The NYC real estate market is starting to pick up some real steam, according to a recently published article in the NY Times. The piece, which goes on in some length about how open houses are being flooded (100s of visitors!), attributing the increase in market action to pent up demand from renters who are now seeing the rent-buy decision shifting in favor of buying (as rental rates have skyrocketed while interest rates have remained low). Apparently, NYC is now a pretty good buy.

“To start with, open house traffic for some properties has reached levels not seen even at the height of the market in 2007 and 2008. But buyers haven’t just decided to start looking at properties again; they’re actually buying. Bidding wars have become more common.”

But will this market hold up, or does everyone just have a touch of Spring fever?

“Jonathan J. Miller, the president of the appraisal firm Miller Samuel, warned that buyer exuberance could be short-lived. With Wall Street bonuses much smaller than in years past, the surge in buying is not likely to last long, he said.

“Also, once we hit summer, we’re going to see a lot more distressed properties hitting the market,” he said. “Even though Manhattan is not a hotbed of foreclosure, the world around us will be, so there’ll be more negativity in the air.””

Here at TopAgentGuide, we have seen a significant uptick in site traffic and activity–more than just being in the midst of the Spring season would imply. We’ve also seen the time between listing and contract shrink dramatically. Could this be the start of another run up in Manhattan prices?

Turns out that listing a home in the winter is not that bad of an idea. The CEO of redfin went and did some data digging and found that winter time is not a slow time. From the related article in the New York Times:

But instead of relying on “old rules of thumb,” superstition or real estate decisions “driven by emotion,” he said, he surveyed sales of more than 750,000 homes nationwide over a year. Mr. Kelman’s assumptions turned out to be untrue. Winter, his data showed, is the best time to sell. “People who list in winter have less competition,” he said, citing results released last month that define winter as December through February. “There is such a trickle of inventory that each one gets more attention.”

Lest you think that the suburbs, or worse, California, is just, well, different than Manhattan, appraiser-extraordinaire Jonathan Miller did his on data digging for Manhattan. There is some subtlety however:

By this reckoning, Mr. Miller said, the best time to list a home is “at the tail end of winter, just before the spring sales rush.” Locally, listings introduced in March sell the fastest, and March is also the month when most listings are introduced to the market. Based on the number of contracts signed each month, “ the spring is still the ‘Super Bowl’ of annual real estate sales,” Mr. Miller said. “June is the top month,” he said, for the number of contracts signed, “with March being the month that results in the shortest time on the market.” Homes put on the market in October take the longest to sell.

There are some other juicy tidbits in the article. Check it here.

The New York Times had an interesting article recently on how agents are using technology and social media to reach new buyers and sellers. Brokers are going “way beyond learning how to post listings with 360-degree video tours, slide shows, layouts and maps with satellite views on dozens of Web sites like realtor.com, zillow.com, cyberhomes.com, YouTube and Craigslist.”

Check out the article here.

In our experience, a great agent will use a variety of marketing methods, concentrating on the media forms most applicable to the demographic they are trying to reach. If they are selling a $10m penthouse, twitter won’t help. On the other hand, a studio in the LES may be perfect for a Facebook foray.

We often hear a version of the following question, “Why does having a proven New York real estate agent matter—aren’t they are all about the same?” If you’ve ever wondered something similar, here are 10 reasons why you might want to consider investing some effort to a finding top-notch New York real estate agent.

1. The value of experience. There’s no substitute for experience. Even the New York agents with the most raw talent will not have seen enough transactions in their first couple of years to have developed a level of true expertise. Experience will give a top New York real estate agent the perspective to know when a deal is going sideways, to know how to deliver what a client really needs (even if they can’t articulate it themselves), to know the inventory in a market inside and out, to spot a property priced below market, etc.

2. Time savings. Top New York real estate agents know how to save their clients time. For buyers, that means avoiding properties that are not within budget or that don’t match the client’s sense of style. For sellers, it means not wasting time on unqualified buyers, setting listing prices unreasonably high just to win the listing, or pursuing unproductive marketing tactics.

3. Neighborhood/property type knowledge. Top New York real estate agents often specialize in a certain neighborhood and/or property type. When specializing in a certain neighborhood, they will typically know everything there is to know about that neighborhood—the best shops, the various schools, the most interesting bars and restaurants, etc.  If a New York real estate agent specializes in a property type, like townhouses for example, they will know trustworthy contractors, maintenance issues specific to townhouses, Landmarks issues, etc. They’ve typically seen it all before and can provide invaluable advice. New York can be a difficult and expensive place in which to make property mistakes; having an experienced adviser can make a huge difference.

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Condominiums (”condos”) are quite popular and common throughout the rest of the U.S., however New York condominiums are a rather new concept.

A condominium apartment is real property – buyers get a deed just as though they were buying a house. Since this is real property, there is a separate tax lot for each apartment. This means that New York condominium owners pay their own real estate taxes for their property. A New York condominium owner will also pay common charges on a monthly basis. Common charges are similar to maintenance in a co-op; however, common charges include neither real estate taxes nor the building’s mortgage and interest because, by law, a New York condominium, or anywhere for that matter, cannot have an underlying mortgage.

