The Importance of Views
A: I want to re-iterate just how important views are when trying to get top dollar at resale. In my opinion, its #1 and ahead of location as the permanent feature worth going for when you look to buy; with the focus being on finding motivated sellers with a view apartment who doesn't have time to 'test the market' with a steep premium! Whenever I have a buy side deal that involves a property with spectacular views, I always am concerned that another bidder will come out of nowhere before we get a fully executed contract. I worry about this, because it has happened to me before.
The four permanent features that all buyers should focus on putting their money towards when deciding which product of the group to bid on continue to be:
a) views
b) location
c) natural sunlight
d) raw space
...as these property features generally do not change! The only item that can be changed is natural sunlight and views if you happen to buy a property with a view of a lot that may ultimately be developed; and therefore eliminating or altering your view and natural sunlight. Other than that one risk, your pretty safe. These are the features I focus on when I do consulting for my buyer clients.
But one feature stands above the rest in this fast changing marketplace: VIEWS, especially really good ones! I'm talking central park or river views here, as there is a larger concentration of properties that offer open city views. Having that park or river view really does put your property above the rest in terms of luxury and should allow you to price the apartment a bit higher than the group. The fact that it isn't easy to find these properties tells you something!
Now, this doesn't mean that views should demand $300/sft more than comparable listings in the building on a different line without views, it shouldn't. It does mean that a premium will be paid for the views and that marketing efforts should allow the selling broker to procure a much bigger and more serious audience; which in and of itself is something for getting more money in the end.
Your focus should be on finding these types of view properties that seem to be priced 'in-line' with other comparable line apartments in the building that do not have views! If you do find one, its a sign that the seller is probably ready to go, and advised the broker to skip the premium that is normally associated with view apartments because they want a quicker timeline to sell.
For example, lets say that the building has two main exposures:
Exposure A ---> gets park views
Exposure B ---> gets interior building / courtyard views
Now, lets say that there are similar property types (say a 1BR unit w/ same floorplan) on both sides of the building! One has Exposure A and the other has Exposure B. Now lets assume that these comparable, yet opposing units are around the same floor in height, thereby eliminating any significant premium for being on a higher floor. Pricing should be as follows:
1BR w/ Exposure A (park views) ---> aprox $900,000
1BR w/ Exposure B (interior views) ---> aprox $825,000
These numbers are for argument only to prove the point that the 1BR unit with park views should demand a premium over the similar 1BR with interior views. Your focus should be to find a property type that enjoys park views, but whose asking price is more 'in line' with the last comparable sale that did NOT have the luxury of that gorgeous view! Not an easy task, but a sign that the seller is motivated!
With that said, here are some apartments that I think exemplify what I mean by view apartments; yet don't necessarily mean they are priced to move! Having open city views are nice, but should be given a less favorable premium due to the higher concentration of apartments that enjoy this type of view. Add in more premium for river and park view properties! It's up to you to determine exactly how much premium is deserved.
PRICE: $1,850,000
SIZE: 1,017 sft
DAYS ON MARKET: 62 Days
PRICE: $1,995,000
SIZE: N/A - 2BR/2BTH unit
DAYS ON MARKET: 7 Days
PRICE: $1,445,000
SIZE: 900 sft
DAYS ON MARKET: 13 Days
As always, if you want to see one of the above noted apartments, please contact the listing broker directly. Before bidding on any apartment, you should have your buyer broker do an analysis of where the building trades so that you can assign the proper premium to the property with views, in line with the most recent market values.
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Comments (8)
I'm not sure you can group city views all into one category as there are huge differences between views; I'd suspect a good view of the top landmark buildings (empire, chrysler, woolworth, etc) would command a higher premium than a generic cityscape view (like UES facing north let's say).
Posted by J$ | October 29, 2007 11:24 PM
I agree that when it comes to Manhattan the view is where it's at. No where else on earth can you get the views associated with a MANHATTAN skyline, that is what makes people smile in awe. Views of mountaintops and waterviews? yes that's nice too but there are ALOT of those. But a Manhattan view? Well there is only one place for that.
Posted by Steve | October 30, 2007 9:31 AM
great point J$.
Also, I should have pointed out a very important statement in this post. What I meant to say was that I am noticing many buyers consider locations outside their original zones, because they cant find the product they want and the price they can afford.
But when they find the product outside this favored zone, that has amazing view of park, river, or famous buildings, they are much quicker to raise their bid or bid more aggressively to get that product.
Of course I dont mean that location is meaningless and that someone who was once considering UES, will now move to E harlem because of a view. Just that people are more open to look outside their favored location these days.
Posted by Noah | October 30, 2007 9:56 AM
So , you are saying we should all ideally move to Jersey City so we can get a view of Manhattan..don't think so , I will stay in Manhattan thanks.
Posted by Adrian | October 30, 2007 10:06 AM
Adrian - NO! Where did I say that? You said that! All I said is that park and river views get top dollar at resale! More so than location in todays environment where many buyers consider locations outside their original areas.
If you are a buyer, Im sure you originally had a neighborhood you wanted to buy in. As you search, I promise you will start considering other areas. That dynamic diminshes the strength of location as a permanent feature that gets the most resale dollars!
All Im saying is try to find a property with a view that seems to be priced 'in line' with those apts that dont have the view.
"Your focus should be to find a property type that enjoys park views, but whose asking price is more 'in line' with the last comparable sale that did NOT have the luxury of that gorgeous view! "
But your prob a curbed reader and mis-interpret the point of the post.
Posted by Noah | October 30, 2007 10:11 AM
I totally disagree. I recently left a high floor apartment downtown with the best views of Midtown I've ever seen. The view was entertaining for about the first month, and then I just took it for granted. Frankly, I'll take location and space over views, and as a buyer, that's exactly what I did. Also, in Manhattan, usually a good view means a high floor and I can think of plenty of reasons not to live 30+ stories above the ground.
Posted by sunchild | October 30, 2007 10:15 AM
Sunchild - THANK YOU for a great comment! Finally! When you sold the apt with the great views of midtown, did you get top dollar?
or was that a rental? Curious to see if the apt with great views sold quickly and got your price?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and real experience. I certainly can buy into that way of thinking and Im sure there is a percentage of buyers out there now that share those thoughts!
Posted by Noah | October 30, 2007 10:18 AM
That second one has a nice view but for many people, that is cancelled out by being on a noisy highway.
Posted by Jose Habib | October 30, 2007 10:10 PM