| September and October were thin months, but November and December have been very encouraging for strictly seller-rep firm Massey Knakal, according to vice chair John Ciraulo, whom we met in his Madison Avenue office. And he bears good news for the new year: transactions will pick up soon, since there are sellers who need to get assets off the books and cash buyers waiting at the sidelines. In the past two months, the firm has signed double the contracts it has in previous months, which means money should be coming in within 30-90 days. It’s still not at the level of 2007, but there are sellers who want out of real estate and others forced to sell. There will also be some price reductions. |
| Plenty of buyers are looking at transactions, he says. Massey Knakal recently negotiated a two-building apartment package sale in Chelsea, which attracted 15 bidders, two whom were prepared to pay full price. And on East 15th Street on Stuyvesant Square, three users bid up a 7,500-SF vacant townhouse to over $5M—a great number, he says. Overall, rent-stabilized apartment buildings will be the most attractive, since they have upside and are safety nets for owners; fair market apartment buildings, less so; and B and C office buildings now need to be priced right as fewer investors think rents will increase in coming years. Owners who need to sell will see continued activity in all property classes, although pricing is sensitive in some cases, he adds. In the meantime, John took a break to enjoy Christmas at home with his family in New Jersey, with a possible family ski trip to Vermont. |
CIRAULO: TRANSACTIONS “TO PICK UP”
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