Karla Saladino on the Current Manhattan Market
The Real Deal reportsthat the mid- and high-level Manhattan real estate markets – those units priced $5 million and above – are becoming increasingly favorable to buyers. The price-per-foot has actually lowered for properties $10 million and up, and there are signs the decreasing prices will reach the mid-level market. On the other hand, prices for entry level units – those $2 million or less – remain high, with buyers still likely to pay more than the asking price.
To discover the reasons for these opposite trends, The Real Deal spoke with Mirador Real Estate’s managing director, Karla Saladino:
Overall, the median sale price in Manhattan was $1.1 million during the second quarter, up about 13 percent year-over-year from $980,000, according to real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel.
Karla Saladino, managing partner of Mirador Real Estate, said that jump was a byproduct of an oversupply of new development units across most price points — with the exception of the entry level.
“You can’t dump thousands of units onto a marketplace in a three-year period and not expect the market to correct or flatten out because of it,” she said.
Saladino also noted that some buyers who can afford apartments in the $5- to $10-million range simply don’t want to be saddled with such a large asset. As a result, they trade a tax deduction for flexibility and rent an apartment for $10,000 to $15,000 a month instead. “Young entrepreneurs value freedom of everything. So purchasing a home and leveraging yourself doesn’t appeal to them,” she said.