Blog

It’s crazy that January 2003 is already twenty years ago.   I came to New York City on July 4th of 2002, with $6000 borrowed from my mom.  I am grateful that I had a mother who believed in me when I didn’t know what I was going to do with the rest of myRead more

How can you make an extra $1mm on the sale of your property? Our client was selling his mother’s house.  It was widely publicized when it hit the market, a townhouse on East 9th Street, brought to market with my team’s rockstars Chloe Chasanoff and Brooke Davis.  The New York Times was excited to coverRead more

Every Other Real Estate Market in the US vs Manhattan Every market in the US had record real estate pricing in 2020, 2021, and 2022.  Except New York City.  We took a while to wake up after COVID- then we also had an incredibly strong real estate market in 2021 and 2022.  But NYC neverRead more

Complaining vs Acting I got some great advice about complaining a long time ago.  It’s like a rocking chair.  It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.  And boy, do people like to complain about every real estate market.  If the market is up, they complain they missed out.  And if theyRead more

Mortgage Rates Have Dropped For a Month Straight Mortgage rates are at their lowest in more than four months.  It’s worth taking a fresh look at them. Yes, the Fed is still making lots of noise as it grapples with inflation.  Ignore that for a moment.  We just had a client get a 4.125% interest rateRead more

Are You All-In On New York City? There are times in your life that force a decision about moving.  Your landlord is selling your apartment.  You have completely outgrown your place.  You get relocated because of a job.   Perhaps you’re going through a divorce.  In these cases, people have to come to terms with moving,Read more

The smart money is buying right now. Look at reports like this – they show that the market above $4mm continues to be as strong as ever.  Within the 5 strongest years on record, in fact! However, many people are scared, because of high mortgage rates.  And what might be pushing them higher.  I’ve postedRead more

My sellers almost lost $150,000 selling to a neighbor.  I’ll tell you how we helped them avoid that. The Story In late 2019, I met this couple who wanted to sell their home in a cooperative building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.  Like many, their building has units starting as small as studios,Read more

Conforming Loans in Real Estate It begins with the innocuous Federal Housing Financing Agency announcement yesterday as of this writing (link here), which governs Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, the government-backed lenders you know.  Currently, the US government agencies of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac buy mortgage loans from Banks post-closing.  There is a capRead more

People think the issue is mortgage rates.  Nope. People think the issue is a recession.  Wrong again. The issue is actually INVENTORY.  There’s not enough good property on the market. All that’s left on the market are properties that either need price reductions (see my other post), or, seemingly, lots of property that needs aRead more