In the past 24 hours, our research was cited by the following media outlets, among others:

Manhattan Apartment Renters Winning Price Cuts From Landlords – BLOOMBERG NEWS

Small Talk: Sun, Rent, Celebrities – THE NEW YORK TIMES

Manhattan Apartment Rents Edge Up In 1Q – CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS

Manhattan Apartment Renters Winning Price Cuts From Landlords –BUSINESSWEEK.COM

Economy Still Stinks, But Rents Are on the Way Up – THE VILLAGE VOICE

Peace and Stability for the Manhattan Rental Market? – CURBED.COM

Manhattan Rents Drop, Vacancy Rate Increases in 2009: Annual Report – THE REAL DEAL

 Manhattan Rental Market Shows Signs of Recovery – THE REAL DEAL

CITI HABITATS’ AGENTS KNOW NYC REAL ESTATE.
Share the 2009 Black & White Report and our Q1 2010 Rental Market Report with landlords and clients.

Editor’s note: This article is reposted with permission by The Real Deal. Click here to view the original article.

By CANDACE TAYLOR

NEW YORK CITY — During the boom, New Yorkers increasingly relied on price-per-square-foot as a way to compare rapidly rising apartment values.

The metric is even more popular in the downturn, as discount-crazed buyers look for good deals.

But price-per-square-foot isn’t as reliable a measure as they think. Unbeknownst to many shoppers, it’s extremely difficult to determine the true square footage of a Manhattan property, experts say.

“When it comes to square footage in New York City, it’s the Wild West,” said Bill Staniford, the CEO of real estate data Web site PropertyShark. “It’s measured in so many different ways.”

And in the current downturn, the difficulty of determining square footage is contributing to a number of other problems, from low appraisals to ruined deals.

Staniford, who constantly fields questions from brokers about inaccurate square footage data on file with the city, said using price-per-square-foot as a measure of value is “totally pointless.”

That puts “every single broker in a very difficult situation, unless they want to break out the measuring tape,” he said. Even then, they might still be wrong.

It’s fairly easy to determine the square footage of a suburban single-family home: measure the footprint of the house, factor in the number of stories, and you’re done.

Manhattan apartments are a different story.

The square footage of an apartment is determined by measuring the space between the interior walls, including bathrooms, closets and foyers, explained appraiser Jonathan Miller, president of appraisal firm Miller Samuel.

But Manhattan apartments, especially prewar co-ops, often have hard-to-measure elements like turrets, winding hallways and oddly shaped rooms. Miller said buildings like 455 Central Park West, with its its large, circular turret units, are especially difficult to measure, along with notoriously elaborate buildings like the Dakota and the Osborne.

In many apartments, “you could have different people measure and they’d get five different numbers,” said Douglas Heddings, founder of the Heddings Property Group at Charles Rutenberg Realty in New York City, who has written about square footage challenges on his blog, TrueGotham.com.

To make matters worse, there is often little or inaccurate square footage data on file with the city. When buildings were converted to co-ops in the 1980s, they were not required to list the square footage in their units in the offering plan, Miller said.

Condo offering plans are required to list square footage, but each developer measures it differently, which is legal as long as they disclose their methods in the plan, Miller said.

“Many developers, in order to drive down the price per square foot, include portions of common hallways or elevators shafts,” he said. “Some include a percentage of outdoor space.”

Moreover, when units are combined or renovated, changes to the square footage are often not updated in the public record, he said.

As a result of all these factors, brokers in the past often avoided stating the square footage in their marketing materials. “Years ago, you really sold by the number of rooms,” said Diane Ramirez, president of Halstead Property.

In 1998, the buyers of a $2.5 million co-op at 983 Park Avenue backed out of their contract and filed suit against the seller and broker Stribling & Associates. The buyers claimed they were told the apartment was 3,300 square feet, but that it was actually closer to 2,800 square feet.

The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount in 2000, according to the New York Times.

After that, some firms explicitly forbade their brokers from telling buyers the square footage, for fear of litigation. “For years, we would not allow agents to put square footage [on their listings], because we knew it was fraught with danger,” Ramirez said.

But as more new condos sprang up during the boom, with their dimensions listed in the offering plan, buyers became more and more interested in square footage.

“They love hearing what the square footage is,” Ramirez said. “It became a number and an analysis that the consumer liked.” These days, price-per-square foot is a popular measure of value, even in co-ops, because it’s the best way of comparing apartments with the same number of rooms but vastly different dimensions.

“Price-per-square-foot is really what drives the understanding of value for consumers,” Miller said. “It’s really the language of the market.”

