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The Manhattan residential sales market has tightened up, yet there are still opportunities to be found, especially downtown. According to Prudential Douglas Elliman’s 2011 1st Quarter report, the number of apartments listed are now at their lowest level since 2007, falling 5.3% from the year-earlier period, to 7,605. According to the report, it will now take 9.5 months to absorb all of the inventory.

Meanwhile, the average sales price for a Manhattan apartment is currently at $1,331,306, which is down 10.2% from the last quarter and 6.7% from a year ago. However, the $1,025/SF average is only down 3.2% and 1.3% for the same two periods, signaling that smaller apartments are now trading more rapidly. Condos always trade at a premium to co-ops; their 1Q11 average is $1,216/SF compared to the co-op’s $896.

That being said, there are still large pricing discrepancies for apartments throughout Manhattan. Downtown still offers the most value. Our office just closed on a 28th floor apartment at The Phillipe Starck designed 15 Broad Street for $1,200,000 or $808/SF. The apartment benefited from low common charges of under $1/SF and a 421G Tax Abatement which resulted in monthly taxes of only $356...

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Built in 1849, this Greek Revival Townhouse’s front faced was photographed in 1974 & became the front piece of the Clay Landcaster book, Old Brooklyn Heights and The American Institute of Architects Guide to NYC sites this property as one of the two buildings on Monroe Place worth seeing. This Brooklyn Heights Historic District three family is the ideal live plus income property with an owner/user duplex that features: a double parlor, a gold leaf ceiling & a late 19th century chandelier & fireplace in the bedroom & a Koi pond, wall of bamboo & a rock garden in the rear yard. The front and real parlors each have working fireplaces and are separated by Doric columns and pilasters. For a complete marketing package, please inquire within.

Click here for listing details.

Neighborhoods: Brooklyn Heights/ Agents: Stephen Palmese

A commercial building at 164-14 Cross Bay Boulevard, located between 164th and 165th Avenues in Howard Beach, Queens, was sold in an all cash transaction valued at $2,750,000.

The two-story property is approximately 10,000 square feet and sits on a 140’ x 95’ lot.  The building is split between two floors with two adjoining parking lots. It benefits from 140 feet of frontage on Cross Bay Boulevard and its close proximity to national tenants and long standing local businesses. The sale price equates to $296.34 per square foot.

“We were able to find the perfect buyer for this asset who will greatly benefit from the prime exposure and frontage on Cross Bay Boulevard,” said Massey Knakal Director of Sales Stephen Preuss who exclusively handled this transaction.

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Neighborhoods: Howard Beach/ Agents: Stephen Preuss

The subject property is a two story mixed-use building located on the northeast corner of 101st Avenue and 86th Street in Ozone Park, Queens. The building consists of (3) retail/commercial spaces on the first floor and (2) three bedroom apartments on the second floor. The entire building has been recently gut renovated and is in pristine condition. The property is ideally located near numerous modes of transportation and many other neighborhood amenities.

Click here for listing details.

Neighborhoods: Ozone Park

Prime Downtown Brooklyn location. Located on the northwest corner of Atlantic Avenue and Boerum Place. The subject consists of approximately 16,450 SF footprint with approximately 172,500 buildable SF.

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Neighborhoods: Boerum Hill

Manhattan’s residential rents are now reaching into the high $100s per square foot in some elite buildings. According to StreetEasy, 160 Central Park South even has multiple apartments with asking rents approaching $200/SF. A unit there rented for $16,000/month or $174/SF. Other luxury buildings which command the same asking rents include 170 East End, 40 East 66th Street, 240 Park Avenue South, and 40 Bond.  

As lofty as these rents seem, New York City is still a relative bargain compared to other major global cities. According to ECA international, the average rent for a New York City two-bedroom apartment was only 17th on the list as the most expensive city. The top three were Tokyo, Moscow, and Hong Kong. In Tokyo, ECA reported that the average two-bedroom rented for $4,352 per month. After incorporating some of the above mentioned rents, I think it’s safe to say that New York City will vie for one of those top slots in 2011.

One sale which benefited from these $100 /SF rents was The Corner at 200 West 72nd Street. According to the The Wall Street Journal it sold to TIAA-CREF, a major retirement system, for $209 or around $1 million per unit. The sellers, Philips International and Rhodes Associates, assembled the site for the 196-unit building on Broadway and 72nd St. The venture will keep the 48,000 square feet of retail space in the property, whose tenants include Trader Joe's and Duane Reade...

