Author Topic: coop price trend in jackson heights for the past 10 years  (Read 16191 times)

Offline agentarmen

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Re: coop price trend in jackson heights for the past 10 years
« Reply #30 on: January 22, 2013, 10:32:46 AM »

Reply to Armen's comments, the junior 4 (larger than your stated flex 2 or whatever) can be found in Jackson Heights for around 250K even at redfin, mlsli or streeteasy or NYT times.  Some shady brokers in craigslist can even stretch your listing to be as a three bedroom as one can wall off the living-room as a separate bedroom. I believe most buyers in Jackson Heights want to live like a family. Do we seriously like to live like a dorm town in Manhattan so the brokers can jack up the price as high in Manhattan?  If that happens, most family will go to other areas for example (Forest Hills, Rego Park, Elmhurst) to find real homes.


Sorry for chiming in a little late on this subject, I noticed that Aram already pulled some examples. Fair Housing practices dictate that as licensees we don't make a distinction in the familial status, same way as race, gender, profession etc... We qualify our buyers based on credit worthiness and the boards make the ultimate determination.

I want to be clear that I see jh_coop_buyer's point of view, and that the presumption is that the price is being inflated by the marketing description. Let me assure you again, the asking price of the unit is exactly equal to the recent sales of a similar 1 bedroom unit in the same building, which my partner and I sold 4 units in the last year, and the highest sale of a one bedroom is attributed to another broker whom we highly respect. The work was done by a building approved contractor, and similar conversion was done in the unit one floor below and  in one other listing we currently represent, so it's not an anomaly or an inflation by any measure.

My advice to all buyers is - BUY. There are very qualified buyers coming into Jackson Heights with an average household income of $120,000-160,000, and inevitably you will see owners looking for higher premium for their apartments as the demand increases. And as long as the banks appraisals support the values, prices will rise. With the feds continuing to buy 40 billion dollars in mortgage loans from the agencies, the rates will continue to stay low continuing to aid the increase in values.

Warmly,
Armen

www.jacksonheightslistings.com

Armen Meschian
Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker

CORE
149 Fifth Avenue, 11th Floor,
New York, NY 10010
t:     212-612-9694
c:     917-848-6928
am@corenyc.com

http://www.JacksonHeightsListings.com

Offline jh_coop_buyer

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Re: coop price trend in jackson heights for the past 10 years
« Reply #31 on: January 22, 2013, 08:24:09 PM »
My advice to all buyers is - BUY.

I can not resist. Such a typical language from a broker who claimed his co-broking is providing service for the buyers.
The buyer agent ultimately works for the seller as his commission comes directly from the seller. If there is no deal, the buyer agent gets nothing.  The buyer agent will try to close the deal as quick as possible, there is no motivation for him to negotiate the best price for the buyer.

Any buyer should ride the rollercoaster before he makes a decision to buy.
http://www.flixxy.com/real-estate-prices.htm

I was looking at the closed sale at redfin
http://www.redfin.com/NY/Jackson-Heights/7215-37th-Ave-11372/unit-2G/home/20637289
The layout can be seen in the Columbia real estate brochure (http://nyre.cul.columbia.edu/items/view/44081)
or from http://www.redfin.com/NY/Jackson-Heights/7215-37th-Ave-11372/unit-5G/home/20630657

From the layout, Armen (agentarmen) and his friend Aram will list this as three bedroom two bathroom apartment since the dining room can be converted to a third bedroom.

The owner of apartment 2G paid the price of  345000 in April 2008 (probably by following Armen's advice to always buy).
For some reasons he can not control (probably due to job relocation), in Sept 2012, he had to sell it for 285000, with a loss of 60000, adding the broker fee and closing costs of buying and selling and having to pay the maintenance fee for one year and a half for the apartment on the market. His total loss is at least 90,000.

As I mentioned yesterday, if one has a very stable job (tenured professors, doctors and government jobs), he definitely should buy an apartment by taking advantage of the low interest rate as he can stay in the apartment forever. For the rest of us, we have to worry if job relocation or family size growth  or a better school for the kids require us to move to another place, we need to consider carefully the re-sale price (on average, an American family moves home once in every 7 years).   The low-interest rate of today will bite us several years down the road when the interest rate increases and the coop price comes down as fewer people can afford the mortgage. 

I'm still struggling whether I should keep renting for a couple of years and then jump to the market after the government stops buying mortgage bond to keep the interest rate artificially low.


Offline NYC Native

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Re: coop price trend in jackson heights for the past 10 years
« Reply #32 on: January 22, 2013, 10:07:05 PM »
Hi Armen

I admire your efforts to make fancy pages on the web site at www.jacksonheightslistings.com. Somehow, the trick of misleading information or stretching the facts too much turns me away immediately. For example, you have listed the apartment 35-36 76th Street, #323 as a two bedroom apartment.  .....

