Update from NYC

The NYC market, like most markets, has cooled considerably since last year. Someone pointed out recently that during the last housing downturn, many NYC families became trapped in their 2 bedroom condos because prices declined too much, forcing a much longer stay in the City than was originally planned. The “trapping” arises when a newly married couple decides to invest in a two bedroom with plans to sell three or four years later when junior eventually arrives. Back in the late 80’s and early 90’s though, when junior finally did arrive, the co-op “investors” were already underwater making the move to Chatham or Shrewsbury very expensive or impossible. At least in this decade though, NYC is much safer than it was in the late 80’s so trapped co-op owners might not be as desperate to escape when the first kid arrives.


From Today's NY Post - Snip…

["We have a classic stand-off between buyers and sellers in New York," said Miller Samuel CEO Jonathan Miller. "Housing inventory is at the highest level since the late 1980s and demand has cooled off."

In the second quarter of last year, it took 102 days to shift a unit on average. By the second quarter of 2006 this had soared to 144 days.]

Full article…