To understand what’s happening in the West Village real estate market, we interviewed several award-winning Certified TopAgents who specialize in the area.
Alex Nicholas, The Corcoran Group. A native New Yorker born in Greenwich Village, Alex has guided sellers and buyers in over 400 transactions in the past 13 years in Downtown Manhattan. The West Village is one of the core markets in which he specializes.
Glenn Norrgard, Sotheby’s International Realty. Since 1994, Glenn has focused his business Downtown and has completed several hundred transactions in the area. He is considered one of the most knowledgeable Downtown agents.
Meris & Kenny Blumstein, The Corcoran Group. Meris and Kenny are Downtown experts. In 2008, they were ranked as one of the Top 100 teams in the country by the Wall Street Journal. To date, they have closed over 750 transactions.
Tom Cooper, Sotheby’s International Realty. As a Downtown resident, Tom is intimately familiar with the West Village. He is Sotheby’s representative in the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation Broker’s Committee. He has sold over $50 million of Downtown real estate in the past three years.
What are some of West Village’s defining characteristics?
Alex Nicholas: The streets in the West Village are unlike anywhere else in the city. They are all different and crooked, so you don’t have a lot of proper cross streets, which makes the neighborhood very quiet. The West Village has all sorts of nooks and crannies, cool, boutiques, great restaurants, tree-lined streets and lots of townhouses and single family homes. There are quite a few buildings still intact from the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, so it’s got a very special, unique, old-world European charm that people have loved for a long time. The West village has a great mix of all types of New Yorkers because the neighborhood has something for everyone. Hudson park and the Meatpacking District are nearby, and the neighborhood has access to the 1, 2, 3 and the A, C, E subway lines. Along the Westside highway, you’ll find ultra-luxury buildings and beautiful townhomes. It’s a place where people can go to hide and escape the hustle and bustle of Manhattan. Because the West Village is so desirable, the area is expensive.
Glenn Norrgard: The West Village truly is a neighborhood and a village. It’s the type of place where you know your neighbors. There are tree-lined, cobblestone streets and lots of great bars, restaurants, shops and convenience stores. There’s an informal quality of life that’s difficult to capture in other parts of the city. West Village residents have access to the riverside park which is great. Farther west, public transit doesn’t cut through it, so it’s been able to retain its neighborhood feel. There are good school systems and it’s one of the most valuable areas of real estate in Manhattan.
Kenny Blumstein: I would describe the West Village as historic, intimate, quiet and friendly. It’s well-preserved and protected because, depending on location, you may have to walk several blocks to get to transportation.
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Meris Blumstein: It has the feeling of a village and is very different than any other neighborhood in the city. Nearly all of the buildings are low-rise buildings. It’s quiet, friendly and has a huge number of excellent restaurants. There is no other neighborhood like it in Manhattan.
Tom Cooper: The townhouses of the West Village anchor the neighborhood’s charm. In recent years, many of these have been returned to single family homes. Older luxury buildings, like 299 and 302 West 12th, as well as 45 Christopher–all Bing and Bing pre-war buildings, are highly valued for their understated elegance. Newer condominium buildings, like Superior Ink and the Richard Meier buildings, have added many more extremely high-end condominiums to the market.
What is the housing stock like in the West Village?
Tom Cooper: The housing stock in the West Village is extremely varied–there are townhouses on cobblestone streets that lend the West Village so much of its charm, pre-war luxury buildings such as the Bing and Bing collection which people gravitate towards because of its pre-war charm and understated elegance, and new condo buildings like the Richard Meyer Building that provide extremely high-end luxury. New condos tend to have the larger apartments because pre-war buildings tend to cap out at 2 bedrooms–to find a 3 bedroom in a pre-war building usually means it’s a combination of some kind.
Meris Blumstein: There are more townhouses in the West Village than most other neighborhoods. It’s a very townhouse-driven area.
Kenny Blumstein: In the past five to eight years, developers took any opportunity to renovate existing buildings or build from the ground up. The new developments were typically condos on Hudson, Greenwich, and Washington. The inventory was absorbed quickly and at a high cost per square foot.
Glenn Norrgard: The West Village is comprised mainly of low-rise buildings. There are some 20 story pre- and post-war buildings, but most are six to seven story buildings.
Alex Nicholas: The West Village has more townhouses than other neighborhoods, but there is still a limited supply. There is always a demand for West Village townhouses which is why they sell so quickly. Most of the other homes are co-ops.
What do you see happening in the West Village home market these days?
Glenn Norrgard: Inventory had accumulated in the early part of 2009, but we’re seeing a lot of properties being purchased now. Prices have stabilized and there have been a few sales, so there’s a baseline in terms of comps from which sellers can us to price their homes appropriately.
Meris Blumstein: The West Village is very sought after so demand is still strong. It hasn’t been hurt as badly as other areas.
Kenny Blumstein: It maintains its value through peaks and falls.
Tom Cooper: The West Village remains the destination of choice for people who appreciate its scale, charm, unique collection of restaurants and shops, as well as its proximity to the river and now the Highline. It will always be in demand. Like most parts of the city, however, prices are down significantly from last year.
What advice would you give to a buyer looking for a home in West Village?
Meris Blumstein: Understand how you feel about the neighborhood. There are people who belong in a low-rise, quiet neighborhood and there are some who belong in the mid-Village, around 5th avenue. That area has a lot more activity on the streets at all hours of the day than the West Village. The West Village feels like an enclave off the main thoroughfares, which is why it attracts a lot of high-profile people. They can hide out a bit more.
Kenny Blumstein: You cannot make low-ball offers in the West Village because supply does not vastly outweigh demand.
Glenn Norrgard: Buyers should look at the West Village’s location in relation to where they work and where they’re going to be–the West Village can be extremely convenient or quite inconvenient.
Alex Nicholas: There’s a limited supply. You have to know what you want and when you find it, go for it. The window of negotiating is over and a lot of unique properties in the West Village are priced to sell, so you can’t go in and offer 30% less than the asking price. Understand the limited quantity, know what you want, and make realistic offers.
Tom Cooper: Get the overall impression of the apartment and the neighborhood by walking around the West Village, particularly at night. Between all the restaurants and lounges, there is a lot of nocturnal activity in the West Village so it’s important to know what it’s like on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night.
What advice would you give to someone selling his/her West Village home?
Glenn Norrgard: Look at the comps (there are enough now to give a baseline) and recognize where your property fits in terms of location, size, etc. If you have something special, like a terrace, you can still command a premium, because those will always be rare.
Meris Blumstein: Price appropriately for where you are and what you have. Otherwise, you may as well not put it on the market. Also, there’s such a huge oversight by Landmarks protection that you really have to be very savvy about what you’re doing in terms of a renovation in West Village. For example, you can’t put a terrace on top of your house if you can see it from the street.
Alex Nicholas: Even though the West Village is one of the most desirable neighborhoods in NYC, selling is still always about pricing and knowing the comps. West Village buyers are looking for charm, quiet, and some architectural significance. If your home offers any of these characteristics, you need to promote that.
