April 2012 issue:

Click on the image to open a pdf of the article.

Click on the image below for a full size (pdf) of the article:

PRICE DROP *plus* SPONSOR WILL PAY FIRST 6 MONTHS COMMON CHARGES & TRANSFER TAXES for contract signed by January 15th.

Gracious and huge Classic 6/Convertible 4-bedroom with two full bathrooms and NOW with a Washer/Dryer hookup. Gut-renovated with all new hardwood floors, granite kitchen counters, stainless steel appliances, upgraded wiring, recessed lighting and much more. Formal dining room (that can be converted into a 3rd or 4th Bedroom). Low common charges ($808/mo).

It’s crazy that this apartment has been on the market this long, but at the new price, it won’t last long.

So don’t compromise on Manhattan living… Go north to see the beautiful and spacious Riverside Drive Condominiums, where you can still own a piece of Manhattan – without mortgaging your future. Steps to the 157th St. subway. The complete offering terms are in an offering plan available from the sponsor.

Play around with our interactive and 3-D floorplan:

Or click here to open it in a new window: http://pl.an/835RSD-hline

Click the photos below to enlarge:

[Show as slideshow]

To set up a showing or if you need additional information, call The Edry Group at 646-770-EDRY (3379) or email sedry@citi-habitats.com.

Wake up every morning and look out at views of Riverside Park and the Hudson River, as well as a peek of the George Washington Bridge from this lovely two bedroom gem. Gut-renovated with all-new oak floors, recessed lighting, new wiring and a granite countertop kitchen with stainless steel appliances. Entry foyer has room for a dining area.

New laundry room in building. FANNIE MAE APPROVED! Close to both the #1 train and the A/B/C/D express stop.

Don’t compromise on Manhattan living… go north to see the beautiful and spacious Riverside Drive Condominiums, where you can still own a piece of Manhattan – without mortgaging your future.

Click here for more details.

Click photos to enlarge:

[Show as slideshow]

To set up a showing or if you need additional information, call The Edry Group at 646-770-EDRY (3379) or email sedry@citi-habitats.com.

This first chart is a simple breakdown of the type of apartments people are hoping to find. As you can see, it’s the 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom apartments that are in most demand with 27.6% percent of the total searches each. Studios are not too far behind, but the demand for 3-bedroom units has seen a significant drop in the last couple of weeks. We can likely attribute that to the fact that most of the big roommate/share clients, as well as the larger families, have already ensconced themselves in new places before the start of the new school year.

In the second chart, I compare the average search price versus the actual average rental prices from this past month. Across the board, people seem to be searching for apartments that are significantly less than the market dictates. Which means, that more often than not, a customer who comes in our door will end up having to stretch their budget by around 10% more than they initially wanted to spend.

Believe it or not, that’s actually good news as the 10% figure is pretty typical (most people, whether buyers or renters, usually give themselves around 10% of wiggle room when they start their searches). When I did a quick check of similar figures last month, the spread between “want” and “can have” ranged from 15-20%.

While we’d all like to believe that means pricing pressure has let up a bit, it probably means that, as the summer market has progressed, people have gotten more realistic about the bucks they’ll have to spend.

And them’s the cold, hard facts…

PS. Decided to add one more chart: A look at which are the most searched for neighborhoods. Enjoy.

• The average Manhattan apartment rented for $3358 during July 2011.  This is slightly less than June’s average of $3372.   Note: City rents peaked at an all time high of $3394 during May 2007.  Rents remain only a few dollars away from the market’s peak.

• The Manhattan vacancy rate during July 2011 was 0.86%.  This is up from June’s vacancy rate of 0.69% but is still teeny weeny. It means for every 1000 apartments in Manhattan, there are only 8 that are available for you to rent.
  
• Soho/Tribeca has the tightest rental market with less than half a percent vacancy; you’ll have a (slightly) easier time finding a place on the Upper West Side and Midtown where the vacancy rate is (a still miniscule) 1%.

• In July 2011, landlords in a mere 7% of rental transactions brokered by Citi Habitats offered a free month’s rent and/or payment of the broker fee to entice new tenants (mainly in new developments). In June 2011, the percentage was slightly higher at 8%.  A year ago,  however, the percentage of leases that included a concession was a substantial 25%.

In a separate post this weekend, I’ll detail the type of apartments renters are currently looking for and compare the average rental price search versus the average July price for each type of apartment.

Feel free to write me at sedry@citi-habitats.com or put any questions you might have into the comment section below.

Have a great weekend.

Click here for a pdf version of the file

The chart below details everything, but here are a few main points:

• The 1-bedrooms run from $1100 in Inwood to about $1500 in Hudson Heights and on Riverside Drive.
• There is only ONE 2-bedroom on the list and it is $1600 in Inwood.
• For the roommate shares or for larger families, the two apartments in Hamilton Heights might be perfect. One unit is a Convertible 3-bedroom (2-beds + dining room) and the other is a possible Conv. 4-bed and they’re both in a doorman building

Because these updates have just arrived, we haven’t yet seen most of these units, but we’ve seen plenty of similar units in these buildings before and the prices — especially in this crazy rental market — are pretty solid. We’ll try to get pics of most of these apartments over the weekend, but you probably shouldn’t wait to see them. They could easily be gone by Monday.

Call for more information or a showing: 646-770-EDRY (3379).