On the East Side we found that sales were steady for most of the second quarter.  While the number of apartments sold is up from last year, prices have held fast. 

Apartments that were priced well sold in a reasonable amount of time.  If something was priced too high for the market, customers were not even bothering to bid. 

Unlike some past years, there have been no sharp changes in the market.  However, there are certainly some lulls.  Not earth shattering lulls, but a bit of a slowdown is not uncommon when the economic news is unsettling, we have experienced.

The number of buyers seems to have increased this quarter, and the same goes for the number of apartments on the market.  But even with mortgage interest rates staying low, there does not appear to be any kind of frenzy headed our way anytime soon. The exception is an extremely well-priced apartment in a desirable location.  It doesn't happen very often, but these apartments almost always have multiple bids and sell for more than the asking prices.

We are expecting similar trends in the third quarter.  We look for the number of sales to pick up toward the end of summer.  The biggest market improvement will probably continue to be seen in apartments priced over $2,000,000.  At the end of last year this was one of the areas that was the most negatively affected.  It isn't surprising to see it coming back little by little.

The most important observation about the real estate market through the recession of 2009 up to and including today is that you never know which way the wind will blow.

We expected 2010 to be a better year than 2009, and results through the first quarter into the second quarter proves that we were correct; however, from week to week, activity is volatile – sales are either going “gangbusters” OR are slow and quiet.

While sales reported for each month during the first six months of this year are double compared to the same period last year, there are soft spots.

During the first part of the quarter, April and May were absolutely ferocious months, with May being the strongest booking month in well over two years. Yet as we moved into June, typically one of the stronger months of the year, business slowed.

Looking at the first six months of the year, sellers appear to have been lulled into a sense of “almost” well being, but to some degree, buyers are still wary about the economy. The government’s tax incentive programs did prove to be motivating buying factors, as did the fact that the expected increase in mortgage rates has not materialized as of today. Yet the slippery slope of the stock market has influenced buyer confidence.

Prime locations have held their value more then secondary markets, so buyers looking for a “steal” you should search the secondary market. Buyers will get a “fair deal” in prime locations.

Going forward, we look for prices to remain stable, with no additional reductions or increases expected in the short term. The combination of low mortgage rates, stable existing price points and a somewhat positive economic outlook (with perhaps the worst being behind us), presents buyers with a good buying formula.

This is a buyer’s dream opportunity!  The second quarter of 2010 reflected a stabilized real estate market with significantly more activity than the same quarter in 2009. 

Buyers and sellers alike have accepted the new level of pricing and many buyers who had been sitting on the sidelines crept cautiously back into the market earlier in the quarter. Yet the gyrations of the stock market have greatly affected the sentiment of the real estate market.  With the stock market’s strong comeback earlier, we saw increased buyer activity in the real estate market. As that has waned, so has buyer activity

A plus for buyers is that interest rates remain at record lows, affording many an opportunity to own a better home then they could have purchased just a few short years ago.

While we will surely have a bumpy road through the remainder of 2010, one thing is sure, we all need a place to live!

Sales activity during the second quarter, most notably the end of March through the beginning of April, rose modestly. Well priced 3 bedrooms were finally snapped up and the moderately priced homes in Midtown were in steady demand. Demand for convertible 2 and full 2 bedroom apartments did not keep pace. Prices inched up slightly and inventory held steady.

The market took at abrupt turn in June. Buyers became scarce, sellers became anxious and, like the stock market, the real estate market hit a wall. The effects of the end of the tax credit should have been offset by activity spurred by the absolutely record low, long-term fixed mortgage rates below 5%, yet we have not seen a robust market as we start the summer.

We are also seeing higher maintenance increases than in previous years, while income for many is down. No price trend is apparent and it appears that we are at a standstill, or even in a lull. 

What we need is a jolt to get us going! Nothing is worse than a buyer with no fire to buy, or a seller afraid to sell or who has an expectation of not getting strong price.

Once the economy starts moving we will see a nice rebound in demand without a generous inventory to temper the upward pressure. This is a great time for renters and first time buyers to put down some cash and DO IT!

If only we could see around the corner....

During the second quarter, we have seen buyer activity slow a bit since the height of the spring, putting the brakes on a trend we saw over the past two quarters. That said, we are still seeing serious buyers in the market purchasing property. 

The volume of sales activity is still variable, still reflecting the wave pattern we have experienced since last year. This quarter, however, activity appears to change from week to week, and can be affected by something as simple as the weather. 

Prices increased during the quarter, definitely reflecting the supply and demand in Downtown Manhattan. Because the different neighborhoods in Manhattan south of 14th Street have radically different kinds of housing stock, inventory was either up or down, depending on the type of housing.

For example, while there are 103 studio coops currently available In Greenwich Village, there are only 26 studio condos available. And in lower Manhattan there are only 16 studio coops currently on the market.  And while there are 307 2BR condos available in lower Manhattan, there are only 66 2BR condos available in Greenwich Village. 

These numbers partly reflect the demand for different sized apartments in different neighborhoods, but they mostly reflect the supply.  If you are a buyer, you should speak with your Bellmarc agent to determine which neighborhoods have a good supply of the kind of housing you are looking for.          

Going forward, we do not expect that there will be a significant change in inventory through the end of the third quarter of 2010.  More sellers will see an opportunity to sell their properties and will put them on the market. These properties will continue to sell, keeping everything in balance. That's the best situation that we could have asked for.

We believe that more buyers will come to the conclusion that this is now the time to take advantage of the historically low interest rates. With these rates, buyers can afford more than they could before.  Look for them to act before rates go back up, which could be soon, according to some analysts.

An exciting change in the Downtown area is the designation of the new South Village Historic District, which includes the wonderful neighborhood south of Washington Square Park, the strip of old nightclubs on Bleecker Street, and the area down the western side of West Broadway in SoHo.  Now, if you live on the sxith floor of a walk-up on Sullivan and West 3rd, your southern view might be protected!