New York City Real Estate Blog

The Housing Crash - whats up the most, falls the most

In Housing as in Most Things: What’s Up the Most, Falls the Most - New York Times

Are you looking to track your traffic on your real estate blog....

Analytics: You Can't Afford NOT to Track

ClickTracks

ClickTracks' free version was recently released, but has definitely created some buzz in the industry. The analytics software is targeted towards helping users understand their visitors in order to increase ROI.

This Version, known as ClickTracks Appetizer, comes with a standard interface, but also includes behavioral segmentation, campaign tracking (including PPC), and conversion tracking in order to help users make the best decisions for their search marketing campaigns. A cool perk they've started is the announcement of "Web Analytics Day" where they turn on advanced features such as funnel reporting and advanced visitor segmentation. I think this is a great way to entice users to upgrade to advanced versions of ClickTracks, and its showing in their increasing market share.

So there you have it, three good options to help you make educated decisions for your website. So don't let your website sit untracked as time passes by, do yourself and your business a favor and sign-up for an Analytics package right away, even if you're blindly holding out for a more "robust" package and freer budgets in the future.

Analyzing something as simple as "Top Exit Pages" can help you pinpoint why users are dropping off your website. By tweaking these pages and keeping visitors on your site, you can help increase things like revenue and conversion rate (I think this is the primary goal for every businessperson). Keeping track of the right metrics through Analytics software will make all the difference in your future online success, because, as any marketer will tell you, understanding your customer is tantamount to making any money in business.

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The Coming Real Estate Crash

Coming recession will be nastier than 2001, economist says - MarketWatch

Writing on his blog on Wednesday, Roubini repeated his call that the U.S. would be in a recession in 2007, arguing that the collapse of housing will bring down the rest of the economy. Read more.
Roubini wrote after the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that sales of existing homes fell 4.1% in July, while inventories soared to a 13-year high and prices flattened out year-over-year. See full story.
"This is the biggest housing slump in the last four or five decades: every housing indictor is in free fall, including now housing prices."
— Nouriel Roubini, president of Roubini Global Economics.
"This is the biggest housing slump in the last four or five decades: every housing indictor is in free fall, including now housing prices," Roubini said. The decline in investment in the housing sector will exceed the drop in investment when the Nasdaq collapsed in 2000 and 2001, he said.
And the impact of the bursting of the bubble will affect every household in America, not just the few people who owned significant shares in technology companies during the dot-com boom, he said. Prices are falling even in the Midwest, which never experienced a bubble, "a scary signal" of how much pain the drop in household wealth could cause.
Roubini is a professor of economics at New York University and was a senior economist in the White House and the Treasury Department in the late 1990s. His firm focuses largely on global macroeconomics.
While many economists share Roubini's concerns about the imbalances in the global economy and in the U.S. housing sector, he stands nearly alone in predicting a recession next year.

Via: http://www.nnjbubble.blogspot.com/

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Atlantic Yard - What all this fuss is about?

Atlantic Yards Arena, New York Loves Business

The New York State Urban Development Corporation, d/b/a Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) in conjunction with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the City of New York, and affiliates of the Forest City Ratner Companies, including Atlantic Yards Development Company, LLC and Brooklyn Arena, LLC, proposes to implement the Atlantic Yards Arena and Redevelopment project, a major transit-oriented development in the Atlantic Terminal area of Brooklyn.

The proposed project would occupy an approximately 22-acre area, roughly bounded by Flatbush and 4th Avenues on the west, Vanderbilt Avenue on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the north, and Dean and Pacific Streets on the south.

The proposed development would include an approximately 18,000 seat arena, 16 buildings for residential, office, retail, community facilities, parking, and possibly hotel uses, including approximately 5,790 to 6,860 low, moderate and market-rate housing units, and a minimum of 7 acres of publicly accessible open space.

The proposed project would also reconfigure and improve the Vanderbilt rail yard and improve access to the Atlantic Terminal subway station.

At full build-out,
expected by the year 2016, the Project would include the Arena and a
total of approximately 606,000 gsf of commercial office space, 165,000
gsf of hotel use (approximately 180 rooms), 247,000 gsf of retail space,
up to 6.8 million gsf of residential use (approximately 6,860
residential units) and community facility uses, which would occupy
portions of the residential and retail space, approximately 3,800
below-grade parking spaces and at least seven acres of publicly
accessible open space.  While the Phase II building programs are fixed,
as noted in the Phase I summary, there is flexibility in the programs of
Buildings 1 and 2 and the building on Site 5 to change the hotel use and
1.06 million gsf of residential use, or some portion thereof, to
additional commercial office space.  If the maximum amount of allowed
commercial office space were provided, the Project would include
approximately 1,829,000 gsf of commercial office space and 5,730,000 gsf
of residential use (approximately 5,790 residential units) and the same
amount of retail and community facility space, parking and publicly
accessible open space.  

The Project would
provide community facilities, including a health care center and an
intergenerational community center offering space for at least 100
children for publicly funded child care and youth and senior
activities.  A new subway connection on the south side of Atlantic
Avenue and at least seven acres of publicly accessible open space would
also be created.  Much of Phase II would be constructed on the new
platform over a rebuilt and improved Yard, closing a visually and
physically divisive gap in the urban landscape. 

Related Post & Documents:

http://www.nolandgrab.org/ 
http://dddb.net/php/latestnews_ArchiveDate.php
http://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/
http://www.empire.state.ny.us/AtlanticYards/

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The Brooklyn and Queens Waterfront in 2016

The Brooklyn and Queens Waterfront in 2016

Waterworld

Williamsburg

(Map: Jason Lee.)

(1.) The Edge

Stephen B. Jacobs;
master plan by FXFOWLE and TEN Arquitectos, September 2008.