That’s forced many brokers to start using square footage data again, but nearly all real estate companies now have disclaimers stating that representations of square footage are just estimates, said Pamela Liebman, CEO of the Corcoran Group.

Brokers, perhaps emboldened by this disclaimer, often round up or simply exaggerate square footage in their listings, experts say. Miller said that when he appraises apartments, he usually finds that the apartment is 5 to 10 percent smaller than advertised.

Co-ops, in particular, often appear to get larger each time they are sold.

“If you look at any given co-op, you will often find that it has grown,” Heddings said. “A 650-square-foot one-bedroom in 1980 may now be 900 square feet.”

Recently, Richard Hamilton, a senior vice president at Halstead Property, was marketing unit 16B at 201 West 16th Street in Chelsea, a one-bedroom apartment that, according to his calculations, was just under 700 square feet. He was displeased to discover that an identical apartment on another floor — number 4B — was listed at 800 square feet.

Hamilton’s floor plan said that the living room was 20 feet by 13 feet, while the brokers for 4B, Adrian Castillo and Glenn Minnik of Prudential Douglas Elliman, used a floor plan that put the room at 20 feet by 15 feet.

Hamilton said he used the building’s original floor plan and double-checked to make sure it was accurate. “It’s quite obvious that it’s 13,” he said. “Anyone could have looked in that apartment and known it was not 15 feet wide.”

Minnick said he used the square footage information that had previously been in Elliman’s system.

“That was what was in our listing system,” he said. “We just add photos to it.”

He disagreed with Hamilton’s assessment, saying the apartment is “definitely larger than 700 square-feet.”

He emphasized that square footage estimates are “very subjective.”

Hamilton said brokers who strive for accuracy are often penalized, because buyers want the apartment they believe is larger. “I do my best to be as honest as I can,” he said. “But sometimes by telling the truth, you look bad, because they want to see the bigger apartment.”

To avoid that situation, he usually avoids listing the square footage, instead handing out tape measures at his open houses so buyers can measure for themselves.

Aside from potential litigation, differing interpretations of square footage have further ramifications in the current climate. If the bank’s appraiser or attorney finds that an apartment is smaller than advertised, it could torpedo the deal, said Melanie Lazenby, a senior vice president at Elliman.

“The last thing you want when you think you have a deal is a surprise,” said Lazenby, who relies on the figure in the offering plan or, for older apartments, hires a professional to draw up new floor plans. “You don’t want that call asking why there is a discrepancy. It could change the price of the apartment.”

Lack of accuracy in square footage is one reason so many deals are falling apart due to low appraisals, Miller said.

To determine the value of an apartment, appraisers look at the prices of nearby apartments of a similar size. But if the square footage of those comparables have been exaggerated, that can hurt the value of the apartment in question.

“They may be comparing four 1,200-square-foot apartments, but only one is actually 1,200 square feet,” Heddings said.

Miller said most experienced local appraisers are aware of these discrepancies and use floor plans, not broker data, to compare sizes. But more and more out-of-town appraisers are now doing work in Manhattan thanks to recent guideline changes.

“When you see out-of-town appraisers, they’re just relying on the broker square footage because they don’t have the floor plans,” Miller said. “It unfairly penalizes the subject apartment.”

Against this backdrop, how should brokers proceed?

“The best thing to do is talk about it as, ‘this space costs x,’ and don’t worry about the square footage,” Staniford said.

This relocation number is up from the 11% reported in 2007, when the local unemployment rate was less than half of today’s and the city had over 128,600 more jobs, according to the New York state Department of Labor.

“There’s this uniqueness of New York,” explained Ed Witherell, the New York market vice president of Right Management. “There is a great deal of opportunities, beyond your industry and beyond the function you may be performing.”

Mr. Witherell said the ranks of relocators is lower here than many people might expect because the city is home to scores of significant technology, publishing, financial, media and fashion companies, and individuals want to pursue the opportunities in their backyards. People are moving to New York for the same reasons.

The survey did not include information about job seekers coming to New York, or break down the areas of relocation by industry or demographics.

The relocation rate from New Jersey increased to 13% from 9% in the same period; meanwhile, 7% of job seekers are leaving Long Island, from 4% in the last survey. The nation’s average of 15% remained constant.

Of the surveyed 27,000 individuals nationwide, 3,000 were from the Northeast.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100224/FREE/100229940

The perennially delayed plan to transform New York City’s main post office into a transportation hub got a boost Tuesday when Sen. Charles Schumer announced an $83.2 million federal grant to jumpstart the project.

