Luxury Real Estate | Kevin Brunnock | NYC Real Estate Professional

Tag: Luxury Real Estate

December 8, 2020

Tips for New York Home Appraisal

If you are looking to buy a new home or just refinance your current mortgage, your lender will want to schedule an appraisal. This objective assessment helps to determine what your home is worth. Something that ranks high to all lenders is the consideration of collateral on their loan. Whether you are buying or selling, it will help you get a feel for how appraisals work. Here’s how you can prepare for your NYC home appraisal.

What’s Involved?

So what should you expect if you have someone come to your home to appraise it? An appraiser’s job is very similar to a home inspector’s position, with some tiny differences. Items that range from big to small will be taken into account by your appraiser, so that geometric mural that you did during the lockdown may need to go.

Things That Go Into a Home Appraisal

While your potential buyer may love your place and decide that they are ok with your asking price, all lenders will require you to have your home appraised to determine its value. To help them arrive at an estimate, they will look at the following:

Your home’s exterior: The appraiser will look at just about every part of the construction of your home. From the roof to the foundation, walls, and flooring, these will all be the potential cause for the house’s value to decrease if the appraiser finds something wrong.
Size: A big part of determining the home’s value is the slot’s size and square foot of the lot. The more rooms and bathrooms that a house has can help to raise the value of the home. Knowing the floor area or FAR of the property will tell you if space has room for extensions, which can be another factor in the value.
Condition: Just like your exterior, the appraiser will go over the inside of your home with a fine-tooth comb. The flooring, kitchen, plumbing, electrical, and lighting are all components that your appraiser will be assessing.
Improvements: Your appraiser can also help you determine what might need to be updated to increase your home’s value. Renovating a bathroom or adding an HVAC system can add years of life to the property, which helps increase the value.

Who Receives the Appraisal Information?

The final verdict will be gathered by your appraiser and at the disposal of who ordered it; this is usually the lender. It is then up to them how the information is distributed, regardless of who paid for it. If the buyer asks for an appraisal, the lender is obligated by law to release that information. Your appraisal is valid for six months, but market prices can change quickly. Many lenders will only consider an appraisal to be valid for about three months. Any changes to the market or the property can drastically alter the value price.

January 14, 2020

Blending Traditional and Modern: New York City Real Estate Architecture

When you think “New York City architecture”, you probably immediately picture towering skyscrapers that reign over the city with all glass windows. You aren’t wrong, but if you look closer you’ll start to see several addresses transforming their facades in a new and exciting way. More and more architects are reimagining what buildings throughout NYC should look like. Many real estate addresses are taking a blended approach, giving a nod to the past while bringing the building into the future. Here are five of these innovative buildings you can search for the next time you find yourself in the Big Apple.

Prospect Leffert Gardens, Brooklyn

This 467-unit luxury rental building still boasts a glass facade, but incorporates brownstone-esque bay windows, precast concrete, and a chevron pattern to give homage to the surrounding architecture. The result is a stunningly unique place to live in Brooklyn if you’re looking for something both modern and traditional.

Oskar, Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan

This luxury rental fuses modern glass and shapes with old-school masonry. The building features a rounded glass form but incorporates the traditional with white terracotta wrapped around the facade. While it blends well within its surroundings, its impressive fusion of modern and traditional elements set it apart, making it a unique find within New York’s real estate market.

11 Hancock, Harlem, Manhattan

This building, by far, has the most powerfully modern shape, but the traditional aspects are certainly there to make it stand out above the rest. The 12-story cantilevered structure offsets its modern shape by combining glas, steel, brick, and burnished copper, all paying tribute to different eras of construction in the city.

40 Bleecker, NoHo, Manhattan

Manhattan has no shortages of condos, but not all condos are made equally. This 12-story building sits in a landmark-rich neighborhood. The architects wanted to do something different but not so different the building would stand out as an eye sore. This address features a brick and metal facade with punched-glass window openings to give homage to the pre-war buildings that dominate the area.