The problem with this particular layout is that it could never be called a "Jr4" or converted into a functional 2 bedroom.  The "flex room" is not ideally located for convertion.  The kitchen is adjacent to the bedroom, not the living room thus making the opening of the Dining Room (flex room??) into the Living room impossible.  I can get creative myself, but calling it a 2 bedroom?  :D
Time is running out!

Offline NYC Native

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Re: coop price trend in jackson heights for the past 10 years
« Reply #33 on: January 22, 2013, 10:20:37 PM »
If the comparables are there to support the sales and if the monthly out of pocket to own the property is cheaper or about the same as renting, then buying is a no brainer.  The tax benefits are there as well for owners, with finance charges and partial maintenance being tax deductible.   In all fairness, I have to agree with the assessment that, often times renting is best for many.  There are a lot of good reasons for many individuals to keep renting.  
Time is running out!

Offline aram

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Re: coop price trend in jackson heights for the past 10 years
« Reply #34 on: January 22, 2013, 11:26:03 PM »
 jh_coop_buyer, it's fine if you disagree with some of the things that have been said here.

But it's a complete drag that you're being so combative, especially since we took the time to provide you with some valuable information.

If you're going to call someone out about something, please have it be about something they're doing that is actually wrong!

The way Armen advertised his property is in line with standard industry practice. I gave several other examples to support this, and yet still you insist on calling him out for doing something that is actually quite normal.

Please take the time to reread my post about this. It's actually quite important that other people reading this know that this is normal, and in fact GOOD! It helps you sell your property, as it brings in buyers who might not have initially considered it. And it also helps buyers, who might find and fall in love with a home that they might not have initially considered!

And no, I wouldn't list this apartment as a 3br. If there was a 2br apartment with a separate dining area that could be converted to a BR, I would probably list that as a 3BR or Flex-3BR

If you take the time search, you can probably find many examples that of this from a wide range of brokerage companies.

Regardless, I wish you best of luck with your search!
And whether you choose to buy or rent, I'm sure that you'll love living here in Jackson Heights!
It's a GREAT neighborhood!




Offline jh_coop_buyer

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Re: coop price trend in jackson heights for the past 10 years
« Reply #35 on: January 23, 2013, 01:49:54 AM »

The problem with this particular layout is that it could never be called a "Jr4" or converted into a functional 2 bedroom.  The "flex room" is not ideally located for convertion.  The kitchen is adjacent to the bedroom, not the living room thus making the opening of the Dining Room (flex room??) into the Living room impossible.  I can get creative myself, but calling it a 2 bedroom?  :D


Thanks NYC Native.

If you're going to call someone out about something, please have it be about something they're doing that is actually wrong!

And no, I wouldn't list this apartment as a 3br. If there was a 2br apartment with a separate dining area that could be converted to a BR, I would probably list that as a 3BR or Flex-3BR

whether you choose to buy or rent, I'm sure that you'll love living here in Jackson Heights!
It's a GREAT neighborhood!

First I thank Aram for your valuable advice. However, I still stand correct (see NYC native's comments).  If it's really a junior 4 as in your other examples, I'm not too offended. Please read the layout  of Armen's apartment I posted at reply #14 (Armen himself has already removed the floor plan on his web listing, not a surprise). I don't think you have ever looked at the floor plan of the apartment 2G  (too lazy to click my link) I mentioned, see the attachment. As a matter of fact, I'm not too offended when this apartment is listed as Flex-3BR as the one doesn't have to go to the kitchen for the third bedroom, however many honest brokers still list them as two bedroom two bath.

I'm not sure jackson heights is my only choice. As I mentioned in the other post, I will look into Forest Hills, Rego Park and Elmhurst as well.

Offline jh_coop_buyer

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Re: coop price trend in jackson heights for the past 10 years
« Reply #36 on: January 23, 2013, 01:51:52 AM »
The floor plan doesn't show well. Hope this one is better.

Offline emkayoh

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Re: coop price trend in jackson heights for the past 10 years
« Reply #37 on: January 23, 2013, 02:53:53 AM »
I've also been thinking about buying since I'm not satisfied with any of the rental postings in this neighborhood. I've been on craigslist, trulia, zillow, the pictures are always depressing images of emptied out apartments vacated by owners who quickly found something better, and apparently, with no one too eager to take over. And boy are the postings repetitive! Every other ad is capitalized, with superlative adjectives. "Beautiful! Going Fast! Stunning!" ("posted by owners", but scroll down, there's a fee) - can we say desperate with a capital 'D' ?

I've been living here probably for the past 6 years and no closer to affording the *real* 2 bedrooms judging by these sale prices I've seen, 350 - 600K, with mortgage on top of maintenance (i've see 1200/month!! Can't residents pitch in to maintain the gardens to save some money?) will probably come out to a manhattan rental, defeating the purpose of living in Jackson Heights, which by the way, does not have the same restaurants or schools or businesses as park slope.