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This beautiful three-story property is 28 foot-wide and approximately 6,503 square feet. With its ample width, unique façade, and prime location, this property lends itself to conversion to a stately single family home, a school, or a government institution. If converted to a single family townhouse, there are approximately 4,548 square feet of additional air rights available and if used as a community facility, it has approximately 7,588 square feet of available air rights. Located in the heart of the Upper East Side, this one-of-a-kind property has unlimited potential for a buyer looking to create their own space.

Click here to see listing detail.

Neighborhoods: Upper East Side

A retail development site at 3200 Long Beach Road, located between Weidner and Montgomery Avenues in Oceanside, Long Island, was sold in an all cash transaction valued at $1,075,000.

The property consists of a one-story retail building and a single-family house. The retail building is approximately 15,645 square feet and sits on a 26,000 square foot lot. The single-family house sits on a 5,000 square foot residential lot behind the retail building. There are 20 open air parking spaces. The property is highly visible on Long Beach Road and surrounded by national retailers. The sale price equates to $69 per square foot.

“Within just a few weeks of marketing, we had several all-cash offers which just shows that there is a great demand for this type of product,” said Massey Knakal Director of Sales Sales Lev Kimyagarov who exclusively handled this transaction.

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Neighborhoods: Nassau County

An industrial building at 22 Berriman Street, located between Liberty and Atlantic Avenues in Brooklyn’s East New York neighborhood, was sold in an all cash transaction valued at $490,000.

The single story brick property is approximately 4,800 square feet and sits on a 60’ x 80’ lot.  The property benefits from a roll up overhead door and 12 foot ceilings. The Certificate of Occupancy allows for an auto body shop. It is ideally located one block from Atlantic Avenue and four blocks from the J train at the Norwood Avenue station. The sale price equates to $102 per square foot.

“The property was purchased by an investor who will lease the building to an auto repair business,” said Massey Knakal Director of Sales Ed Gevinski who exclusively handled this transaction with Director of Sales Brian Sarath.

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Neighborhoods: East New York

Located in the Heart of Midtown East's "Decoration and Design District," this 25'-wide four story mixed-use building consists of a recently renovated retail space, as well as six 1BR apartments above. The retail will be vacant by October of this year, and given the location right across from the Decoration and Design Building, this presents an ideal opportunity for a potential user to purchase real estate in a niche community where available space is typically scarce.

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Neighborhoods: Midtown East

A commercial condominium unit at The Cove Club Retail at 2 South End Avenue C-1, located in Manhattan’s Battery Park, was sold in an all cash transaction valued at $3,600,000.

The condo unit consists of three retail units within a nine-story condominium building that covers an entire street block. The units are currently occupied by a national tenant – Kumon Learning Center, a dry cleaner and a local ballet school. The unit is approximately 3,785 square feet.  The sale price equates to approximately $950 per square foot.

An additional 13,400 square foot unit is also available in the building; the asking price is $6,500,000.

“A new 125,000 square foot public school just opened its doors a block away at 55 Battery Place, bringing additional foot traffic to the property,” said Massey Knakal Director of Sales Nick Petkoff who exclusively represented the seller in this transaction.

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Neighborhoods: TriBeCa

A townhouse at 11 Saint Luke’s Place, located between Seventh Avenue and Hudson Street in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, was sold in an all cash transaction valued at $9,050,000.

Originally built in 1852, this Italianate style townhouse currently contains two duplex units. The townhouse is approximately 4,506 square feet and sits on a 21’8” x 100’ lot and is located on one of the most desirable blocks in Manhattan. The property benefits from a garden, original detail, high ceilings and tremendous light.  The sale price equates to $2,008 per square foot.

“We believe this was record price for a gut renovation townhouse in the area,” said Massey Knakal Partner James P. Nelson who exclusively represented the seller. “This was the first sale on this coveted block in several years which helped drive the price well over the asking price,” Nelson added.

The buyer was represented by Meg Siegel at Sotheby’s.

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Neighborhoods: Greenwich Village

My firm was hired earlier this year to market 612-18 West 47th Street in conjunction with a court-ordered auction. Although our firm is not a licensed auctioneer, we can help support such auctions. This was one of the few Manhattan properties which sold by auction this year, as many are sold before ending up on the court room steps.

On the national scene, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times are both peppered with advertisements from auction houses offering everything from condos in Florida to large tracks of land in Colorado. Many properties are sold by absolute auction, which is without a reserve price. This begs the question: Are these sales good values?

Unfortunately, many states have recently experienced double dips. Case Schiller recently reported that Georgia and Nevada home prices are now below 2000 levels, having experienced double-digit percentage drops in the last few years. Those who bought apartments in Atlanta and Las Vegas at auction in 2008 and 2009 might well be having buyer’s remorse....

