By Dan Orlando
With 2015 on deck, David Behin, the co-founder of CityFunders, and MNS Real Estate spoke with Real Estate Weekly about his predictions for the upcoming year.
Behin expects the high-end condo arena to cool in Manhattan as the market begins to crowd but expects a spike in micro-living to occur amongst New Yorkers as well.
“I think that there are a tremendous amount of buyers don’t get me wrong,” Behin said while discussing Manhattan’s luxury homes. “But the big question is, ‘is there going to be enough demand?’”
“Since 2011 the prices have gone up astronomically,” Behin continued. “Back then I did a deal on 14th street between 7th and 8th and I sold some land there for about $355 a foot. Today that same land- if I was to put it on the market- would sell for over $700 per sf.”
Behin also feels that the genuine popularity and draw of the outer boroughs, especially Brooklyn, will challenge Manhattan’s attempts to sustain a continued rise in condo pricing.
“People are no longer moving out there because it’s cheaper,” Behin said of Brooklyn. “They are moving out there for the lifestyle.”
“I think we are going to start seeing some softening of prices (in Manhattan) as the supply increases and the demand just may not be there to take all that supply.”
For those on the other end of New York’s economic spectrum, Behin is confident that the trend of pod or micro apartments is set to gain significant traction in 2015.
“This is the developers monetizing on that phenomenon and taking it to the next level,” said Behin.“It’s almost like taking the WeWork model of office space and bringing it to the residential market.”
He expects New Yorkers whose salaries reach up to $80K per year to express interest in the micro units and their communal accommodations. Despite the slowdown in higher-end properties and a potential increase in more frugal living arrangements, Behin does not expect New York to experience a shortage in investor cash flow in the coming year.
Pointing to the city’s history of resiliency and the constant draw that it poses to the world’s most qualified and eager professional talent, Behin labeled New York as “one of the safest places to invest.”
