CitiBlog

Mortgage Rates Fall for Third Week

Thu, 21st Jan 2010 14:27:33 EST

Date posted: January 21st, 2010

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Mortgage Rates Fall for Third Week

By JOAN E. SOLSMAN

(WSJ) Mortgage rates fell this week, with the third-straight decline pushing the average for 30-year fixed-rate loans back below 5%, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey of mortgage rates.

Treasury yields have declined recently, and mortgage rates tend to follow the yields.

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FHA Sets Tighter Lending Requirements

Thu, 21st Jan 2010 14:21:52 EST

Date posted: January 21st, 2010

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FHA Sets Tighter Lending Requirements

By NICK TIMIRAOS
(WSJ) The Federal Housing Administration is implementing more-stringent lending requirements and higher borrower fees to cushion against rising defaults and stave off the need for a taxpayer bailout of the agency.

The FHA said Wednesday it will raise insurance fees that borrowers must pay, and it will cap the amount of cash that sellers can contribute for closing costs. It will also require higher down payments for the borrowers with poor credit scores, below 580.

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EliteRentals - January / February 2010 Issue

Thu, 21st Jan 2010 09:51:11 EST

EliteRentals is published by Citi Habitats, the premier residential brokerage firm in Manhattan.

Date posted: January 21st, 2010

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EliteRentals - January / February 2010 Issue

Features:

Guide to Renting In Manhattan

4th Quarter / Year-End 2009 Residential Rental Market Report

Cover Story: Lux Living / $9,999 month

Click on the image to view entire issue

4th Quarter/Year-End 2009 Report - Manhattan Residential Rental Market

Thu, 14th Jan 2010 11:05:25 EST

Media Coverage:

Date posted: January 14th, 2010

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Manhattan Apartment Rents Drop 9.4% as City Job Losses Mount

By John Gittelsohn

Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Manhattan apartment rents dropped 9.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 from a year earlier as Wall Street jobs vanished in the recession.

The median rent fell for all apartment sizes except two- bedrooms, which were little changed, according to a report today by broker Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate and appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. A separate tally by broker Citi-Habitats Inc. showed the average apartment price declined 7.3 percent for the year. The company didnt report medians. (read full article)

Average Manhattan rents dropped 4% last year

By Amanda Fung January 14, 2010

(Crains New York) Manhattan apartment rents ended the year down 4% from where they started 2009, but that decline helped to strongly boost the number of new leases signed, according to two market reports released Thursday.

In the final quarter of 2009, the average rent fell to $3,789 down 4% from the same quarter of 2008, according to Prudential Douglas Elliman and appraisal firm Miller Samuel Inc. That figure does not take into account rent concessions. (read full article)

Manhattan apartment rents and vacancies off in '09

NEW YORK, Jan 13 (Reuters by Nick Zieminski) - Vacancy rates for apartments in New York City's borough of Manhattan, the largest U.S. apartment market, declined in 2009, as lower rents and better landlord incentives attracted tenants, according to a quarterly brokerage report. (read full article)

Manhattan rental deals up in 4Q: reports
January 14, 2010 By Candace Taylor

(The Real Deal) Manhattan rental transactions surged in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to market reports released by two large city brokerages today (see full reports below).

A marketwide report released by Prudential Douglas Elliman estimated that the number of rental deals in Manhattan leaped 47.6 percent to 2,456 in the fourth quarter, from 1,665 in the same period of 2008. Citi Habitats, the city's largest rental brokerage, said it did more than 2,600 transactions in the fourth quarter, an increase of 30 percent from roughly 1,800 in the prior-year-quarter. (read full article)

Manhattan Apartment Rents Drop 9.4% as City Job Losses Mount
January 14, 2010 By John Gittelsohn

(BusinessWeek) Manhattan apartment rents dropped 9.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 from a year earlier as Wall Street jobs vanished in the recession.

4th Quarter/Year-End 2009 Report - Manhattan Residential Rental Market

Thu, 14th Jan 2010 10:49:52 EST

Date posted: January 14th, 2010

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Average Rents | 4Q 2009

Market-wide for Manhattan, the average 4Q 2009 rental price for a studio was $1,733, representing a decrease of 1.5% from 3Q 2009; a one bedroom, $2,343 representing a decrease of 3.3% from 3Q 2009; a two bedroom, $3,294 representing a decrease of 2.6% from 3Q 2009; and three bedroom, $4,591 representing a decrease of 3.3% from 3Q 2009.

Vacancy Rates | 4Q 2009

The overall vacancy rate for Manhattan for 4Q 2009 was 1.79% representing a 0.08% increase in the vacancy rate from the 3Q 2009 rate of 1.71%.

A comparison of vacancy rates, by neighborhood, reveals that the SoHo/Tribeca area had the least amount of available apartments at 1.05%, while the Upper East Side, at 2.24%, ranked highest.

Average Rents | 2009

Market-wide for Manhattan, the average 2009 rental price for a studio was $1,757, representing a decrease of 6.7% from 2008; a one bedroom, $2,406 representing a decrease of 7.7% from 2008; a two bedroom, $3,411 representing a decrease of 7.8% from 2008; and three bedroom, $4,560 representing a decrease of 6.9% from 2008.

Vacancy Rates | 2009

The overall vacancy rate for Manhattan for 2009 was 1.93% representing a 0.51% increase in the vacancy rate from the 2008 rate of 1.42%.

A comparison of vacancy rates, by neighborhood, reveals that the SoHo/Tribeca area had the least amount of available apartments at 1.35%, while the Upper East Side, at 2.38%, ranked highest.

Please click on the image to view the Manhattan Residential Rental Market 4th Quarter / Year-End 2009 Report.