Friday, February 29, 2008

Condo market not doing well

In certain projects, developers are contemplating price reductions or conversion to rental. One senior development director told me, "Sales have dried up in Long Island City even for products in the best locations. Since October, we have only sold five units."

The Divide Between Manhattan, Other Boroughs

One prominent industry leader who requested anonymity said: "Condos in general are clearly not selling at the pace they were a year ago. There has been massive overbuilding in the entire borough of Brooklyn. It is like the Wild West, and if you don't control growth, then at some point it's going to get out of hand."

"Developers have been offering incentives and have been negotiating more," the source added. "Buyers are taking longer to make decisions to purchase for a couple of reasons: (a) They are nervous about purchasing when they may believe if they wait they could buy the same or similar product for less later, and there is a lot of product in the market to look at; and (b) there is no fear that if they don't buy the unit today, the guy in line behind them will buy it, because in general there are no lines anymore."

The president of W Financial, Gregg Winter, said: "Mediocre projects — uninspired designs thrown up in ho-hum locations — are now justifiably suffering and selling at a pace akin to Chinese water torture. For years these projects would somehow manage to get financed, built, and slide though the system buoyed by a rising tide that caused amateur developers to believe they actually knew what they were doing..."

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know, when everybody was complaining about all the luxury housing being built pushing out the middle class (us), I had a theory.
My theory was that if they build enough "luxury housing" or the economy goes in the crapper (which it has), you will have a glut of expensive housing thus driving down prices and making them affordable to the middle class. Maybe in the long run it will be a mix of middle class people with all those yuppies.
Maybe then everyone will love the new LIC.

Anonymous said...

Oh gee, where is that real estate junkie qlic or whatever.

I though thousands were standing in line every weekend waiting to see .... barracks.

Anonymous said...

Yes, and where is that pro-condo poster who was very vocal about how great these buildings are, and his multiple puchases of condos. Maybe he can buy up the rest. Just goes to show that people who are not from here and do not follow what is going on in the neighborhood have no clue about what they're talking about. Jackass.

Anonymous said...

will have a glut of expensive housing thus driving down prices and making them affordable to the middle class. Maybe in the long run it will be a mix of middle class people with all those yuppies.
---------

read about the history of Harlem.

now look at LIC.

connect the dots!connect the dots!connect the dots!connect the dots!connect the dots!connect the dots!

Anonymous said...

fools gold

Anonymous said...

Too many angry idiots on this post.

Anonymous said...

Very good article. I love the part of the article about LIC. Gee, wasnt Long Island City the next hot thing - NOT! Guess, there gonna have a hard time selling those new units at Crescent Club.
Guess the geniuses who plunked down a million plus at Arris are in for a bumpy ride. Ha ha ha!

Anonymous said...

Connect the dots.....

Someone has been forgetting to take their medication.
He should spend some quality time with the guy who ends his post by calling no one in particular a jackass.

Anonymous said...

Read Crapper's "Windows on the World of Crap" from this month and you'll know who and what I'm talking about. And welcome to Queens Crap, Jackass.

Anonymous said...

Jackass Penguins are smarter than most real estate junkies, FYI.

Can we get the prostitutes back into Queens Plaza now? With all those unrentable soon to be hot sheet hotels in the area that is one business that will definitely thrive.

-The Anger

Anonymous said...

Crapper you are a joke. Why don't you stop censoring comments that you disagree with? If you all think waterfront property with Manhattan skyline views and 5 minute commutes to midtown are bad investments, you need to learn the basics of real estate.

Anonymous said...

A few points:
1) Most developments are over 75-80% pre-sold at this point. Rentals are near 100% occupancy. Rockrose and other developers are moving full speed ahead with their projects, and I can point to 4-5 new developments that have started or gone public just within the past few months. In short the claims of LIC death are exaggerated.
2) Uh, you all live in allegedly live in Queens, so if you are cheering the demise of LIC you may be missing the fact that the prices of your homes are also declining
3) A 20% drop in average price in the new building still had prices hovering around $650 a sqft. Would not hold my breath for a return to the old days of finding a cheap rental for a couple hundred bucks.

Anonymous said...

"Uh, you all live in allegedly live in Queens, so if you are cheering the demise of LIC you may be missing the fact that the prices of your homes are also declining"

Yeah but we plan to stay here, not meet, mate and move, so the value will go up in the long run.

Anonymous said...

"you need to learn the basics of real estate."

No, you need to learn them. Manhattan, Manhattan, Manhattan. Queens will never be where it's at. The TV character Archie Bunker, whom you love to equate with your working class neighbors, ruined forever your chance to make LIC cool. You now carry our mantle. Welcome!

Anonymous said...

The TV character Archie Bunker, whom you love to equate with your working class neighbors, ruined forever your chance to make LIC cool. You now carry our mantle. Welcome!
---------
Archie was an invention. His image is not welcome around these parts.

Anonymous said...

If you all think waterfront property with Manhattan skyline views and 5 minute commutes to midtown are bad investments, you need to learn the basics of real estate.
--------
My friend, to you an investment. To me, my neighborhood. And I think the best thing for my waterfront is a park for my kids, not some tower where newbies can look down on me.

Now I know my politicians have sold the neighborhood down the river to developers, but, you know what, we ain't going nowhere.

We vote. And we have long memories. To go ahead, 'jackass,' while you have the time.

Anonymous said...

"Yeah but we plan to stay here, not meet, mate and move, so the value will go up in the long run."

Interesting. I never knew that home values move in direct relation to the occupants marital status or duration of their stay in said home. Have you shared these ground breaking findings with others?

Anonymous said...

