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Issue 65 – The Cooler Months

By all accounts, the third quarter Manhattan real estate market was quite healthy, with most data bantered in the market indicating: sales jumped almost 10% year over year, the average price per square foot hit a record of almost  $1,500, the median price paid climbed almost 10% to just shy of $1 million, apartments sold […]

Issue 64 – Technology’s Place in NYC Real Estate

There is no shortage of online services available these days to help a buyer find his or her perfect home.  Whether it’s Zillow, Streetasy, or Trulia, inventory and comps in your desired grid, price range, and size is just a few clicks away.  I suspect many buyers are curious how the broker community feels about […]

Issue 63 – Value Creation – Homemade

Almost everywhere you turn these days, new development is the talk of the town in New York City.   NYC’s revamped midtown skyline is a constant reminder, as is the construction underway in virtually every part of the city.  This spans from record setting towers to sheik boutique conversions.  There has been no shortage of articles […]

Issue 62 – Are Co-Op’s really that uncool?

It’s no secret the condo market led the way in pushing 2014 New York City real estate prices to record highs, in part the result of a wave of high end new development closings. The appeal of condos also has been widely noted: a less stringent approval process, less disclosure requirements, more liberal sublet policies, […]

Issue 61 – The Continuing Trend

I’m pleased to provide 2015’s first edition of the Katzen Report, and am so excited for what is already shaping up to be a very eventful year in the NYC real estate market!   For those of you who haven’t had a chance to review 2014’s fourth quarter numbers released recently by REBNY, I thought I’d […]

Issue 55 – Risky Business

Everyone knows you need insurance for your home, but what kind of insurance, how much coverage is necessary, exactly what coops and condos will cover for their owners, and what banks will insist upon for lending to buyers all remain a more nebulous concern. Add to this mix the simple fact that New Yorkers are […]

Issue 54 – The Rise of Falling Appraisals

In a market starved for inventory, where bidding wars throughout the city send the price per square foot soaring above records set just weeks prior, the difference between what buyers will pay for an apartment today versus the figures deemed suitable by banks is creating an ever-widening rift. For those who want to take advantage […]

Issue 53 – Small Wonder

In a city where mega-deals and million dollar developments seem to grab all the attention, it’s easy to see why the home-buying experience is heightened to new levels of drama and distraction. Add to the mix an economy that’s on the rebound, rising interest rates and prices, and the return of ferocious bidding wars, and […]

Issue 52 – The Soho Vortex

Say what you want about the deep freeze of winter, not even plunging temperatures can compete with what is happening in the streets south of Houston Street. While the 2013 median price of a New York City home remained relatively stable at $825K with a yearly increase of less than 1% from 2012, prices in […]

Issue 51 – In With The New

Even though it’s early in the game, 2014 has already distinguished itself from recent years. Looking over yearly real estate market forecasts since 2007, which range from anticipatory and nervous to downright anxiety-ridden, there is now a palpable sense of peace, stabilization and equilibrium unseen for a good stretch of time. With the first minutes […]