyers capitalizing on the weak dollar

2Q'11 Manhattan real estate prices increased 6.8% compared to a year ago and a solid 3.6% vs last quarter.  Full article below.

New York City a technology hub to reduce reliance on Wall Street

The Bloomberg administration is pursuing an initiative to make New York City the next Silicon Valley by creating an applied science center in the City.  Locations include Roosevelt Island, Governors Island and Brooklyn Navy Yard.  The technology initiative is expected to create 22,000 jobs over the next decades.

Manhattan is America's Most Walkable City

Manhattan New York is the nation's most walkable city.  Only 2% of New Yorkers live in a neighborhood  that require owning a car.  Read full report America's Most Walkable Cities

Manhattan vs Case Schiller / CNN market reports

New York City market reports published by CNN, Case Schiller, Census etc all refer to the greater New York City area.  This means they include all 5 boroughs of New York City, northern New Jersey and certain areas of Long Island.  These reports should not be taken as a measure for Manhattan real estate performance.

Manhattan - the most efficient real estate market

Manhattan, New York is the most efficient and transparent real estate market in the world.  Reasons are:

1.  Closed transactions are public record
In Manhattan, data is openly available on all units that closed within each building.  For example, if recent transactions all closed at around $1500 per square foot, there is a good certainty that the next transaction will close around that.  Not $2000 and not $1000 per square foot unless there is some extraordinary variable such as being a penthouse unit or a unit needing heavy renovation.

Rutenberg Art Show photos

纽约曼哈顿华裔地产经纪人

Castle Avenue Partners是一所纽约曼哈顿的华裔地产经纪人公司，专注纽约曼哈顿豪华住宅物业及商业楼宇市场，经常获邀在不同的媒体亮相，包括畅销报章杂志及高收视电视台节目。

Manhattan Architect

Manhattan Architect

By Darren China, R.A.

Interview with Kathy Braddock - our real estate niche

"How To Be Your Best" With Wei Min Tan from Jeffrey Markowitz on Vimeo.

Interview with Kathy Braddock on how I became a real estate agent and our niche of advising high net worth clients on Manhattan real estate.

紐約曼哈頓華裔地產經紀人

宗旨及公司簡介

Castle Avenue Partners是一所紐約曼哈頓的華裔地產經紀人公司，專注紐約曼哈頓豪華住宅物業及商業樓宇市場。我們有豐富的地產經驗，經常在不同的媒體亮相，包括報章雜誌及電視台節目。

Chinese buyers New York property

Chinese Buyers Trickle into New York real estate - The Real Deal

Interviewed by The Real Deal on Chinese buyers of New York luxury property.  A large portion of our clients are foreign buyers from Asia - China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea.

Manhattan, New York Residential Architecture

Manhattan Residential Architecture

By Darren China, R.A.

Residential architecture in Manhattan is wide and varied in its style and age.  This is of no surprise since the city has been in existence since the 1600’s.  As an architect it’s always gratifying to look at the breadth of architecture the city is home to.  Here in Manhattan one can find virtually any style of building constructed in America beginning with Fraunces Tavern built in 1719, itself originally a residence.  

Chinese Buying New York Property (interviewed by Bloomberg)

Wealthy Chinese investors have been snapping up New York luxury residential property especially during the past 1 year.  Bloomberg interviewed me on the trend and below is the article, note the section under Trump appeal. 

Chinese on Global Homebuying Spree as Local Markets Tighten On a sunny Saturday in early June, Larry Zhou strolled the floor of a property exhibition in Hong Kong, wondering whether it was time to buy another home -- not in the city, where residential prices have soared 50 percent in the past two years, but maybe in Thailand or Malaysia.

New York luxury property overview

New York Luxury Property Overview

Our foreign buyers are divided into two groups - clients who want to get a piece of Manhattan, New York and clients who want to get the best of Manhattan, New York.  This article is about the latter and what luxury property means in Manhattan.  Luxury in this context refers to the most expensive apartments.

A luxury property in Manhattan usually have one or more of the features below.  The most luxurious apartments will have all the below.

Foreign Investor New York Property

1.0 Overview for the foreign investor

1.1 Why New York

1.2 Can foreigners buy property in Manhattan, New York?

1.3  What type pf properties are popular amongst foreign / international buyers?

1.4  What are expenses associated with owning a property in Manhattan?

1.5  Financing for foreign / international buyers

1.6  Cash buyers

1.7  Transaction costs

1.8 Taxes, taxes, taxes

1.9  How does the agent / broker fee work when buying or selling?

1.10.  How does the agent fee work when renting?

1.11  Should I use more than one agent?

1.12 What are the best areas in Manhattan for investment?

1.13  Does buyer have to be in New York for the closing?