The Brick Underground Podcast

Appraiser Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of Miller Samuel, joins host Emily Myers to discuss what buyers, sellers, and renters in New York City can take away from the real estate data as we head into 2023. Rents are 15 percent higher than they were before the pandemic but concessions (like free rent given by a landlord to entice someone to sign a lease) are actually starting to rise. Meanwhile, apartment sales have slowed because of rising mortgage rates and uncertainty about the economy. 

One tip: If you want to follow sales price trends in NYC you need to look at inventory and months of supply—the metrics that tell us how many apartments are available and how quickly they are selling. When months of supply go above eight and a half, buyers get some leverage.

Related links:

The Elliman Report (Douglas Elliman)

Demand for doorman buildings keeps NYC rents stubbornly high (Brick Underground)

Can NYC apartment hunters finally push back on asking rents now that winter is coming? (Brick Underground)

Nearly a third of sales in Brooklyn went to bidding wars in the third quarter (Brick Underground)

In this episode, we take a look at the biggest New York City landlords you’ve probably never heard of—private equity-backed owners. The number of these investor landlords has increased during the pandemic and when private equity is involved in the purchase of a rental building the outcome is rarely, if ever, positive for the tenants living there. Investigative reporter Hannah Levintova talks with host Emily Myers about what she uncovered reporting on this topic for the national publication Mother Jones.

Hannah Levintova’s work on this topic includes these articles: 

Real Estate Predators Tried to Cash In on the Pandemic. Then Tenants Fought Back

Everything Everywhere All at Once: How Private Equity Rules Your World

Fires and flooded apartments pose risks for New Yorkers, prompting many to ask: How do I stay safe in my apartment? In this episode, Robert O’Brien, co-owner of New York Fire Consultants and a former F.D.N.Y. firefighter talks with host Emily Myers, offering tips on how to minimize fire hazards, find out if our building is up to code, determine if a basement apartment is legal, and where to look for your building's fire safety plan. The episode touches on personal safety issues and gives some reminders about a landlord's responsibility for looking after residents. 

If you want to rent in NYC right now, what should you expect? Apartments are no longer sitting empty and the balance of power is tipping in favor of landlords. So how do you get the edge? In this episode of the podcast, Adrian Savino, director of leasing and business development at Living New York, joins host Emily Myers to shed light on where the deals are as landlords pull concessions and raise rents.

In this guide to negotiating, Mike Walker, residential sales manager at R New York, joins host Emily Myers to share some practical tips on how to get what you want when you are buying or selling. 

Is it a red flag if a developer has failed multiple building inspections as you go to close on your apartment? What if there's no Certificate of Occupancy? What are you signaling as a buyer if you offer the asking price on an apartment with your initial bid? In this episode of the podcast we discuss your real estate questions as the city’s sales market goes into overdrive. Host Emily Myers is joined by Allison Chiaramonte, an agent at Warburg Realty and attorney Shaun Pappas, a partner at Starr Associates.

Even if you've bought real estate in another city, buying in New York will surprise you. Having to compromise on your purchase when you're spending a million or more is one of the biggest shocks for many. Host Emily Myers is joined by Brick Underground’s managing editor Jennifer White Karp and Kobi Lahav, director of sales at Living New York, to talk about the often awkward, frustrating and always eye-opening process of buying in NYC. The conversation covers the layers of bureaucracy, the legal wranglings, the broker tricks, board politics, and why buying in NYC holds such an appeal.