The money, which comes from the stimulus package, will help finance the first stage of the project, which proposes turning the Farley post office into a new train station, to be primarily used by Amtrak, which will be connected to Penn Station. The project, which will be called Moynihan Station, also includes adding a grand hall and retail stores. It is named after the late Sen. Patrick Moynihan, who championed the project.

The federal grant means there is now enough money to start the first phase, which will cost about $220 million and take five to six years to complete. It includes expanding access to the various train tracks, creating two new entrances to the Farley building, and adding elevators, stairs and escalators.

“We’ve got the money now let’s get to work,” said Mr. Schumer, in a statement. “The best way to get New York’s economy moving again is to keep building, and the best project to get things started is Moynihan Station.”

The second phase, which is expected to cost between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, calls for renovating Farley and adding the retail space and creating the grand hall.

By Theresa Agovino

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100216/FREE/100219928

The real estate and construction industries have started a full-court press, including a Web-based petition, to resurrect plans to build a stop at West 41st and Tenth Avenue for the extension of the No. 7 train line.

Over the weekend, the Real Estate Board of New York launched a Web site—BuildTheStation.com—so people could sign a petition to encourage elected officials to finance the stop. Currently, the line will only include one new stop, at West 34th Street. This week, both residential and commercial brokers are expected to ask tenants in buildings on the far West side near West 42nd Street to sign petitions.

There were plans to build a shell for a station on West 41st Street and then go back and build out the stop. However, a couple of months ago, plans to build the shell were abandoned.

Steven Spinola, president of REBNY, says a lot of area residents don’t even know the plan to construct the shell have been shelved so the petition is an attempt to raise awareness and spur people to contact elected officials. Mr. Spinola says three construction trade organizations will be encouraging their members to sign the petition and contact elected officials. They are: The Building Congress, the Buildings & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York and the Building Trades Employers’ Association.

“We think it is critical that the station be built,” Mr. Spinola said. He added the stop is vital to the continued development of the far west side, noting several developers such as Larry Silvestein recently built new residential properties nearby.

The project would also provide much needed jobs to the construction industry, which has been especially hard hit by the recession as development came to a halt.

Mr. Spinola said the industry has already reached out to the state’s two U.S. senators to ask for federal help building the station. He added that signatures will be collected over the next couple of months and will be presented to various officials and agencies sometime before May, when a major building contract for the extension will be awarded.

“We’ve been told it would cost a lot more money to go back and build the station later,” Mr. Spinola said.

Correction: An earlier version story mistakenly said the new subway stop would be located on West 41st St. and Ninth Ave.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100216/FREE/100219925

1) East Village has the highest Vacancy Rate downtown.

2) Average 1bed in Doorman building now below $2,962!

JoeDNYC

2010 Quality of Life Index: 194 Countries Ranked and Rated to Reveal the Best Places to Live

By the Staff of International Living

1. France

For the fifth year running, France takes first in our annual Quality of Life Index. No surprise. Its tiresome bureaucracy and high taxes are outweighed by an unsurpassable quality of life, including the world’s best health care.

France always nets high scores in most categories. But you don’t need number-crunchers to tell you its bon vivant lifestyle is special. Step off a plane and you’ll experience it first-hand.

I always wish quality of life indicators could measure a country’s heart and soul. But it’s impossible to enumerate the joy of lingering for hours over dinner and a bottle of red wine in a Parisian brasserie. Or strolling beside the Seine on a spring morning, poking through the book vendors’ wares. Or buying buttery croissants in bohemian Montmartre…hearing Notre Dame’s bells…walking antique streets paved with poetry.

Romantic Paris offers the best of everything, but services don’t fall away in Alsace’s wine villages…in wild and lovely Corsica…in lavender-scented Provence. Or in the Languedoc of the troubadors, bathed in Mediterranean sunlight.

Provincial French properties are often keenly priced and lifestyles are less expensive than Paris. The Southwestern Midi-Pyrenees region is a particularly good hunting ground for village homes for less than $100,000—and classic three-course lunches for $14. Houses cascade with wisteria blossom; outdoor markets are everywhere. Foie gras, pink garlic, Armagnac, and crystallized violets aren’t gourmet fare for locals. Rather, just another day’s shopping.

2. Australia

They don’t call it the “Lucky Country” for nothing. Australia is famous for its large beaches and temperate climate. Across the continent, Aussies and those who’ve chosen to emigrate there have access to an active and healthy lifestyle. But urban dwellers will find plenty of great culture and excellent food in Sydney and Melbourne, and a cost of living below that of some of the world’s other great cities.

Australia’s economy has managed to weather the Global Financial Crisis better than any other Western country. For tourists and travelers, this means you’ll be dealing with a strong Aussie dollar, making your visit there more expensive. But if you plan to stay, you’ll find that few English-speaking countries with quality health care and good infrastructure will benefit as much as Australia from the economic booms in Asia and China.

