New York Property Price Trend 4Q 2010

Graph above shows Manhattan New York's property price trend from 1997 through 2010.  Average price per square foot was $328 in 1997 and appreciates to $1058 in 4Q 2010.  This equates to an average annual appreciation of about 10%.

New York Property Report 4Q 2010

* Median property prices up 3% to 11% depending on which report you read.  Median price $845,000.
* Average price up as much as 14% driven by properties $3 million and above.
* Still lower than peak of 2008 but higher than bottom of 2009.
* Returning to normal (not crazy) growth rate.  Expect slow and steady appreciation.

Singapore, Hong Kong property bubble

Bubble forming in Singapore property
(SCMP.com)
Singapore's economy grew the fastest in Asia last year at 14.7 percent.  Commensurately, property prices in Singapore rose beyond sustainable levels driven by low interest rates and excessive liquidity.  This has prompted the Singapore government to take measures to prevent a real estate bubble including 5X stamp duties for owners who sell property if held less than 4 years.  Maximum loan amounts for individuals has decreased from 70 percent to 60 percent.

Hong Kong most expensive city
According to Savills, Hong Kong is now the most expensive city to buy a home for everyone from white collar staff to billionaires.  Property prices in Hong Kong were 55 percent higher than London in 2010.  This is driven by negative real interest rates and demand from Mainland China.

Dr Dooms buy Manhattan property

Dr Dooms buying Manhattan property

South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's English daily, reported the following:

1.  Nouriel Roubini and John Taylor, the Dr Dooms of the financial world for all their pessimistic predictions, have bought property in Manhattan.  Roubini, a New York University professor, bought a $5.5 million condo.  John Taylor, who runs hedge fund FX Concepts, also bought an apartment.  Meanwhile, John Paulson, who earned $15 billion for his firm in a year and is amongst the world's billionaires, bought a $2.85 million apartment at Olympic Tower on Fifth Avenue.

2.  Wall Street's optimism is driven by a much larger bonus pool in 2010.

3.  On a global context, Manhattan property is cheap.  A 3000sf luxury apartment in London would cost $7.5 million, while in Hong Kong, $5 million.  A New York apartment of that size would be $4.5 million.

If the Dr Dooms are buying, it must be good for Manhattan?

New York Central Park flat: Pros and Cons

New York Central Park Flats:  Pros vs Cons

Many foreign investors ask for Central Park flats/apartments.  One reason is the perceived value of such flats and another is that Central Park is one of the locations foreigners associate with prime Manhattan property.  Other locations include Fifth Avenue and Wall Street.

New York luxury flat

Demand from China and Hong Kong for New York luxury flats has been growing especially over the past year.  One reason is the overvaluation of flat price in Hong Kong and China.  Another is the price uptrend of New York flats and investors are looking to ride the up wave of flat price appreciation here in New York.

Manhattan flat permits and supply

Drastic decrease in Manhattan, New York flat building permits means potential property shortage and hence price increase.  The supply shortage is more dramatic than recovery from previous recessions driven by financing constraints to developers.

               

Carnegie 57 by Extell at 57 Street (top) and 450 W 42 St are amongst the few developments in progress right now.  Carnegie 57, a condo / hotel will be 90 stories and the city's tallest residential building upon completion in 2012.  The hotel component will be known as Park Hyatt.

US No 1 for foreign investors

US (specifically New York and Washington) is the top ranked property market according to foreign investors.  Followed by Britain, Germany, China and France.

Hong Kong property up 40%

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704415104576065582916574202.html?mod=WSJ_RealEstate_LeftTopNews

Hong Kong property up 40 percent driven by demand from Mainland China.

New York luxury property

New York luxury property, as defined as the top 10% of sales, outperformed the overall New York property market in 4Q'10.

The median price of the New York luxury property segment, according to Miller Samuel, was $4.35m, up 15 percent compared to last year.  Average price per square foot was $2101, up 13 percent compared to last year.  In context, the overall Manhattan New York property median price increased 4.3% while average price per square foot increased 0.7% vs last year.

This shows that the luxury property segment outperformed the market in general.  Which is expected.   Days on market decreased 41% to 136 days.

My observation of the New York luxury property segment is that the gains are even more dependent on price appreciation vs rental income yield.  Rental yield of luxury property, again defined as the top 10% of sales, is lower than the New York average.

Visit us at Castle Avenue Partners - New York investment property

Manhattan neighborhood map

http://www.nyctourist.com/map1.htm

Manhattan New York property appreciation, price trend

Manhattan, New York property appreciation and price trend.  Expected appreciation of about 10% per year.  Chances are it will not exceed appreciation rate in emerging markets like China or high speculation cities like Hong Kong.  Upside is that there's less volatility.

Visit us at Castle Avenue Partners - Manhattan investment properties
Historical price trend

Mortgage foreign investor New York property

Mortgage loan options for foreign buyers of Manhattan New York property.

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New York agent for Hong Kong investors

Visit us at Castle Avenue Partners - Manhattan investment properties
Foreign buyer guide

Best area in Manhattan for investment

Weimin Tan talks about whether there's a best area for investment in New York. It all depends.

Visit us at Castle Avenue Partners - Manhattan investment property

Price trend, appreciation of New York luxury residential property

Price trend, appreciation of New York luxury residential property and flats.

Visit us at Castle Avenue Partners - Manhattan investment properties
New York property price trend chart

Hong Kong trip

Just got home from 10 days in Hong Kong.  Great Cantonese food 2X a day while there.

- Hong Kong represents wealth, eg there were at least 5 Ferraris on the same parking floor at the IFC mall.

- A lot of new China wealth, newly rich who are the largest consumers in Hong Kong and Macau.  They are the buyers of Rolex watches, Chanel bags etc.  While at the Venetian Macau, a 4000 room hotel, it was fully booked at $300 a night.  Same with Disneyland.

How to buy luxury flat in New York

How to buy luxury flat in New York, 3 simple steps as guide.

1.  Get a good agent:
In New York, all agents have access to the same inventory of flats for sale through membership to a trade organization.  You should interview and select the right agent whose value would be to
(a) identify the right luxury flat
(b) negotiate price
(c) bring the team together including accountant and lawyer

In New York you're hiring the AGENT and not the FIRM.  One firm may have hundreds or thousands of agents whose quality vary dramatically.  Marketing, expertise are agent specific.   You can review agent profile at firm websites.  In contrast, in a place like Hong Kong, you are hiring the firm because you can't even see agent profiles on the firm websites.