October 11, 2018

Top 10 Luxurious Apartments for Rent in NYC

Moving to New York City is an extraordinary opportunity. The possibilities are endless, the neighborhoods are continuously expanding, and the broker fees are almost everywhere. There are even ways to avoid broker fees! Apartment hunting can be a long and draining process. Take a little time to have some fun by looking at some of the most extravagant listings out there. These listings will give you something to strive for. Imagine instead of $2,000/month, think instead $50,000. Below is a list of the most luxurious apartments for rent in NYC.

Soho – 20 Greene St. – $75,000/month

This gorgeous two-bedroom mansion lives on the (key-locked) top floor of the building. It is made up of 4,189 glorious square feet. The ceilings stand at a towering 14-feet, dark hickory floors, an oversized fireplace, surround-sound speaker system, central climate control, custom-design casement doors, and windows. The kitchen is freshly renovated with industrially sleek style. Enjoy your very own private outdoor gardens attached to the unit. It gets better (which is hard to believe), there’s also a master suite overlooking a bluestone patio, whose bathroom is finished with stylish black and white marble finishes and deep brass lining. And to top it off, it includes a home office, exercise room, and three other terraces that are on the second floor.

Upper East Side – 985 5th Ave. – $25,000/month

This apartment complex is 26 stories above Manhattan, each of which holds two residences with breathtaking views of Central Park. Each apartment contains a formal dining room, gourmet granite kitchen, polished hardwood floors, marble bath, and multiple walk-in closets. Here you have access to multiple building terraces, a private entrance to your apartment, and a fitness center.

Theater District – 130 W 44th St. – $75,000/month

This is a pent-out penthouse and is better known as the Director Suite. Thierry Despont designed the light ochre suede walls, leather-wrapped furniture, and two bedrooms, each containing their own massive granite bathroom. The kitchen is outstanding and fully equipped. It also has an 8+ capacity dining room.

NoMad – 121 Madison Ave. – $10,904/month

This duplex penthouse apartment provides a stellar view of Manhatten, specifically the Empire State Building. It also includes a glorious wrap-around terrace, and the master bathroom has a marble soaking tub, stall showers, double sinks, and a walk-in closet. The kitchen is freshly redone with premium cabinets and stainless steel appliances.

West Village – 165 Charles St. – $60,000/month

A fantastic 4 bedrooms, each with its own marble bathroom, walk-in closets, and a wraparound terrace. This is an award-winning duplex and it will surely take your breath away. Between views of the Hudson River, a renovated chef’s kitchen with sleek white cabinetry and a climate-controlled wine cellar, and a beautiful naturally lit frosted staircase, it’s almost impossible to choose which feature is the best. Let’s not forget, the building features a 50-foot indoor lap pool, gym, sauna, movie theater, and resident lounge.

May 8, 2016

The Manhattan Luxury Real Estate Market Outperforms Other Markets Even as it Fluctuates

According to reports, the NYC real estate market, particularly the luxury condo developments in Manhattan, are stalling. In fact, properties are apparently sitting on the market longer, while banks reevaluate their approach to construction lending and industry experts question the health of the high-end market, as well as its impact on the greater real estate market of New York City. However, no matter how many challenges there are, the Manhattan real estate market outperforms other markets.

Ari Harkov, a writer for NY Daily News, recently sat down with David Amirian, CEO of the Amirian Group and a prolific young developer, to inquire about the state of New York City real estate. Amirian communicated that there are more people looking to sell development sites today than any other point in recent history. Nonetheless, developers and sponsors are experiencing difficulty when it comes to raising debt and equity financing. This ultimately impacts the market.

“I believe there will be a slow growth in new ground-up development and conversions because of the financing market and the velocity in which new development apartments are being sold,” said Amirian. “Lending for new, luxury condominium projects has either slowed tremendously or stopped completely in some areas of the city. It does not exist. Period. End of story.”

