Coop Sales Surge

In fact, the current edition of The Real Deal* discusses a recent surge in coop sales, and the effect on the marketplace.

I took a look at the data for Chelsea from March 15 - April 11 vs. April 12 - May 11 to see how this plays out in Chelsea. Some key facts:

• On average, prices for coops ranges from 28% to 44% less than condo prices.
• The volume of coops sold increased by 60% in the time period, while the volume of condos sold remained even.
• Average listing price decreased by 3%, while coop listing prices rose by 1.8%.
• The number of new listings of coops INCREASED by 17%, while the number of new listings of condos DECREASED by 72%.

My conclusions for using this data to your advantage as a buyer or seller are after the break:

Greenwich Village Homes Tour

Last week's neighborhood tour comes courtesy of the annual Greenwich Village Society for Historical Preservation Home Tour. I volunteered and my station was the Gambrel House at 55 Grove Street. Today, the building houses the owner's interior design firm and personal apartment.

Once, this space was a Cabaret Lounge first called "The Duplex" before it became "Rose's Turn." Before its turn in the cabaret scene, 55 Grove Street was 'originally constructed as a row of three in 1839.' The personal apartment of the designer, at the top floor of the building, was stunning come-to-life from the pages of any interior design magazine. Every detail was impeccably curated - from the end grain floors to the frame photo of Dash (the owner's dog) which hung in the stairwell.

There were another another six stops on the tour -

• 50 West 12th and 12 West 10th were those farther east (between Sixth and Fifth Ave).
• Toward the West Side Highway were 330 West 12th, 340 West 11th, and 179 Christopher.
• The tour rounded out with 62 Morton between Hudson and Seventh.

For anyone that likes to peek into world of real estate, this event provided a great way to have an insider's view of some wonderful properties in the Village.