The Australian economy is powered by agricultural, mineral, and energy exports that feed the voracious appetite of rapidly industrializing populations in Asia. Housing in Australia remains expensive by global standards. But there are plenty of jobs for skilled expats who can ride the Asian boom from the sandy, sunny, and safe beaches of the land Down Under.

3. Switzerland

For Harry Lime, in Graham Greene’s story The Third Man, all the Swiss have to show for five centuries of peaceful neutrality is the cuckoo clock. The rest of Europe, meanwhile, stumped on through rivers of blood to create art, history, and civilization.
                  
This is rubbish. Switzerland is an award-winning country because it turned all its natural disadvantages to its own advantage, ending up as a super-efficient, high-tech society while still managing to play Alpine inn-keeper to the world. Moreover the cuckoo clock comes from the Black Forest in Germany.
               
Lacking natural frontiers or a unifying religion, and divided by five different languages, it sensibly decided that internationalism was its calling, quickly adding English to the French, German (two kinds), Italian, and Romansch (like ancient Latin) its people already speak so that foreigners of every linguistic persuasion could feel at home. Altruism followed from this and Geneva became home to the United Nations and the Red Cross.
              
Landlocked, mountainous, and without natural resources (except cheese), Switzerland still needed more than tourism to provide a living. So it developed secretive banks, whose potential clientele is numberless and efficient engineering and pharmaceutical industries whose appeal similarly knows no borders.
                
Such achievements reinforce each other. Tourists gladly clamber into Alpine cable cars because they trust their Swiss steel cables and electric motors. Jump on a Swiss train and you know you will arrive on time. Swallow a Swiss pill and you know it won’t poison you. Likewise, you know the bank will always be discreet and the hotel room spotless. You also know everyone will speak your language. The Swiss succeeded because they made everything work.

4. Germany

Some Americans (often ex-military) retire to Germany. One forum poster mentioned being thrilled that youth culture hasn’t taken over. Techno-throb Berlin and numerous summer rock festivals refute that, but this is the land of Goethe and Beethoven. Theater, art, and classical music concerts aren’t considered elitist.

Will your medical insurance fund a health spa stay? Probably not, but it happens here with a doctor’s recommendation. Despite the global downturn, Germans have it pretty good. Along with 30 days paid annual holiday, the average employee earns €41,509 ($61,433).

In Germany, everything works and works well. Its houses are built to last, and their legendary autobahns are still mostly without speed limits. If you enjoy sports, even small towns have numerous facilities. Some odd ones too—the Harz Mountains now has a specialist hiking trail for nudists. From spas to parks to North Sea beaches, Germany is arguably the world’s most naturist-friendly country.

Romantics adore its Christmas markets and fairytale towns of half-timbered houses. Some favorites are Quedlinburg and Wernigerode in Saxony, and the Black Forest spa town of Baden-Baden. The latter has a posh reputation, but you could buy a 55-sqaure-meter apartment for $160,000. Or rent for $673 monthly.

5. New Zealand

From Auckland’s waterfront to the Southern Alps, English-speaking New Zealand boasts some of the most pristine landscapes on earth. Much of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy was filmed here. For younger migrants with the right skills, it’s a wonderful place to relocate and raise a family. There’s huge emphasis on sports, beach-life, and healthy lifestyles.

New Zealand’s immigration department sums up the attractions perfectly. “In many ways it’s not what we have that’s important to our quality of life—it’s what we don’t have. We don’t have high crime rates, our police don’t carry guns and instances of corruption are virtually unheard of. We don’t have abject poverty or hunger and we don’t have the pollution, congestion, health issues and cramped city living that we see elsewhere.”

Unless you buy your way in as an investor, it’s difficult for retirees to get permanent residency. But you could rent or purchase a home and live there part-time. Seasons are reversed, so it’s possible to enjoy two summers a year. However, property prices are rebounding. Taken nationally, latest figures show the average home costs $274,881.

6. Luxembourg

If we judged quality of life by a nation’s Michelin-starred restaurants per square mile, the winner would be the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. A founder member of the EU, its national motto is Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sin (we want to remain what we are).

Only 51 miles long and 35 miles wide, landlocked Luxembourg is relatively unknown to Americans. Yet with per capita GDP of $88,000, it’s among the world’s richest countries. Most apartments in its postcard-pretty capital—also called Luxembourg—cost at least $7,400 per square meter. But they come with an operetta scene of medieval turrets, bridges, and flower-filled squares.

