new york real estate | Kevin Brunnock | NYC Real Estate Professional

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January 20, 2021

Why New York City is Poised for a Real Estate Bounceback in 2021

Throughout 2020, New York City has been hit hard through various lockdowns and preventive measures against the COVID-19 pandemic. Hope has been on the rise though through upcoming vaccines, and some of the project developments that have cropped up in the meantime. Take a look into just some of these projects opening up in New York City from 2021 and beyond.

Residential

More people than ever are coming to New York City to start fresh or take on a new job opportunity. The city is building around these people through various buildings like Sven, a 958-unit skyscraper built in Long Island City, or the easily affordable building opening up at the Astoria waterfront. For those living around the Bronx, many restaurants and shops are planning on opening up at the La Central residential complex in 2021. Make sure that you are always looking more into how New York City is building itself around the people that live in it.

Commercial

While people have been spending 2020 working from home, businesses have been spending time reinventing their office spaces. JP Morgan Chase is choosing to move to 425 Park Avenue for their brand new tower, a home for many employees working out of the city. Developers around New York City understand the need for more restaurants for workers which is why the Manhattan West complex is planned to open up in 2021, a food hall including some of the most famous chefs and food brands around the city. Always look around and see how New York City is constantly becoming a better place for those working there.

Art

New York City isn’t just a great city for those looking for a new job but for those interested in art as well. At the World Trade Center, the Perelman Performing Arts Center will be opening up for black creators looking to make their work known in theater, music, dance, and more. Architect David Adjaye has also been working with The Studio Museum in Harlem to construct a new building to hold all of their collections. Whether you are interested in some of the pre-existing venues or some of the new art establishments being built in New York City, you always have somewhere to visit no matter what art medium you’re interested in.

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.

May 14, 2020

Making the Most of a NYC Studio Apartment

New York City is known for a lot of things, one of them being its real estate. While many people dream of someday living in a spacious New York City apartment, a lot of those living in a city are confined to small one-bedroom or studio apartments. It can feel a bit cramped, but with these tips, you can make the most of your NYC studio apartment.

Clever Storage

The best way to ruin the layout of a tiny apartment is by having all your belongings out in the open. To give the apartment a clean and open appearance, find ways to store your belongings away. Every piece of furniture is a storage opportunity such as a bedside bureau, a side table with shelves or a drawer, or a lidded ottoman.

The Mirror Trick

Making tiny apartments feel bigger can be tough, but there is a super easy trick you can try. Especially is your space is lacking natural light, decorate your apartment with mirrors. Setting up a mirror helps bounce light around, creates depth, and makes the room look bigger than it really is.

A Stylish Dresser

To add style and sophistication to your small space, invest in a good dresser. In a studio, the dresser can be utilized in many different ways. The top of the dresser can be used as a dressing table, a makeshift kitchen table, of a place to add some decoration. A dresser can easily become the focal part of your studio, so make it count!

Furniture to the Wall

Another great way to keep the space open is by keeping furniture against the wall. Furniture in a small space can easily block out the natural light and make it appear to be even smaller. Pieces such as couches, dressers, bookshelves, nightstands, and other pieces should also be kept partially open to create expansiveness in your studio by leaving room for white space.

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.

December 17, 2019

How to Adjust Living in a Big City

Many people dream of moving to a big city. Much of the time, when they finally achieve their dream of moving to New York City, there is a bit of a culture shock. When living in NYC, there is a lot to get used to. There is much more hustle and bustle, and a lot less space. Here are a few tips on how to adjusting moving to the big city:

Join a Club

This one may seem a little silly, but it’s very effective in making the big city your home. When moving from a small town to NYC, it’s important to find something you love to do by joining a club, If your hobby is gardening, join a community garden. If you love music, find a favorite local band to see a show. One of the best ways to make a city as big as New York feel more like home is by finding something that you love to do through the club, team, or community.

Never Fear Public Transportation

Driving a car might fly in a small town, but it’s a whole other story in a big city. Most of the time, taking the subway, train, or bus is much faster, easier, and cheaper. It’s important to get a feel of the land and learn about the city by public transit. It helps whenever you get lost and adjusts you to the routes you need to take.

