Tips, Trends and Tales from a Pro
Viewing entries tagged
experienced broker
If you’re a seller today, proper pricing is more important than ever. While it’s tempting to sign on with the broker who says your apartment can fetch a higher price than other broker estimates, expectations need to be real and achievable. When agents overprice properties—or when sellers fail to heed conservative pricing advice—valuable time is lost as the real estate sits on the market only to be ignored and ultimately discounted. Some sellers get no respect.
Talk continues about a possible bubble in real estate. In the last year, prices have jumped as much as 30-40%, and the pace of trading has been frenetic. In the months and year ahead, however, a return to more balanced activity with modest price appreciation is welcomed.
Inventory has been shrinking steadily. But with new construction and new conversions in the works, more than 25,000 apartments are scheduled to come into the marketplace in the next 18 months. For certain, the market will be impacted. Will the “if-you-build-it, they-will-come” mentality continue? Undoubtedly, some developments will be more secure in their locations than others, like The Plaza, The Stanhope and The Mayflower Hotels.
With each new month of 2004, sellers have been enjoying an increasing advantage. Clearly, we are in a rising market, and the pace of activity is fast and furious for property owners on the east and west side, up and downtown. Competitive bidding is becoming the norm. However, not every property is rushing out the door to contract, and we are experiencing a fair amount of buyer drop-out. Therefore, today’s sellers are cautioned to curb your enthusiasm.
