Broker Incentives and More Square Foot Woes

Broker/Buyer Incentives Surfacing?

I’m sitting in my office right now listening to the live broadcast of our weekly business meeting.  I couldn’t resist blogging about something I just heard.  Avonova, one of the latest condo conversions on the Upper West Side located at 81st and Broadway is launching a new program offering broker and buyer incentives for upcoming sales.  Buyers will receive a $10,000 gift certificate towards the purchase of California Closets and their agents will receive a full 4% commission and an additional $2500 American Express gift card at closing.  The reason I share is that incentives are rarely seen in a hot market where demand outweighs supply.  Perhaps this is a sign that the Fall market isn’t providing the demand that sellers and developers had hoped for.  This time last year many Wall Streeters began shopping for apartments that they would buy with their January/February bonus money.  Not so much this year…so far.  Perhaps this incentive is just an isolated incident or perhaps it’s a sign of things to come?  Only time will tell.

UPDATE:  Just received email from The Atelier offering a trip to St. Thomas ("airfare included"…that’s a good thing) to the agent who sells the most units between now and December 31st.

More Square Footage B.S.

As most of my readers know, I’m on a mission to try to solve the problem of square footage inaccuracies.  Check out TrueGotham television (TGTV) for our 5 part series discussing methodology, accountability, and policing.  Episode 5 airs this Thursday. 

The impetus for the TGTV series was both buyer and broker frustration.  Many of my readers are as "mad as hell and they just aren’t gonna take it anymore!"  (Network)

A reader of TrueGotham who also was a recent bidder on a property of mine just sent me this floor plan of an Eastside property that is being marketed as 800sf! 

By my calculations (and I’m being VERY generous) I get approximately 560sf.  They are overstating the number my more than 40%!!! 

Anybody out there see how this space is 800sf?