A Brief Look Back and a Welcome to What’s Ahead
In just a few hours, we’ll welcome in a New Year. I’ve always liked the sound of that–a New Year. The term translates, to most of us, as new beginnings. The New Year brings an opportunity to look back and reflect on what we did right and what we could have done better. With that knowledge, we may resolve to take a chance, improve a work or personal situation and/or embark on a new path entirely.
Statistics show that most of us make resolutions, but less than half of us keep them. Maybe it’s because it’s much easier to say we’re going to accomplish something than to put in the effort required. Maybe it’s that we aren’t realistic or that those resolutions become less important when we let day-to-day stressors get in the way.
Whatever the reason, one of the best ways to figure out where you want to go is to look back at where you’ve been.
A Look Back at 2010
January 2010 started off shakily as we were all still experiencing the ripple effects, 15 months later, of the Lehman Brothers historical bankruptcy. Even so, the month was a improvement from the year before; according to the New York State Association of Realtors, New York real estate sales increased by 11 percent and statewide median sales prices were up 30 percent. Buyers, encouraged by the April 30th tax deadline and low interest rates helped make New York one of the best markets for real estate sales.
Manhattan fared even better with residential sales up 25% in the third quarter of 2010 compared to the previous year. The Bracha Group was part of that momentum; our first-quarter sales equaled more than the whole year of 2009.
Manhattan condo sales remained steady with June being the best summer month for real estate.
In August and September we had 27 units under contract signed at the Azure and October marked an historical low for 30-year mortgages.
With our sale of a $8.45 million dollar unit at 15 Central Park West and 12 closings of luxury apartments at Azure in the last two months, the luxury real estate market was definitely on the rise. Last month, the Real Deal reported that New York was number one in the country for home appreciation.
Our fourth-quarter market overview is expected to be even better than the previous one; we sold eight multi-million dollar units last month.
With the GOP gaining control of the house in November and tax cuts being extended, people are beginning to be a little less wary about spending; ABC Nightly News reported two days after the Christmas holiday that sales were up 5.5 percent from the past two years–way ahead of what retailers expected.
According to a Real Deal article this month, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that U.S. home sales climbed in November, up by 5.6 percent. The most encouraging is: “The relationship recently between mortgage interest rates, home prices and family income has been the most favorable on record for buying a home since we started measuring in 1970. . . therefore, the market is recovering and we should trend up to a healthy, sustainable level in 2011,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR.
Here’s another bit of encouraging news; New York University economist Nouriel Roubini (known by some as “Dr. Doom”) recently bought a Manhattan triplex penthouse for the reported sum of $5.5 million. Jonathan Miller stated that . . .”at first glance this could be taken as a sign that things are better.”
Miller also reported Roubini’s purchase was “more expensive than 96 percent of all Manhattan sales in the third quarter.”
Seems that even the pessimistic are looking at 2011 as a promising year.
We’ve had a good year and expect the challenges, changes and results of our past year’s efforts will bring even better opportunities.
The Year Ahead
I think most of us are looking toward the New Year as one of hope and optimism. As a nation we’ve most certainly weathered a few storms; the changes of the past year are establishing where we’re going.
Over a decade ago, development and construction began employing LEED certified buildings. In the 21st century, the terms “sustainable,” “renewable” and “green” have become not only part of our dialect, but as we adapted to these ideas, they became the gold standard for building in both residential and commercial development.
Change, although seemingly difficult at first, helps us become more aware of what we need to do in order to improve. We’re merging new technology with tradition and the result will eventually benefit everyone.
The New Year will bring more change and in some instances, “sacrifice.” Most of the time, it’s the sacrifices we make that lead us to better opportunities and enlightened perspectives.
The Bracha Group has been through plenty of changes since its inception in 2006. There were times that were difficult, but we managed to keep our “eye on the prize” and adapted to the ups and downs. We survived, as others did, through the change and the sacrifices. What we learned through it all was invaluable.
As we approach the New Year, we’ll welcome new opportunities, be grateful for the ones we had in the past year and hold dear to the principles that got us here.
I hope the resolutions you have in the coming year bring you your own idea of success.
We wish you a safe, prosperous and Happy New Year.
Sources:
Staff Writer. Susan Solovic: Your New Year’s Resolutions. Dec 27, 2010. (Accessed 27 Dec 2010).
NYSAR. January 2010 New York State home sales up 11 percent from a year ago. Real Estate Rama New York. Feb 26, 2010. (Accessed 28 Dec 2010).
Press release: NYU FURMAN CENTER NEW YORK CITY QUARTERLY HOUSING REPORT REVELS HOUSING MARKET APPEARS TO BE STABILIZING. Dec 1, 2010. (Accessed 28 Dec 2010).
U.S. existing home sales trend upward. The Real Deal. Dec 22, 2010. (Accessed 28 Dec 2010).
Carmiel, Oshrat. Nouriel Roubini Purchases $5.5 Million Condo in East Village of Manhattan. Bloomberg. Dec 17, 2010. (Accessed 28 Dec 2010).