Say Hi to Your Neighbor

One of the best ways to make a big city feel like home is by getting to know your neighbors. In a bigger city, some people like to keep to themselves. You don’t have to sit and play Scrabble with them every other Friday, but simply saying hello and introducing yourself to them is a great first step. This might not lead to you making best friends, but it’s always nice to be friendly with your neighbors to build a stronger sense of community.

Take Time to Explore

The big city will seem big and scary at first, and it will be easy to stick to the places you know right away. Try not to get in the habit of only going to the places you know. The city is big enough to find a new adventure every day. Find new favorite spots and you will fall even more in love with the grand New Your City.

June 26, 2019

How New York’s New Rent Laws Will Affect Real Estate

Tenant protection laws were first introduced to New York City in 1920. The country was recovering from World War I and many landlords were raising rents monthly due to a housing shortage.

Just this month, landlords and legislators are having similar conversations about New York’s rent laws. On June 14, 2019, New York State and Assembly leaders passed new laws to protect tenants by controlling rent in New York. In light of the new law, landlords will have limited ability to raise rents, even if renovate their buildings or apartment complexes. Landlords can also no longer be able to raise rents due to vacancies or deregulate apartments.

So what does this mean for NYC real estate?

The new laws have shocked New York’s real estate investors. Some landlords and investors are concerned that they will not be able to cover the costs of maintaining buildings without the ability to raise the rent. This leads to concerns that property values will decrease and many landlords will choose to sell.

Some people, however, are seeing opportunity in the new market. Some property owners who will now struggle to stay afloat will be looking to sell quickly and likely for lower prices than they would have otherwise. Furthermore, the newly passed laws are expected to cause foreclosures, which lower property values. Investors who are able to take advantage of the lower prices for property may be in luck.

The long-term effects of these new laws have yet to be seen. While it’s likely that some investors will suffer as a result of the new restrictions, others may flourish. Many have theorized on the potential outcomes, but it will take time before the consequences come to fruition. In other words, “only time will tell.”

July 5, 2018

The Price of Being a Millennial in NYC

It’s a well-known fact that the cost of living in New York City is one of the highests in the nation. Over the past decade, the cost of living and rent prices have gone up significantly in the city. Although a costly place to live, NYC offers an abundance of career opportunities and metropolitan advantages–which is most appealing to millennials.

Creating a life for themselves in NYC has millennials spending much more than what they can afford. A recent report by StreetEasy, which survey 1,000 renters in NYC, confirms that millennials are much more likely to live outside of their means when it comes to housing in the city. The housing market in NYC is expensive and according to Grant Long, “…despite facing rising housing costs and budgeting constraints, aspirations of owning a home remain high in the city, particularly among millennials.”

All five boroughs–Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island–reported that housing in the city is more than often unaffordable. According to the stats collected by StreetEasy, each generation approaches the situation differently. The New York Business Journal states, “45% [of millennials] say they chose a more expensive home than they’d planned, compared to 30% of ‘Generation Xers’ — those born from the early 1960s to late 1970s — and 19% of baby boomers.” The majority of the older generation seem to know how to realistically budget their cost of living more effectively than millennials.

Although the housing prices of the city continue to rise, about 34% of millennials are hoping to purchase a home sooner rather than later. According to the report, the majority of renters living in NYC find housing to be very unaffordable. Perhaps owning a home is more appealing since 39% of homeowners find housing more affordable, having more freedom to buy and sell. But even owning a home does not shield residents against the struggle of rising housing prices in the city.

Other stats from StreetEasy report that “New Yorkers pay 1.3 times more for housing than average Americans”. In order to stay in the city and find decent housing, about one third of those surveyed reported spending more than their initial budget. To no surprise, 46% say that housing in the city is unaffordable–which one third say the high cost of living is their biggest reason to move.

Even with the cost of living so high, generation after generation come to New York City, hoping to capture the life and opportunities only the five boroughs can offer–no matter what the price.

CRE Must Reads to Get Ahead and Stay There _ Kevin Brunnock

April 27, 2018

CRE Must Reads to Get Ahead and Stay Ahead

These hand-picked seven reads will help any CRE professional best maximize their time and make the most out of any growing business:

7L: The Seven Levels of Communication: Go From Relationships to Referrals by Michael Maher: By prioritizing relationship building, Maher offers tangible tips on how to cultivate communications skills to grow your network and get you ahead.

The Due Diligence Handbook For Commercial Real Estate by Brian Hennessey: This invaluable resource will be a handbook you will want to keep on hand for years to come because of its practical checklists and expert tips designed to create value-add in any property.