Development costs have increased by nearly 20 percent annually, which has put a strain on the market. This has impacted contracts and operations, which means that lenders and investors are more able to dismiss a developer if budgets and deadlines aren’t met. Brisk real estate growth has begun to taper off and is the lowest that it’s been in three years, according to a StreetEasy Market Report. With that said, New York’s investment prospects, particularly long-term investments, continue to outshine other markets.

“The Manhattan market is highly influenced by what happens in global markets,” said Alan Lightfeldt, a data scientist at StreetEasy. “Manhattan is seen as a safe real estate investment, so when there is heightened volatility in other markets, we typically see demand for New York luxury properties increase. Recent turmoil in China’s stock market, for example, caused an increase in Chinese demand for US-properties.”

Manhattan has seen 3.8 percent growth over the past 12 months, which is the lowest on record since September 2012. Because of a slowing market, offers tended to be closer to asking prices, and price cuts were smaller and far less common than in the past. In Q1 2015, 31.2 percent of Manhattan listings had a price cut, compared to just 27.6 percent of Manhattan in 2016.

We’re reminded by data that the overall Manhattan market may be faltering, but subsets of the market continue to boom. Upper Manhattan surged 9.7 percent, with much of that success occurring on the Upper West Side (5.7 percent). East Brooklyn, South Brooklyn and Prospect Park in Brooklyn also experience success. While Downtown Manhattan, the Upper East Side, and Midtown had rates below the average. Also, real estate throughout the nation has been experiencing fluctuations, it isn’t just Manhattan. Regardless, wealth projections show that a long-term interest in real estate is a safe one.

October 15, 2015

Is the Upper East Side moving to Brooklyn?

The luxury real estate market in Brooklyn, NY has been booming. Old properties that are on sale, in addition to newly constructed rental buildings, are all hitting the market priced at millions of dollars. This might sound strange to some. When most people think of million dollar homes in NYC they typically imagine decadent Manhattan Penthouses owned by the few, not modest family homes in Brooklyn. However, the trend of multi-million dollar Brooklyn homes has been on the rise as of late.

Industrial-style homes on Pacific Street, between Fourth Avenue and Henry Street, in Brooklyn are the new cash cows for investors in the city’s hippest borough. Douglas Elliman recently sold a $15.5 million mansion on that street. There has also been a string of mega-million deals on residential homes that have put a spotlight on a stretch of Pacific Street, which runs through Cobble HIll and Boerum Hill, areas near the Barclays Center. Noted celebrities have been buying homes in this area – another factor that has caused the boom. Singer Norah Jones even owns two houses in the area that are around the corner from each other.

Recently, investors have not only been re-selling homes but building new, cool, amenity-laden homes in vacant patches on the strip that are impossible to build in nearby neighborhoods such as Brooklyn Heights or even in the West Village. One of these new houses is about to hit the market for $12.5 million, which equates to over $2,000 a foot. New carriage-style homes are also making an appearance in the area. Located at 323 Pacific Street, the first home is a massive 6,000-square-foot, 25-foot-wide mansion. It features five bedrooms, an elevator, on-site parking, and custom Americana finishes. It is supposed to hit the market in late October 2015 for $12.5 million. While this is of course a sizable price tag, this house would list for around $40 million in Manhattan. Another home on Pacific Street, for example, was built with a 20-seat movie theater, a gym, a children’s playroom, a bar and wine cellar, a roof deck and parking facility.

Not only are houses being priced extremely high, but condos are as well. A new 30-unit condo development at 465 Pacific Street, designed by architect Morris Adjmi, is about to be listed at about 40% more than the neighborhood average, which is more than $1,4000 a foot. The diversity of the houses, from condos to brownstones to carriage houses to three-bedroom homes, is what is really luring wealthy individuals and celebrities to the area. Moreover, Pacific offers these high-profile individuals a low-key vibe, one which doesn’t attract the high tourist traffic of areas such as Brooklyn Heights. There are many factors that play into the boom of the luxury real estate market in Brooklyn, a trend that doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.

To learn more about Brooklyn, see the message from Brooklyn Borough President, Eric Adams below.

To learn more visit nydailynews.com.