Halstead Property

Jill Sloane
Exec. Vice President
Westside Office
Tel: (212) 381-2206
jsloane@halstead.com

Real Estate Prices Stay High As Buyers Sellers Wait

Halstead Property Associate Real Estate Broker Jill Sloane has been trying sell a one-bedroom co-op on the Upper West Side. At least 30 interested potential buyers have viewed the apartment but Ms. Sloane has not yet received any bids on the $479,000 unit. She does not plan on dropping the price of the apartment to appease potential buyers and has decided to hold out until she finds a buyer willing to pay her asking price. (Photo by RJ Mickelson/amNewYork / May 22, 2008)

By Rebecca Wolfson

City apartment buyers and sellers are locked in a staring contest over price, and, so far, neither side wants to blink.

Many brokers see a number of clients hoping for prices to decline, but their expectations of cheap Manhattan real estate may be unrealistic. And brokers are advising sellers to hold on.

"If someone thinks a place is priced correctly and they're not under pressure to sell, I would not reduce prematurely," said Jill Sloane, senior vice president of Halstead Property.

The overall price of New York City residential real estate actually soared in the first quarter of the year, rising 28 percent, the Real Estate Board of New York said in its latest report.

That number was bolstered by a 41 percent increase in Manhattan, powered by luxury sales. Home prices in the other boroughs remained fairly steady, with the largest decrease in Queens at 5 percent. The number of sales around the city was down 22 percent, according to the board.

The decline in sales, observers say, is an indication that buyers are waiting to see how the market turns and sellers.

Judy Engel is trying to sell her one-bedroom co-op on the Upper West Side, and has shown it to about 30 potential buyers. She has received no bids, but she's not lowering the asking price of $479,000.

"I think it's priced correctly," she said. "I think it will sell, it will just take some time."

Dara Underberg and her husband are among potential buyers who are hoping for prices to ease.

"We expected prices to come down and started looking at places with higher prices than our maximum," said Underberg, who is looking for a single-family detached house to accommodate her 16-month-old twins. "I guess we feel bitter that we don't have more of an advantage. The market is not great, it doesn't seem like we are asking for that much."

She and her husband are staying with her in-laws in Brooklyn while they look for a home in Queens or Long Island.

Most brokers advise buyers not to try and time the market, and to realize that real estate investments have a solid history of increasing in value over five to 10 years. Plus, most buyers are on the market for a home to live in over the long run.

"It's a win-win situation for people in New York," said Harold Valestin, a broker with the Developers Group in Brooklyn. "They have an opportunity to have a great home, but know that that home will grow in appreciation."

There are a number factors affecting New York's real estate market, among them a Wall Street downturn and tighter lending standards by banks thanks to the subprime-loan mess.

"In a period of transition there is a larger gap in buyers and sellers, and the result is a lower level of activity," said Miller, who expects the number of sales in the market to rebound. "It's cyclical, but I think the uptick we'll see will be measured in years and not in quarters."

Friday, May 23, 2008