The Millionaire Real Estate Agent: It’s Not About the Money…It’s About Being the Best You Can Be! by Gary Keller: Although this book was originally written for brokers, the content transcends to any career in real estate by offering useful tips on how to generate leads and pump up sales.

Nine Proven Strategies To Make 2018’s Peak Rental Season Vacancy-Free (published in Forbes): With the busy summer rental season approaching, this quick read will offer a myriad of tips on how to maximize your business potential during the holy grail months for commercial real estate brokers.

Three Essential Strategies For Smart Student Housing Development (published in Forbes): The hot housing market has spilled over into the student sector. This timely and informative article will bring you up to date on how to best capitalize on this relatively new real estate sector before it’s too late.

The Conversion Code: Capture Internet Leads, Create Quality Appointments, Close More Sales by Chris Smith: In this day and age, digital is king. It is imperative that CRE professionals possess the skills to effectively market their properties in a variety of online avenues. This book will help you get the job done and stay one step ahead of your competitors.

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss: It is too easy to get sucked into the trap of living to work and not working to live. Learn how to best manage your time so that you can maximize your efforts to achieve the greatest success in the shortest amount of time.

April 10, 2018

5 Essential Books for Commercial Real Estate Professionals

The best real estate professionals are always looking to learn. Whether it’s making the most of new technology or being as productive as possible, there’s always room for improvement. The problem is, there are hundreds of books, podcasts, and seminars to choose from. In this post, real estate professionals will discover the 5 most important books to advance their career.

1) The Millionaire Real Estate Agent

This book, written by Gary Keller, is widely considered the best book for real estate professionals in existence.

Real estate professionals will be given clear, actionable steps they can use to improve right away.

The book is most helpful for brokers, but it doesn’t focus on just one specialization – so almost anyone involved in real estate can benefit from it.

2) Real Estate Finance and Investments

It’s rare that a book can help both the beginner and the experienced professional – but William Brueggeman and Jeffrey Fisher accomplished just that when they put together this text.

This book not only teaches readers how to invest in real estate, but it also has a lot of complex strategies and formulas. This makes it an excellent reference guide to always have handy.

3) Raving Fans!

This book is all about providing the best customer service in order to close deals as a real estate agent.

Readers will discover how to clarify their vision so that customers want to do business with them. Then, the book goes a step further and shows the reader how to make those new customers lifelong fans.

4) The 4-Hour Work Week

If someone is looking to improve their productivity as a real estate professional, this book should be at the top of their list.

They’ll learn every possible way to get the most out of their time, whether it’s outsourcing administrative tasks or attracting new customers.

5) Principles of Commercial Real Estate Underwriting

This classic text is an excellent reference material for someone who needs a refresher on certain aspects of real estate.

With this book handy, the reader can underwrite commercial real estate assets with ease.

These are the best books available for commercial real estate professionals. Whether a professional is looking to simply improve their productivity, have a go-to guide, or immerse themselves in the industry – it’s all possible with the books on this list.

July 28, 2016

Cornell University Leases Midtown Manhattan Space

Cornell University has opted to lease midtown Manhattan space for the purpose of student and alumni networking. The institution will be taking three floors at 45 W. 57th St., totally 4,000 square feet.

The Ithaca-based Ivy League establishment will occupy the second, fourth, and fifth floors of the seven-story building for 22 months, with an option for renewal. Priced at $60 per square foot, Cornell’s graduate school of management, school of hotel administration, college of business, and school of applied economics and management, as well as other academic branches. The space will act as a bridge between campuses and a beacon for the engineering campus being built on Roosevelt Island. Next month, Cornell will begin its occupancy by using the space for events.

“We see a strong presence in New York City as essential for enhancing our relationships with our alumni, corporate partners, and other key stakeholders,” said Soumitra Dutta, dean of the Cornell College of Business, according to Crain’s New York. “The space will also provide an excellent platform venue for our faculty and students to take advantage of the unique resources of New York City.”

The property is owned by the U.S. subsidiary of a Turkish real estate development and investment company, Sedesco Inc.. The development firm’s general counsel, Derek Gilchrist said the relationship between Sedesco and Cornell was a close one, and it came about organically when following Cornell’s Roosevelt Island. As soon as space became available, the two entities hashed details about to establish an outpost in Manhattan.

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