Ruled by a Grand Duke, a third of Luxembourg’s 420,000 inhabitants were born elsewhere. Add cross-border workers, and foreigners account for 60% of its labor force. Although the official language is Lëtzebuergesch, English, French, and standard German are widely spoken—cosmopolitan Luxembourg is an international finance center and tax haven. However, its bank secrecy laws are now under scrutiny.

7. United States

From Florida’s palm-lined coasts to Alaska’s snow-covered crags…from the dazzle of New York to the big skies of Montana…the U.S. has, arguably, something to offer everyone.

And no question: It is the land of convenience. No place else on Earth is it easier to get what you want, when you want it.

The U.S. is safe. It’s comfortable. It can even be affordable. As readers will on occasion point out: It’s possible to rent a place in central Nebraska for the same price you’ll pay in Merida, Mexico. (Though that does beg the question: There amid the cornfields, can you see the opera, enjoy the café culture, or be at the beach in half an hour?)

It’s hard to beat the day-to-day ease you enjoy in the U.S. You can buy eye drops at a pharmacy at 3 a.m. and have dinner delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less. We are efficient. (And, if you’ve ever tried to shop on a Sunday in France or get a driver’s license in Italy in under 45 days, you appreciate the merits in that.) But—as our editors and readers living overseas are quick to point out—convenience (and the frenetic pace that comes with it) is often overrated.

8. Belgium

Divided into Flemish-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia, Belgium also boasts high scores. Since medieval times, its merchant cities have prospered. The capital, Brussels, grabs most attention, but Bruges and Antwerp (famed for diamond trading) also flaunt stepped-gable houses and splendid guildhalls. 

Employing thousands of foreign staff, Brussels is the headquarters of the European Union and NATO. A dreary place of paper-shuffling bureaucrats? Not at all.

Ringed with parks, it’s Europe’s greenest capital. Along with many international schools, it delivers all an expat could desire: theater, English-language cinema, sports centers, great public transport, Trappist-brewed beers, numerous gourmet and ethnic restaurants, and fast trains to London, Paris, and Amsterdam. As they rarely plan to stay, most expats rent. In central Brussels, one-bedroom apartments start at $740 monthly.

Like its delectable chocolates, Brussels has a soft-centered heart. The municipality not only sterilizes stray cats, it appoints someone to feed them. Its main library offers storytelling in sign language for deaf children. And disadvantaged citizens can attend cultural events at hefty discounts.

9. Canada

Stretching from the islands of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia in the east to Vancouver Island in the west and north to the Arctic Circle, Canada is a diverse country of incredible natural beauty and resources.

Health care and living standards are among the highest in the world. Canada’s economy is based on vast natural resources, a robust financial industry, and innovative manufacturing including the renewable energy sector. Canada has remained resilient through the global financial crises. The banks are considered “more Swiss than the Swiss banks,” and property markets are “on fire.”

Canada’s major cities (like Toronto and Vancouver) offer fantastic entertainment. Sports, theater, and concerts are widely accessible and affordable and there’s a rich offering of free festivals.

Cost of living is affordable, although the strong currency has made it relatively more expensive in recent times. Canada’s real attraction comes in the form of nature and outdoor activities. In summer, there’s hiking, boating, golf, and fishing. Winter offers outdoor activities like skiing, snow mobiling, and ice fishing. Canadians are warm, welcoming, and fun, and the country still retains many of the charms brought by her early visitors from Europe.

10. Italy

What Italians don’t know about la dolce vita (the sweet life) isn’t worth knowing.

OK, trains are often in ritardo (late), workers frequently strike, corruption isn’t unknown, and red tape comes in slow-moving triplicate. But balance that against Rome, Venice, and Florence…against mountains reflected in sapphire lakes…against golden beaches and hill towns cobbled with secrets.

Then throw in 60% of the world’s art treasures. A national health care system rated second in the world by the WHO. Sunflowers, vineyards, and opera. And the best espresso, pizza, and ice cream you’ll ever taste.

Admittedly, major cities and tourist hotspots are expensive. But the Mezzogiorno, Italy’s deep south, is different. Although unemployment is high and incomes far less than in the north, it’s just as colorful. As historic, too. Phoenicians, Greeks, and Saracens all left traces of their passing.

Southern winters are short and mild, summers are scorching hot, and jugs of wine cost $6.50. On Sicily and in slow-paced regions like Puglia, Basilicata, and Campania, affordable homes abound. Even farmhouses with a couple of acres surface for $60,000. Many village houses cost even less. Decent rentals start at $550 monthly.

http://internationalliving.com/Internal-Components/Further-Resources/quality-of-life-2010