Market Heats Up? and Your Building’s No Pet Policy May Be Costing You a Fortune

The ramifications of the debacle in Greece and a wild day on Wall Street yesterday have yet to be seen but word across the real estate industry seems to be that the Spring market has heated up…for now. Now although I’m not a fan of these types of one sided articles that appear to look through rose colored glasses, this one is so positive that I had to share if you haven’t read it already.   Here’s the dangerous headline from Jason Sheftell at The Daily News:  Real estate’s on a roll! Experts dish on why housing is a hot market again.   

It all started a few weeks ago. First came the return of Tiger Woods, then the volcano eruption, then the sudden return of the real estate market. All over the five boroughs, reports started flying in about astronomical sales figures, bidding wars, and houses selling after just two days on the market. At first, I didn’t believe it. A spring rebound? The federal tax deadline?…

So why is this dangerous?  Because it isn’t the case across all sectors of the market.  It is articles like these that often make an agent’s job much more challenging as they try to explain to sellers why their home hasn’t sold.  I would simply elaborate on or add the following to Sheftell’s article:

• Pricing is key
• Special apartments with outdoor space, amenities, etc are selling more quickly than others.
• The under $1M market has more inventory and is not as hot as the $1M-2M market which seems to be the hottest right now.

And to illustrate how special homes are selling in today’s market, a little anecdote.  This apartment that was featured on OpenHouseNYC with our own Jennifer Breu a few weeks back is located in a building that allows no dogs…until NOW.  The apartment was priced at $2M and was on the market for a few weeks with no bids.  The agent, colleague David Rosenberger, convinced the Co-op board to accept dogs by assessing a $250/month fee and asking the new owner to soundproof the home.  After the co-op agreed to accept dogs, the apartment received 5 bids and is selling over the asking price of $2M.  So how much is that no dog policy costing you?  Congrats David on a job very well done!