As brokers/agent, we are constantly asked about market conditions in Riverdale/Fieldston, by buyers and sellers alike. We express our feelings about the market, but what do we really have to back up our opinions? I think it is time to add a little support to our feelings and see what has really been happening over the last 2 years. To do this I reviewed all of the closings classified by the city as Riverdale or Fieldston. In looking at the co-op sales, I decided to remove the sales of the units in Knolls Cooperative since they are limited-price cooperatives and not free-market pricing. All sales on Broadway as well as vacant land and parking spaces have also been excluded.
I present what I found with a recommendation that users review with great caution. Due to the relatively small number of sales and the wide price range, it can be difficult to reach any firm conclusions in most categories. The Riverdale/Fieldston community contains many diverse homes. In looking at the single-family homes closed in this 2-year period, prices ranged from $312,500 through $4,650,000 for 62 homes. Multi-family homes showed somewhat similar diversity; 21 homes ranging from $197,000 through $940,000. 42 Condominiums were sold during the 2 year period. They ranged from $120,000 through $1,781,000. Of course the new buildings were at the high end and older condo buildings tended to sell for less, with the Hayden being an exception.
The large volume of co-ops in Riverdale, provides us with a larger group of sales to analyze. Over the 2 years, there were 513 sales. As we know, there are all sizes of co-ops, from studios through large combined units. Some are in walk-up buildings and some have 24/7 doormen. Some have pools and some do not. It is possible that if two large combined units in doormen buildings closed in one quarter and 3 or 4 studios sold in a different quarter, these would tend to skew the results. The records provided by the city do not provide the information necessary to price these by square foot or by room count. In 2012 the city stopped indicating the square footage for condominiums as well.
With all of the above disclaimers, the data appears below, average Selling Price (Avg$) is in thousands and average per square foot (sf$) is rounded :
QTR Single-Family Multi-Family Condos Co-ops
# Avg$ sf$ Avg.Lot # Avg$ sf$ Avg.Lot # Avg$ sf$ # Avg$
1/11 6 1,159 307 9,156 2 455 295 4,204 4 765 482 83 250
2/11 11 1,455 491 11,043 3 765 297 2,398 4 803 555 60 252
3/11 9 1,240 510 9,240 5 700 211 3,315 9 614 478 54 276
4/11 6 986 345 6,081 2 505 198 2,630 5 714 500 49 251
Total Residential Sales for 2011 294 units @ $116 Million
1/12 11 880 321 6,109 2 625 202 6,271 2 368 53 250
2/12 13 1,328 341 14,717 1 583 380 2,125 5 760 62 248
3/12 13 1,248 415 10,304 4 560 225 3,107 5 595 84 262
4/12 12 1,185 389 9,916 4 513 219 4,936 8 605 78 255
Total Residential Sales for 2012 344 units @ $129 Million
What do you read in these numbers?
What I see:
The last 6 months represents the best 6 months of the 2 year period for co-op sales.
2012 appears to have been a good year for single-family house sales. Almost a 20% increase in total sales dollars.
Almost ¼ Billion in residential sales for the 2 year period.
17 % increase in co-op sales dollars in 2012 vs. 2011.
Let me know what you see in these numbers. Most importantly, what do you think 2013 will bring?
buyNYCsell 