Patience has become the story of the market, for buyers and especially those sellers in the luxury sector of $5M and above. It used to be that an apartment became stale after weeks on the market. In some cases half a year or a year has become the new norm. Buyers are taking more time, viewing more options and waiting for the right opportunity to strike.
Rent Regulation Moves Forward A landmark agreement was reached on Tuesday to strengthen New York’s rent laws and tenant protections, a huge blow for landlords with rent regulated tenants and potentially the NY real estate industry as a whole. The changes will remove certain allowances that let building owners deregulate apartments, close a series of rules that permit them to raise rents and allow some tenant protections to expand statewide.
Investing in High End Rentals Units Between 2007 and 2017, top-earning renters increased by 175%, while homeowners within the same income bracket exhibited a 67% growth rate. Out of the 43.3M renters nationwide, 2.1M are top earners, $150k income or higher, according to the latest available U.S. Census data. Back in 2007, there were only 774,000 high-income renters. Which makes a strong argument to own high-level rental properties: the combination of low interest rates, lower prices in areas, more flexibility with negotiating combined with depreciation and strong demand - not to mention long term appreciation - could make for a solid investment.
Mortgage Rates Become Even Friendlier Those buyers who are planning to finance should be eager to make a purchase as mortgage rates fell for the sixth straight week, hitting their lowest point since September 2017. The 30-year fixed-rate average slid to 3.82% and rates have been on a steady decline since November, when they topped out near 5% and pushed mortgage applications to a four-year low. The lower rates prompted a surge in mortgage applications last week, with a 1.5% increase.
Fed Chief Powell indicated that further interest rate cuts are imminent to off-set the negative effects of the China-US trade war, in addition to other trade disputes that are certain to impact consumers and potentially lead to higher inflation.
Time to Refi? There are now about 5.9M borrowers who could see their mortgage rates drop by at least 75 basis points by refinancing their mortgages. That is an increase of 2M in just the past month, according to Black Knight. That is the largest population of eligible candidates in nearly 3 years and represents an aggregate of $1.6 billion in potential monthly savings. Per borrower, the savings is about $271 per month.
Q1 Home Flipping Hits High About 49,000 single-family homes and condos were flipped in the first quarter of 2019, according to Attom Data Solutions. These homes comprised 7.2% of all home sales nationwide during that time period, the highest home-flipping rate since the first quarter of 2010. The number of homes that were flipped was actually down 8% from the previous year to a 3-year low. And the number of investors engaging in home flipping has dropped 11% over the past year.
And last but not least, I have joined the Karp|Dagan Team as Head Of Sales & Leasing!
The Karp | Dagan Team was founded in 2010 by Daniel Karp and Ariel Dagan, both award winning agents. Throughout the past decade they have amassed an impressive client list of condo, co-op, and building owners as well as buyers, property managers, and renters. I believe this is the simple result of them always putting their clients’ interests first.
The fact that their customers are always their top priority and that they take great pride in cultivating long-term relationships is something I value tremendously in a partnership. With our combined in-depth expertise, we will be able to help old and new clients navigate the complicated terrain of Brooklyn real estate in addition to Manhattan. I thoroughly believe our culture aligns very well which is why I am looking forward to helping them further their imprint outside of Manhattan and into Brooklyn.
proudly announces our expansion to Brooklyn with our newest expert addition to the team Thomas Bekhazi! Thomas is a passionate, experienced and well traveled individual whose expertise is informed by his life experiences of working and living all over the world along with an unparalleled commitment to serving his clients. Thomas has extensive experience working with foreign buyers and investors thanks to his fluency in English, French, & Portuguese. His entry into the Team will expand our horizons and elevate our ability for personalized service.