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Neighborhoods: Midtown West

200 North Water street is a proposed luxury apartment site and marina. The proposal, subject to City Review zoned L.W.R.P, would be able to accommodate a 12 story, 100-unit structure with enclosed parking. The property includes 4 acres attached for a marina.

The property currently has a 36,816 square foot industrial building on the site that produces a gross income of approximately $261,000.

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Neighborhoods: Westchester County

Two mixed-use buildings at 405 - 407 Atlantic Avenue, located between Bond and Nevins Streets in Brooklyn's Boerum Hill neighborhood, were sold in an all cash transaction valued at $1,873,000.
 
The adjacent properties each remain on 17' x 90' lots and measure a total of approximately 4,500 square feet.  Both properties have a retail unit on the ground floor and two apartments above. The sale price equates to $417 per square foot.

"This transaction is an illustration of the flight to quality that we have seen in the market.  With little inventory, investors continue to find security in established neighborhoods with tangible upside potential," said Massey Knakal Director of Sales Stephen Palmese who exclusively handled this transaction with Associate Winfield Clifford. 

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Neighborhoods: Boerum Hill/ Agents: Stephen Palmese

Tuckahoe, New York is located about 20 miles from Midtown Manhattan. According to Mapquest, you can drive there in about 35 minutes (although that’s probably at 2am with no traffic) or you can take the train from Grand Central in a guaranteed 30 minutes.  That’s less time than it takes to get from Midtown to Coney Island by subway.
 
Many real estate investors say they’ll only buy in “their own backyard,” so they can keep an eye on their investment. This begs the question: Do New York City owners look to buy in the suburbs?

Our office is active in Westchester, as well as Long Island. We’ve handled close to 50 sales in Westchester over the last five years. I asked John Barrett, one of our top Westchester sales agents, this question...

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Neighborhoods: Westchester County

37 Crosby Street is a seven story mixed use building with a GRFL retail space, passageway to separate unrelated rear building (easement), and twelve apartments above. Due to a fire in a top floor apartment, the entire building is currently vacant and in need of renovation. Upon completion of renovations, two rent stabilized tenants plan on returning to building. Plans have been drawn, filed and approved but not yet permitted. Located in SoHo, one of Manhattan's hottest neighborhoods.

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Neighborhoods: SoHo/ Agents: Robert Burton

Massey Knakal supported the Lower East Side Tenement Museum with a strong attendance at their "Iconic New York" gala last evening, Monday June 6th at Center 548.  Jill Lovatt, David Chkheidze, J. Matthew Dillon, Michael DeCheser, and CEO Paul J. Massey Jr. were all at the event.  Massey is currently Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the museum.

Click here for more information about the museum.

(Pictured: D. Chkhedize, P. Massey)

Agents: Jill Lovatt, Michael DeCheser, Paul Massey Jr.

Massey Knakal Realty Services is pleased to announce their #1 ranking for the ninth consecutive year on CoStar’s list of Top Brokerage Firms for NYC Commercial Property Sales. In 2010, Massey Knakal handled over 215 transactions totaling over $1 billion dollars. Based on number of transactions in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx, Massey Knakal closed three times as many transactions as its nearest competitor.

“Many of the transactions in 2010 were a result of a high level of activity from banks, other lending institutions and discretionary sellers. We feel that the Massey Knakal Territory System™ and our practice of only representing sellers made us a logical choice for these institutions and individuals who were seeking client loyalty, as well as neighborhood expertise throughout New York and New Jersey,” said Massey Knakal’s CEO Paul J. Massey Jr. 

Several notable transactions completed by Massey Knakal are:

• The Bleecker Street Luxury Retail Portfolio (367-369, 382-384 and 387 Bleecker Street)

• A multifamily portfolio consisting of four buildings in the heart of Astoria, Queens

• A five-story commercial building at 29 East 61st Street on Manhattan's Upper East Side

Agents: Paul Massey Jr.

The subject property is a garage condominium located just off of the northwest corner of 1st Avenue and East 74th Street in New York’s exclusive Upper East Side. The garage features 75 potential and 61 legal spaces in the lower level of The Amherst, a 250 unit residential building that was converted into cooperatives in 1989. Not only does the garage benefit from its location in a large apartment building and adjacent to a high traffic corner, it is also just blocks away from both Memorial Sloan Kettering and the Hospital for Special Surgery. The condominium is currently leased by Alliance Parking on a triple net basis through June 2028. The projected net operating income for 2011 is approximately $275,000.

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Neighborhoods: Upper East Side