Gone
It’s Not Coming Back For You
I spent a number of weekends last fall working with a young couple from Long Island who wanted a house in the $1.3 million range. There were plenty of houses to show them that fit their needs; unfortunately, they were all in the multi list books for the Spring of 2001 and not the fall of 2002. By the time this couple arrived, the market had moved past them and there was nothing that they liked.
They rejected my advice that they buy something that they didn’t like and fix it up; the husband, being a Wall Street whiz, was sure that prices would fall over the winter and he could return in the spring to pick up a bargain. Hasn’t happened, and it wont happen. The New York Times recently ran an article explaining why. Interest rates, for one: in constant dollars, the monthly mortgage payment for a $183,000 home in 1988 was actually more than the payments for a $330,000 home in 2003 ($2,019 vs. $1,519). Buyers can pay owners or banks; as the payment to the latter decreases, the price paid to the former goes up. Another factor: there is no more land. The article, citing statistics from the National Association of Realtors, notes that the Atlanta region saw one single-home permit issued last year for every 81 residents; in the NY metropolitan area, it was 1 for every 735. Nationally, over ten years, one home has been built for every 1.6 new jobs; the metro area saw 1 for every 16 new jobs.
What all that says, to me, is that we will continue to see escalating prices in Greenwich. First time buyers disagree, particularly the Wall Streeters. They hesitate, defer, and are convinced that prices will soon fall. My answer to that is (a) people have been making, and losing, that same bet since the rail roads first arrived in 1848; and (b) wasn’t it Wall Street’s best minds who brought us the dot com miracle?
In Town Listing
Readers of this column have noticed, I hope, that I tend to avoid plugging Round Hill Partner’s listings—the advertising section is over a few pages to your right—but it would be unfair to completely ignore certain exceptional homes just because I write a column. So: we’ve just brought on to the market a classic, 1929 home at One MacPhearson Drive, asking price $2,895,000. Sitting nicely on acre and a half of lawns and gardens, this home could use a new kitchen and baths and, possibly, a new wing for a modern master bedroom suite (plenty of room to accommodate it) but it has all the great things homes of this era should have: beautiful moldings, gracious room size and wide hallways. The yard sweeps around all sides and feels positively huge; you’d never guess that you were five minutes from downtown. And the price is right. Modernized, this home on this street would easily support a $4.5 million asking price, and you’ll spend far less than that bringing this home into the new century.
Don’t Touch That Button!
Greenpoint Mortgage, a national mortgage lender (and a good one) recently decided to upgrade its computer software. The software was loaded, the computers restarted and . . . zilch. Every scrap of information they had disappeared into the ether or wherever it is data escapes to and for a solid week Greenpoint couldn’t print documents, make loans, etc. Now, if you’ve ever been involved in a real estate transaction where your buyer had to sell his house in, say, Indiana in order to buy your house, and his buyer had to sell his house and so forth, you’ll have a decent idea of the havoc created across the country when a major lender takes a week off. Anyway, they’re back in business now and loans are again being extended, but I wonder where that poor programmer is and what he’s doing with all his free time.
Great Moments in Real Estate Listings
There is a condominium for sale in Old Greenwich described on its listing sheet as a “three-story townhouse”. While technically accurate, most people would probably not guess that the first floor is comprised solely of a narrow, dark staircase leading up. The same advertising principles that condemn this practice, by the way, also frown on describing “beautiful pool views” if the body of water in question lies entirely on your neighbor’s property.
I spent a number of weekends last fall working with a young couple from Long Island who wanted a house in the $1.3 million range. There were plenty of houses to show them that fit their needs; unfortunately, they were all in the multi list books for the Spring of 2001 and not the fall of 2002. By the time this couple arrived, the market had moved past them and there was nothing that they liked.
They rejected my advice that they buy something that they didn’t like and fix it up; the husband, being a Wall Street whiz, was sure that prices would fall over the winter and he could return in the spring to pick up a bargain. Hasn’t happened, and it wont happen. The New York Times recently ran an article explaining why. Interest rates, for one: in constant dollars, the monthly mortgage payment for a $183,000 home in 1988 was actually more than the payments for a $330,000 home in 2003 ($2,019 vs. $1,519). Buyers can pay owners or banks; as the payment to the latter decreases, the price paid to the former goes up. Another factor: there is no more land. The article, citing statistics from the National Association of Realtors, notes that the Atlanta region saw one single-home permit issued last year for every 81 residents; in the NY metropolitan area, it was 1 for every 735. Nationally, over ten years, one home has been built for every 1.6 new jobs; the metro area saw 1 for every 16 new jobs.
What all that says, to me, is that we will continue to see escalating prices in Greenwich. First time buyers disagree, particularly the Wall Streeters. They hesitate, defer, and are convinced that prices will soon fall. My answer to that is (a) people have been making, and losing, that same bet since the rail roads first arrived in 1848; and (b) wasn’t it Wall Street’s best minds who brought us the dot com miracle?
In Town Listing
Readers of this column have noticed, I hope, that I tend to avoid plugging Round Hill Partner’s listings—the advertising section is over a few pages to your right—but it would be unfair to completely ignore certain exceptional homes just because I write a column. So: we’ve just brought on to the market a classic, 1929 home at One MacPhearson Drive, asking price $2,895,000. Sitting nicely on acre and a half of lawns and gardens, this home could use a new kitchen and baths and, possibly, a new wing for a modern master bedroom suite (plenty of room to accommodate it) but it has all the great things homes of this era should have: beautiful moldings, gracious room size and wide hallways. The yard sweeps around all sides and feels positively huge; you’d never guess that you were five minutes from downtown. And the price is right. Modernized, this home on this street would easily support a $4.5 million asking price, and you’ll spend far less than that bringing this home into the new century.
Don’t Touch That Button!
Greenpoint Mortgage, a national mortgage lender (and a good one) recently decided to upgrade its computer software. The software was loaded, the computers restarted and . . . zilch. Every scrap of information they had disappeared into the ether or wherever it is data escapes to and for a solid week Greenpoint couldn’t print documents, make loans, etc. Now, if you’ve ever been involved in a real estate transaction where your buyer had to sell his house in, say, Indiana in order to buy your house, and his buyer had to sell his house and so forth, you’ll have a decent idea of the havoc created across the country when a major lender takes a week off. Anyway, they’re back in business now and loans are again being extended, but I wonder where that poor programmer is and what he’s doing with all his free time.
Great Moments in Real Estate Listings
There is a condominium for sale in Old Greenwich described on its listing sheet as a “three-story townhouse”. While technically accurate, most people would probably not guess that the first floor is comprised solely of a narrow, dark staircase leading up. The same advertising principles that condemn this practice, by the way, also frown on describing “beautiful pool views” if the body of water in question lies entirely on your neighbor’s property.
posted by Chris Fountain at 10:12 AM
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