What did we tell you way back?

Listen up all you developers' property pimps
(and that one particular LIC blog trolling
Queens West sales agent who may still be with us)
WE TOLD YOU SO !

You might be able to fool
all of the people some of the time
and some of the people all of the time......!

You know how the rest goes....
BUT the buyers have WISED UP
and it looks like you guys
are stuck with a lot of "luxury" lemons
on your hands.

H-m-m-m....
you'd better cancel those Greek Isles vacation plans
with your commissions flying out of the windows!

You broke the prime business commandment
regarding supply and demand.

You're overstocked and there's no longer
much of a demand!

Anonymous said...

It's that desperate buy one of our
"Almost Manhattan Towers" condos
semi/pro LIC sales agent on line again!

Got to admire your bravado
in the midst of a sinking market.

Aboard the Titanic there were also assurances
of watertight bulkheads that would keep
that unsinkable vessel afloat.

You'd better look and see
if they've got room for you in the lifeboats
you pompous dunce!

And don't go maxing out your credit
trying to stay afloat keeping up appearances!

S.O.S. is someone out there?

Just tread water and backstroke.
It could be years until the market recovers!

Anonymous said...

Interesting. I never knew that home values move in direct relation to the occupants marital status or duration of their stay in said home.

-------------

Never seen what flighty yuppies can do to a community, or see their attitute towards the old guard, have you?

Must be a newbie, eh?

Well welcome sonny - but be careful - its a big town out there.

Anonymous said...

I live at ground zero of these developments. These buildings are a godsend and the only way to jumpstart the development and business that is already taking place here. Most of these folks who are out bitching about these projects are overwhelmingly Anglo blue hairs and old hippies who don't represent the ever growing diverse core of young professionals and young artists who are actually paying the bills around here. Ask any of us and we LOVE what's been built so far and are dying for more of it.

Anonymous said...

to "jackass" guy

Your the kind of little girl that has to call someone a "jackass" on a blog because they hide in the corner in public.
Call me a jackass to my face you bitch. Then after a stick my foot up your ass I'll tell YOU "Welcome to Queens!"

Anonymous said...

"These buildings are a godsend and the only way to jumpstart the development and business that is already taking place here."

I lived in my apartment for 33 years and think the development is a pain in the ass. It just adds to congestion and we cannot support it. Thank God my kids are grown up, but one of my neighbor's kids goes to school and its amazing they can get an education its so crowded.

How does adding more people to an area help me. Jump start business? Do busineeses vote? So why does their interest trump mine and the people that live on my block - people that get the impression that they are no longer wanted by our politicans and city hall?

I think a lot of officials need to go back to school and study why government exists.

If they can't (or don't want to) learn their lessons,don't worry, we remember.

Anonymous said...

Never seen what flighty yuppies can do to a community, or see their attitute towards the old guard, have you?


Okay I'll bite. Please elaborate.

Anonymous said...

How does adding more people to an area help me?

----

Simple allow me to explain:

More new building = less vacant warehouses, undeveloped land = more desirable neighborhood. (Who wants to live next to an abandoned building that would that be better used as a school or a park or retail that generate neighborhood vibrancy and jobs?)

More new buildings = more residents = more consumers = more retail services to an underserved area = more jobs. More jobs = more taxes for the government to collect.

More new buildings = more commitment to build public schools and parks. Many new building have commitments from the Dept. Ed. to build schools on the lower floors. Land that would have never been parks are being created.

Shall I continue?

Anonymous said...

It appears all development throughout Queens have ground to a halt. I don't care where it is - most the small units types are not selling at all - generating zero traffic. I can't imagine the large new developments are doing any better.

Anonymous said...

More new building = less vacant warehouses, undeveloped land = more desirable neighborhood. (Who wants to live next to an abandoned building that would that be better used as a school or a park or retail that generate neighborhood vibrancy and jobs?)

HA HA HA HA HA Who wants to live next to a condo building that would better be used as a school or park? We need these things NOW, before the new people are added. Otherwise it's too little too late.

Anonymous said...

“It appears all development throughout Queens have ground to a halt.”

Are you kidding? Just for kicks I went back to the past 30 days of posts on the crapper. Theses are all within walking distance of this development, and there are others not getting coverage here.

http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2008/03/slim-and-silver-in-lic.html
http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2008/02/mystery-demo.html
http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2008/02/mighty-john-youngs-unhappy-valentines.html
http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2008/02/windows-on-world-of-crap.html
http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2008/02/why-not-just-start-from-scratch.html
http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2008/01/falling-star.html

“HA HA HA HA HA Who wants to live next to a condo building that would better be used as a school or park?”

A lot of those condos have schools and parks, so I guess the answer is a lot of people.

Anonymous said...

There, there, Jackass, don't get your yuppie knickers in a twist. Guees I've touched a nerve. I'm not hiding behind anything. Seems you like to sign your name "Anonymous" to when you openly threaten people. If you looooooove the development that's happening and completely defacing a neighborhood, good for you. We "anglo blue hairs"–another clue that people who move into this neighborhood HAVE NO IDEA about who occupied it before their midwestern asses–will still be around long after you're gone.

And to the other poster: Oh, yeah and thanks for all the GREAT retail services and new jobs. Hmmm, let's see, on Vernon Blvd alone we have, oh! Lookie! A boutique with ugly clothes, another boutique with ugly clothes that just opened, a few shitty restaurants. WOW! Industry is back and BOOMING in LIC!

Anonymous said...

Finally, some objective feedback on this issue:

http://www.urbandigs.com/2008/03/long_island_city_reality_check.html

Sorry to those hoping for the end of the world.