Archive for Investors
Ownership Tip For Foreign Buyers of Manhattan Condos and Townhouses
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Foreign purchasers of Manhattan real estate often take title to the property through a legal entity rather than in their capacity as individuals. Some of the reasons they opt for this can be privacy issues, income tax deferral issues, gift/estate tax concerns, the need or desire to shield the foreign investor’s own assets from liabilities arising from the ownership of U.S. real estate, and whether it is expected that additional investors will acquire equity interests in the property.
It is imperative that prior to signing the contract of sale the foreign purchaser receives competent legal and international tax advice as to the proper structure to use in order to accommodate the investment.
Foreign purchasers should be cognizant of the fact that certain types of entities in which they want to take title may not be available to persons that are NOT citizens or permanent residents of the United States, such as an “S Corporation”. In using this particular entity the investor would soon discover for one, that it may not be available to them and that the income generated by the U.S. real estate would likely be subject to double taxation.
This post was taken from a tip written by Filippo Cinotti, Esq.and published in PDE Title’s Spring Newsletter. PDE Title is a sister company of Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
Q4 Manhattan Residential Rental Report
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Recently the industry has reported data on fourth quarter rentals for the Manhattan residential market. The Q4 Manhattan Rental Market Overview reported here and summarized below was prepared by Miller Samuel for Prudential Douglas Elliman.
- Average rental price declined 4.3% to $3,789 from $3,958 the same period last year but up 0.8% from $3,759 the prior quarter.
- Rental price per square foot declined 4.6% to $47.02 per square foot from $49.30 per square foot during the same period last year, and down 1.7% from $47.84 per square foot in the prior quarter.
- Median rental price declined 9.4% to $2,900 from $3,200 in the same period last year and down 1.7% from $2,950 in the prior quarter.
- Number of rentals surged 47.5% to 2,456 units from 1,665 units in the prior year quarter.
- Listing inventory fell 21.3% to 5,225 units from 6,640 units in the prior year quarter.
- Days on market were 76 days, down from 97 days this time last year.
- Listing discount was 6.5%, down from 6.9% in the same period last year.
The reports do not account for the incentives (concessions) that tenants are frequently offered in the current market, like months of free rent or waived brokers’ fees. It is worth noting that that if those factors had been taken into consideration, rents could appear considerably lower. Perhaps as high as 10% lower.
Experts remain cautiously optimistic about this year as the unemployment rate, which has a huge impact on the rental market, remains high. ”We are looking for more of the same in the first half of 2010–stable activity and pricing,” Mr. Miller said.
Jonathan Miller’s pod cast discussing the Q4 Manhattan Market Overview can be heard here.
In addition, reporting and analysis of the Q4 Rental Market Survey were consolidated on the Miller Samuel website and shown below.
01/14/2010 PR Newswire Prudential Douglas Elliman 4th Quarter 2009 Manhattan Rental Market Overview
01/14/2010 Earth Times Prudential Douglas Elliman 4th Quarter 2009 Manhattan Rental Market Overview
01/14/2010 Business Week Manhattan Apartment Rents Drop 9.4% as City Job Losses Mount
01/14/2010 Bloomberg.com Manhattan Apartment Rents Drop 9.4% as City Job Losses Mount
01/14/2010 TheStreet.com Prudential Douglas Elliman 4th Quarter 2009 Manhattan Rental Market Overview
01/14/2010 The Real Deal Manhattan rental deals up in 4Q: reports
01/14/2010 Yahoo Finance Prudential Douglas Elliman 4th Quarter 2009 Manhattan Rental Market Overview
01/14/2010 Fox Business Prudential Douglas Elliman 4th Quarter 2009 Manhattan Rental Market Overview
In addition to the Prudential Douglas Elliman report, some of the above articles refer to the Citi Habitats Q4 Market report.
Support Manhattan’s Recovery: Spend Your Federal Housing Stimulus
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Fed housing credit?
Local media has been commenting since last August that New Yorkers seem to be blasé about the Recovery Package offer of $8,000 toward a new home. However, it was so popular nationally that Congress has extended that, and added a $6,500 offer for current owners who move.
Well, I wouldn’t pass it up if I were in the home market right now, and put my team to work finding out what you might buy with that free cash. Some new furniture and décor are obvious choices, and almost everyone needs something for their new home.
Or you could use it for other kinds of fun. Given my favorite pastimes, I might figure out how many lovely restaurant meals I could savor, including cuisine hot spots my wife and I usually reserve for special occasions.
But you have many other options. For about $600 to $1,600 you could score a pair of trendy Christian Louboutin shoes or boots at Saks, which offers 96 choices at your fingertips. Or there’s the current Prada event with hot items coming up, now available for pre-orders. While at Sak’s you could also pick up a steal on men’s watches, such as Breil Milano’s stainless steel chronograph strap watch at $1,250.
Or how about a Hermes bag? For classic Hermes, you can’t go wrong with the Birkin bag, starting at $6,000. Here’s a entire blog dedicated to the Birkin.
Here’s a tidbit from a local fashion blog: “Katie Holmes & Suri: Spotted on Madison Avenue of New York, little Suri had her own pint-sized version of Mom’s orange Hermes shopping bag. Later on, Katie was seen with a rare burgundy Garden Party Handbag that looked more like a boarding bag. The Hermes handbag offset her black pencil skirt and red heels. With all the goodies that could be stuffed into that spacious bag, Holmes was ready for anything.” The Evelyne, starting a bit under $2,500, is très chic now.
You can toast your new home with a rare champagne. Dom Perignon Oenotheque 1993 is just $399.00 per 750 ml. bottle, limited to one per customer at Astor Wines. Salon Blanc de Blanc, Le Mesnil – 1997 is more expensive at $459.99, but in greater supply. You can buy a case of 6 for $2621.94.
Does your new co-op or condo allow pooches? How about using your savings for today’s most expensive, pure bred, a Samoyed, starting at $3,000 or an English Bulldog at around $2,500. On the other hand, if you adopt a nice homeless puppy from a shelter approved by the Humane Society, you’ll have lots of money to buy dog food and a really fancy collar, $18 and up from wwww.muttropolis.com.
And let’s not forget the sports fans. How about season tickets to the Yankees next year? Despite the World Series victory, top prices will actually decline, with field level seats at $250 per game for season ticket holders, down from $325 this year.
How much more stimulated could you get? Check out my