(2.) Palmer’s Dock

FXFOWLE, phase one, 2008; phase two, 2009.

(3.) North 8

Greenberg Farrow Architecture, spring 2007.

(4.) Domino Sugar Site

Rafael Viñoly Architects, no completion date.



(5.) Schaefer Landing

Karl Fischer Architects, 2006.

---

Manhattan and Brooklyn

(Maps: Jason Lee.)

(6.) Ground Zero

Freedom Tower, David Childs/SOM; World Trade Center Transit Hub,
Santiago Calatrava; Tower 2, Sir Norman Foster; visitor center, 2011.

(7.) 101 Warren Street

SOM, Ismael Leyva Architects, 2007.

(8.) William Beaver House

Developer André Balazs, no completion date.

(9.) Staten Island Whitehall Ferry Terminal

Fred Schwartz, 2005.

(10.) Battery Maritime Building

Renovation, Jan Hird Pokorny Associates, 2006.

(11.) Beekman Street Tower

Gehry Partners, Ismael Leyva Architects,
no completion date.

(12.) 80 South Street

Santiago Calatrava,
no completion date.

(13.) Pier 17

Beyer Blinder Belle,
no completion date.

(14.) Drawing Center

Architect TBA,
2011.

(15.) East River Waterfront

SHoP and Richard Rogers Partnership, Ken Smith Landscape Architects, 2009.

(16.) Brooklyn Bridge Park

Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, 2012.

(17.) One Brooklyn Bridge Park/360 Furman Street

Creative Design Associates, fall 2007.

---

Red Hook

(Map: Jason Lee.)

(18.) Brooklyn Cruise
Ship Terminal

Bermello Ajamil and
Partners, April 2006.

(19.) Fairway

Fairway Partners,
May 2006.

(20.) Revere Sugar Site

Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects,
no completion date.

(21.) Ikea

Greenberg Farrow Architecture, 2007.

---

Queens

(1.) Silvercup West

Richard Rogers Partnership, NBBJ,
late 2009.

(2.) River East

WalkerGroup, V Studio, November 2007.

(3.) Queens West

Arquitectonica, Handel Architects, phase one, June 2006; phase
two, summer 2007; phase three, spring 2008.

(4.) The Powerhouse

Karl Fischer Architect, summer 2007.

NYC in 2016: The Brooklyn and Queens Waterfront -- New York Magazine

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Sales of Existing Homes Drop to Lowest Levels

RealEstateJournal | Sales of Existing Homes Drop To Lowest Levels Since 2004

Sales of previously owned homes fell in July to the lowest level in 2 1/2 years and the inventory of unsold homes climbed to a new record high, fresh signs that the housing market has lost steam.

Home resales fell to a 6.33 million annual rate, a 4.1% decline from June's revised 6.60 million annual pace, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. June resales were originally seen at 6.62 million.

The NAR report shows a continued weakening in the housing market, with inventories up sharply while prices are softening, with July's pace off 11.2% from a year ago.

"Many potential home buyers have been on the sidelines, some 'kicking the tires,' but mostly waiting for sellers to compromise on prices and terms," NAR chief economist David Lereah said.

He said higher interest rates damped sales. The average 30-year rate was 6.76% in July, up from 6.68% in June, according to Freddie Mac.

The level of resales in July was below Wall Street expectations. Analysts predicted a 6.55 million rate of sales of previously owned homes.

The inventory of unsold homes rose 3.2% to a record 3.856 million, a 7.3- month supply at the July sales rate, the highest since April 1993. The past year has seen the sharpest increase in inventories on record, Mr. Lereah said.

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Looking to buy a 2nd home - consider a college town

Let's take a closer look at the demand side: * Student-body growth. We've all read about it -- the importance of a college education to succeed in today's economy. It's true, and that means more students than ever before. According to the Department of Education, college enrollments are expected to rise by almost 1.6 million students, or 15%, over the next 10 years. But are they building more universities? More dorm rooms? I haven't seen any. * Graduate students. The number of graduate and professional students is growing even faster -- almost 25%. More of these students are married, come from abroad and/or look for the stability of a two- to three-year lease commitment. And they are less likely to host Saturday night keg parties. * Not just students. Professors need housing too. And while many faculty members are permanent, many are so-called "visiting" professors, often from overseas. These folks need housing too. * A place to retire? These days, college towns are getting a lot of play as retirement places. Not for everyone, but for mentally and physically active retirees. Many are younger and wealthier retirees seeking the intellectual stimulation, the "buzz" and clean small-town lifestyle of such communities. * Collateral industry. Many college towns, like Ann Arbor, Mich., Boulder Colo., and Gainesville, Fla., have significant private research and technology industries nearby to take advantage of university facilities and to attract well-educated employees. Such industry further strengthens housing demand.

RealEstateJournal | Why Buying Property Near A University is a Smart Move

Unsold inventory piles up - how hard will the crash be?

WSJ.com

New York City - A Haven for the Educated

Almost 5 million people over the age of 25 in the New York metropolitan area — more than a third of the region’s population — had at least a bachelor’s degree in 2005, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau. In Manhattan, nearly three out of five residents were college graduates and one out of four had advanced degrees, forming one of the highest concentrations of highly educated people in any American city.

All parts of New York City became more educated, but Manhattan and Brooklyn stood out. In Manhattan, more than 57 percent of all residents had at least a bachelor’s degree, up from 50 percent in 2000.

That concentration ranked Manhattan first among counties with more than 1 million residents and seventh among all counties.

Brooklyn is becoming educated even faster. Since 2000, the number of college graduates there has risen by about 80,000, or 24 percent, while residents without a high-school diploma have declined by about 110,000, a 24 percent decline.

New York Area Is a Magnet for Graduates - New York Times