New York condominiums are attractive for the following reasons:

• Financing the purchase of a New York condominium is much more flexible than a co-op. In the past, buyers could finance up to 90% of the purchase price. Since the credit crisis, banks’ lending practices have become more stringent. Buyers of New York condos should consult a mortgage professional for current financing options.
• While there is an application process, the  process of buying a New York condominium is not as formal as in a co-op. The likelihood of rejection is minimal.
• There is greater flexibility in sub-leasing a New York condominium vs. a co-0p. This makes condos a better investment choice than co-ops.
• New York condominiums are the ideal choice for non-U.S. citizens or for those with assets held outside of the United States because co-ops are unlikely to approve these types of buyers.

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Going green in NYC? To learn the ropes, we interviewed an award-winning Certified TopAgent who specializes in working with green-focused clients in Manhattan.

Susan Singer, The Corcoran Group: Susan serves on the Board of Directors of AEEREP (Association of Energy and Environmental Real Estate Professionals) and was the first “Certified EcoBroker” in New York City. She has been part of Corcoran’s Multi-Million Dollar Circle since 2002.

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What does “green” mean in terms of real estate?

Green real estate and green living in Manhattan are two different things. From the perspective of real estate, buildings should be built with sustainable elements and should be energy efficient. It’s all about minimizing our carbon footprint and maintaining a sustainable lifestyle. For example, debris from the development site should be removed in an efficient, sustainable way and materials for the building should be from within 50 miles of the site. A lot of Manhattan developers are using bamboo for their floors, but the carbon footprint created by boating it in from China negates the positive effect of the bamboo. Some developers use a local wood that’s much harder than bamboo and is forested in a sustainable way. They pick certain trees and let the rest remain so they can replant…and the transportation is much better.

Are there green buildings in Manhattan?

There are about 10 green buildings in Manhattan. The Solaire building was the first green building to go up as a rental and then the Visionaire opened up in Battery Park City.  River House is supposed to be one of the first Battery Park City green developments. Currently, Village Green is being built on East 11^th and it’s the greenest property I’ve seen in NYC. Village Green uses Geothermal heating for the common areas. Geothermal heating is achieved by digging into the earth, which has a constant temperature of about 60 degrees. It pumps air through the heating/cooling system but only has to heat or cool from 60 degrees as opposed to up from 25 or down from 85. The bathroom floors are heated with radiant heat, which is the best way to heat any space.

What does LEED stand for?

LEED stands for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.” This system was created not just for Manhattan, but for the entire country. It’s not necessarily the best certification for Manhattan, because one of the qualities for points is proximity to transportation, and in Manhattan, that’s a given. One of the buildings lost points for having parking in the basement, which invites people to drive. Bicycle racks in the building get points. They’re reviewing the system in NYC because they’re finding that buildings are getting LEED certification but actually aren’t very energy efficient. On the other hand, the River House development is very energy efficient and obtained LEED Gold certification.

What are some of the ways to make your Manhattan home more energy efficient?

Retrofitting an apartment is really difficult. The best thing you can do to make your current apartment more energy efficient is to lower your energy consumption.

The first way you can do this is to weatherize your home by plugging up leaks and keeping the air inside on the inside, the air outside on the outside. That way you don’t lose hot air in the winter or need to bring cool air in during the summer. For instance, if you keep your AC in the window in the winter, there will likely be leaks. Take it out and close the window. There are weather insulation kits for houses that will help you weatherize your home.

In terms of using less energy, you should unplug any electrical appliances, including your TV and computer, from the outlets when you are not using them. Compact fluorescent bulbs are wonderful and LED bulbs are even better. When you need to replace a dishwasher or fridge, get something energy efficient. Those old ACs, for example, are a nightmare. The new ones are way more efficient.

Also, when you paint, you should use low or no VOC paints, because they’re better for you to breathe. That creates allergies for people and it’s really bad for little kids to be breathing. It’s a good thing to do even if it doesn’t save you any energy.

If you live in a townhouse and if you have enough exposed roof, planting a “green roof” will act like insulation. You can plant grass and trees, as well as succulents. If it’s built the right way, you can also have water drainage and get gray water from that, which you can use to wash the sidewalk.  You want to consider the weight on the roof and the amount of maintenance though.

What advice would you give to a buyer looking for a green home in Manhattan?

You really need to evaluate how energy efficient the building is, not just the level of certification that the developer got. Buildings that have all-glass walls won’t be as efficient. You have to know enough about green to know what they’ve done and see how it could save you money. If you’re buying an apartment that’s 10% higher than the market, but it’s really green, like Village Green, you’ll save so much that in time it will pay you back.

When developers start to develop again, they’re going to develop green projects. I tell my buyers to buy something that will sell back into the green market in three to seven years. At that point, green apartments will be in even stronger demand than today.

Click for independent reviews & profiles of Susan Singer and other top Manhattan real estate agents who specialize in green residential real estate.

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TopAgentGuide is the first independent guide to Manhattan’s top-rated real estate agents. We hope you enjoy our main site and our emerging blog. We expect to feature articles on various aspects of the NYC real estate market, from coops to condos, studios to townhouses, written primarily by the individuals who know its pulse the best…the top agents who live and breathe Manhattan real estate on a daily basis.