I agree with the previous poster about dangling a carrot and stick in the ad descriptions. Imagine my disappointment when I click a 2 bedroom ad, only to find out it's actually a ONE bedroom with a 50 square foot space  >:( for storage or dining or office, not fit for an adult to sleep in. I simply cannot put my elderly mother in a space like that to sleep in, so I think at least putting "1.5" in the text description field (where there's no preset pulldown menu for bedroom numbers) is at least more honest.

Good luck to OP buyer. I think I should start looking at Jersey instead. Oy.

Offline aram

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Re: coop price trend in jackson heights for the past 10 years
« Reply #38 on: January 23, 2013, 04:48:08 AM »
Thanks NYC Native.

First I thank Aram for your valuable advice. However, I still stand correct (see NYC native's comments).  If it's really a junior 4 as in your other examples, I'm not too offended. Please read the layout  of Armen's apartment I posted at reply #14 (Armen himself has already removed the floor plan on his web listing, not a surprise). I don't think you have ever looked at the floor plan of the apartment 2G  (too lazy to click my link) I mentioned, see the attachment.

The floor plan in reply #14 is a classic Junior 4 layout that's commonly converted to 2brs. I know that many people actually prefer this type of layout for a Junior 4 because it creates a split bedroom. The bedroom is separate from the living area and other "true" bedroom and gives some privacy if it's being used as a guest room.

It also allows parents to be active in the living area while the baby is sleeping - the kitchen provides a bit of a buffer. Junior 4 layouts where the "4" part is like an extension of the living room do not provide this privacy. Case in point, I have some friends in Brooklyn who recently had a baby, and converted the "4" part of their apartment to a nursery. The nursery opens up into the living room, and they can no longer watch TV after the baby goes to sleep. If they had an apartment similar to Armen's listing, this wouldn't be a problem.

emkayoh, I have certainly seen some listings that say "1.5 bedroom" instead of Junior 4, or Flex 2. But again, Flex 2 is a standard term that's used in the city, so you'll probably see that more than 1.5 bedroom.

And while I understand how it can be frustrating within your own search parameters, I know from experience that many clients would click on that same ad and have a positive experience. An "A-Ha" moment if you will, because they realize that they can have some of the benefits of a 2br at a lower price point.
As you stated, the fact remains that true 2brs are often much more expensive in JH. These flex 2's are great options for people who want to buy but can't afford a true two bedroom.
Someone stated in a previous post "You get what you pay for." And while I understand that sentiment, unfortunately, not everyone has the means to spend $500K at the Chateau.

Regardless, I feel like I'm beating a dead horse here.

jh_coop_buyer let us know where you end up! And best of luck with your search!

« Last Edit: January 23, 2013, 05:01:04 AM by aram »

Offline NYC Native

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Re: coop price trend in jackson heights for the past 10 years
« Reply #39 on: January 23, 2013, 08:57:42 AM »
Converting a flex room or dining space into sleeping quarter requires experience if the location is at odds with natural light and flow.  But Aram makes several valuable points as well, including remaining wall areas for entertainment and the like, but that's were experience in design and layout come into play.  Bottom line is that all of you guys have made meritorious pro and con arguments, lets not become another Astorians with the hair splitting and personal attacks.  I've gotten caught in these scenarios and it can escalate and get ugly.  We are a nicer, more mature site.  DO what I learned to do, leave the thread and move on.
Time is running out!

Offline Superclam

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Re: coop price trend in jackson heights for the past 10 years
« Reply #40 on: January 23, 2013, 11:23:42 AM »
We are a nicer, more mature site.  DO what I learned to do, leave the thread and move on.

Amen!

Offline emkayoh

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Re: coop price trend in jackson heights for the past 10 years
« Reply #41 on: January 23, 2013, 01:27:06 PM »
I was looking at 2 bedrooms for 3 people to live in, but cannot imagine how a flex 2 can allow 3 people- any board would definitely reject this idea. Besides, isn't converting a dining room into a bedroom against most co-op board rules? wouldn't you have to go through their converted bedroom to either reach the kitchen or living room? The concept sounds very odd.

If anyone would rather rent their 2 bedroom (real 2 bedroom) co-op than sell, please give me a shout.

Offline Superclam

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Re: coop price trend in jackson heights for the past 10 years
« Reply #42 on: January 23, 2013, 01:36:26 PM »
I think the layout above could work for some people: 3 unrelated young adults, a family with a teenager, or an older parent living with a family. It depends on your needs.

Every co-op board is different, but I know my board would NOT allow the use of a dining room for a bedroom.

Offline lifeofpi

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Re: coop price trend in jackson heights for the past 10 years
« Reply #43 on: January 23, 2013, 04:19:22 PM »
If you have been priced out of Jackson Heights, Elmhurst may have been your only and last option I guess. However, I am NOT sure if there are any good prewar buildings around. Good Luck!!
« Last Edit: January 23, 2013, 04:32:52 PM by lifeofpi »

Offline Superclam

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Re: coop price trend in jackson heights for the past 10 years
« Reply #44 on: January 23, 2013, 05:53:36 PM »
There are also lots of options east of the Historic District, as well as neighborhoods further in Queens.