By Kim Velsey 11/13/12 10:15am

After Sandy

Will prices drop in Zone A?

Hurricane Sandy Does Little to Dissuade Buyers From Lower Manhattan

Buildings along the southern lip of Manhattan are still pumping water from their basements almost two weeks after Governor Andrew Cuomo led a chorus of voices warning that violent storms and extreme weather patterns are the new normal. But the market for residential real estate seems, by and large, completely unphased. Hurricane Sandy may have flooded the city, but she has not dampened the desire to buy real estate in Lower Manhattan. At least not yet.

It is, of course, still early to judge what effect, if any, the hurricane will have on the Manhattan market, but real estate professionals say that cold—and wet—feet have not been an issue in showings and closings during the weeks since Sandy hit. (Banks, on the other hand, are feeling less confident, with a number insisting on inspections to rule out structural damage for loans on buildings in Zone A, even those that have long been in contract.) Read More

By Stephen Duffy 2/08/12 3:20pm

the way things were

The Studio apartment, and extinct species?

Size Matters: New York Used to Be Full of ‘Singletons,’ But Bigger Apartments and Rising Prices Means Living Alone Is Harder Than Ever

“This is an incredible thing. It’s new. No human society in all of history has organized life in this way,” enthused NYU sociology professor Eric Klinenberg. He had met The Observer at Jacques Torres in Hudson Square to discuss his new book, Going Solo, which investigates what Mr. Klinenberg sees as a desire of a large number of people to live alone. In the book he coins the term “singleton” for this supposed emerging group—take that, BoBos!—and he calls Manhattan “the capital of singletons.”

“The typical New Yorker gets married after 30 these days,” said Mr. Klinenberg, “and they have children even later. We had a huge number of years where we used to live with other people. Now we’re free to do what we want to do.” In his book, Mr. Klinenberg cites numerous statistics over the past 50 years that do show a gradual shift in this direction, from the standard (expected) nuclear family to the rise of what he calls “the cult of the individual.”

“Most people we interviewed said that after a few years of living with roommates they are ready for a place of their own.” Mr. Klinenberg said. He has a whole host of reasons why: “Roommates who don’t pay rent on time, roommates who don’t like the person you are dating …” etc., etc.

The idea of the New York loner is as old as the city itself. Look no further than the solemn, solitary Statue of Liberty. But recent trends actually point away from a city of “singletons,” not toward one. Read More

By Oliver Haydock 11/11/08 8:43pm

How Many Empty Apartments Are Too Many?

This much we know: In Manhattan, there is a growing supply of empty apartments that, due to a combination of overpricing, bad timing and lack of demand, cannot find tenants willing to sign the dotted line. This is unfamiliar territory for landlords, who have conducted business in an environment that, for the past several years, Read More