Monday, January 12, 2009
Nobody knows better embriagadoras unfathomable heights and the depths of the real estate market in New York that the seller of sausages Pasang Sherpa.
City paid a whopping 362,000 and $ 280,000 for two locations on the sidewalk of the famous Fifth Avenue opposite the Metropolitan Museum in the hope of having the most coveted place of sale of the city.
But when he arrived with their carts discovered that one of the sites was blocked until May for repairs and the other invaded by war veterans who do not pay a cent of income. The significant investment Sherpa suddenly seemed less successful.
"I paid a crazy amount," said Nepalese immigrant 50 years. "The economy is falling, there are more sellers and other sites are disabled. I'm going crazy." For all New Yorkers, from the vendors of hot dogs "to the millionaires, these are days of surf in the market for real estate.
The time that no price seemed too crazy, that the buyers were kneeling, and Manhattan was the promised land of property developers, is a thing of the past. Luxury apartments remain unsold, empty shops are beginning to appear in the best areas and the collapse of Wall Street has entered the market.
"We have a crisis of hope, because people do not necessarily go out," says Joseph Harbert, chief of operations at Cushman and Wakefield real estate in the New York region. Manhattan has traditionally been a stronghold of the property, protected from trends elsewhere in the country simply because so many people want to live on this island where space necessarily finite.
Cushman, however, that the reported income of space for companies in Manhattan is at its lowest point since the dark days that followed the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. The available space in Manhattan totaling 2.9 million square meters, 43% more than in late 2007, the highest level since May 2006, Cushman said.
That is partly because the entire U.S. economy was in recession, but also because of the crisis on Wall Street who in September released huge amounts of office space overnight. "With the speed of lightning, many people remained in bankruptcy," said Harbert. "Those things shook confidence." The building is also affected.
"Nobody wants to take the risk of raising a new building," said Harbert. Reports suggest that at least four billion dollars in projects have been canceled or postponed, including the proposed 16 towers of the Atlantic Yards neighborhood. The same goes for the residential market.
Long been a dream for marketers, with the Wall Street yuppies maintain prices at levels absurd for small properties. The investment bank Goldman Sachs says that sales fell between 25 and 30% in the fourth quarter of 2008 over the previous year.
Residential construction will fall from 35,000 to 18,000 units per year by 2010, according to experts. Trying to navigate through this storm is Paula Del Nunzio, real estate agent specializing in multi-million dollar sales.
At the top of his list is the mansion Henry T. Sloane, facing Central Park, with 11 fireplaces, elevator, 15 bedrooms, 17 bathrooms and marble staircase. Price: $ 64 million. The property came to market in February last year, well ahead of Wall Street fall, to the great misfortune to many tycoons of finance and foreign affluent, such as the Russians.
"The price is negotiable," said Del Nunzio. However, like Harbert, is confident that prices will go up in Manhattan. Of course Sherpa, seller of hot dogs "also hopes that its huge investment will be profitable. "I had hoped," he said, "I'm afraid."
