Not Everyone is Broke and Jobless, Just You
By BankersBall on Jan 7, 2009 in NYC
Ex-bankers keep on spending.
While perhaps you are plagued with thoughts of “Should I really take this cab?” and otherwise pinching pennies, some of the people you once reported to are still BULGING.Though perhaps the language isn’t so apt since we’re talking about a lady.
The Observer reports that former SVP, general counsel and vice chairman at Merrill Lynch, Rosemary T. Berkery just plunked $5.2MM on a place at 975 Park Avenue (with hubby), relieving another former Merrillian Hugh Quigley of a massively overpriced apartment.
And she’s not the only one. Also in the $5MM+ market, ex-Lehman mortgage banking head Kurt A. Locher bought a place for $5.25MM (on West End Avenue).
Meanwhile, we are watching and waiting for prices to fall. Anyone in the market to buy?
On Jan 8, 2009, Anonymous said:
from the desks of goldman this morning:
US Daily - The Valuation of the New York Apartment Market
We use the recently introduced S&P/Case-Shiller index for condominium prices to assess the valuation of the New York apartment market. Although housing market valuation typically has little predictive value for the near term, it is useful for anticipating longer-term moves, especially when prices are far away from equilibrium. Indeed, New York apartment prices are very high relative to the observable fundamentals. Using three alternative yardsticks—price/rent, price/income, and affordability—we find that prices would need to decline by 35%-44% to return to the valuation levels seen in the 1995-1999 period, before the start of the recent boom. The uncertainty is substantial. On the one hand, the picture would worsen further if per-capita incomes in Manhattan returned from their current level of 3 times the national norm toward the pre-1990s average of 2 times the national norm. On the other hand, it would brighten somewhat if jumbo mortgage rates converged toward conforming rates, perhaps because of a broadening of the Fed’s support measures. In addition, societal and demographic changes could also help, though these types of arguments are difficult to quantify and are often heard just prior to a real estate market downturn.