Good morning Halstead
Open House Index loyal supporters!
The numbers are in from last weekend,
but it’s kind of disappointing that the number of surveys received is
in steady decline. 258 is the most we received this year on January 26,
and it is getting slower since. How do we get all agents to
participate? How do we get big firms to share their open house data?
The average
attendance in NYC last weekend dropped to 4.19, from 4.85 recorded the
weekend before. This is a 13% drop, not insignificant. We received 239
replies to our survey. Last year on February 17, 2019, the average
stood at 4.12. I think it is obvious that traffic at open houses this
January and February is stronger practically every weekend, compared to
2019. An uptick in buyers’ interest?
31 open houses
reported zero traffic, many of them “by appointment only”. Please
report all your numbers. Often I receive a comment like “I had
zero traffic, hence nothing to report.” No!! Zero is a number too! The
more data we get, the more accurate the index will be. If you do not
participate when you had zero traffic, the average is artificially too
high. If you advertised your open house on StreetEasy and to
co-brokers, you should report the number, even if it is a zero.
The record
open house mention this time goes to three open houses! They all
reported 40 parties attending: again this week on top were Judy
Liebman and Dawn Silverstein of Corcoran (last week I did not
mention Judy in my report, my apology) for their open house at 231 Park Place (which is in
Prospect Heights, and not in Park Slope as I reported last weekend and
one of you noticed). Also, on top, with 40 attendees came Sandra
Dowling of Brooklyn Heights Real Estate, Inc. at her open house at 114 Clinton Street in Brooklyn
Heights, as well as Greg Mire of Compass, who reported 40
attendees at his open house at 134 Boerum Place in Cobble Hill.
Brooklyn was on fire last weekend, it seems!
Here is from Greg
Mire, in his own words: “Our listing is special in the sense
that the location is super prime with limited inventory, it is a condo
with private outdoor space and a washer/dryer, and has the option to
purchase parking. We are strategically priced for a quick sale, and it
also doesn’t hurt that our listing shows very well and our photography
turned out beautifully. The attendance was much heavier at the
beginning, and given this is a one-bedroom, we had to hold some crowds
at the door a few times. But it flowed pretty smoothly about a half
hour in. We have four different parties who have promised offers.”
Here is from Dawn
and Judy, in their own words: “Our exclusive continues to be so
attractive for several reasons. First the photos and staging make the
property appealing to the consumer. We were featured in Curbed
last week, which brought a lot of interest. The apartment itself is
beautiful with a renovated kitchen and bathroom as well as many
upgraded details. The location is desirable. It’s right on the B and
Q train lines. Also, prospect heights has become increasingly more
popular over the past few years. , and it’s well priced. The
crowds were challenging but we had the opportunity to greet everybody
who walked in. We also accommodated some people for second showings and
had a midweek open house to ensure everyone got the time and attention
they needed. Yes, we have multiple offers. We’re calling for highest
and best today by 3 PM.”
Here is from Sandra,
in her own words: “My apt was very well priced compared to other 2
bedrooms in Bklyn Heights not to mention a sponsor unit with a
wbfplc We did expect over ask which we have multiple. I had
an agent at the door and an assistant in the apartment. I have
also been showing all week to another 25 or so. It did require a new
kitchen and upgraded bathroom otherwise beautifully restored.”
There were
5022 open houses in New York City last weekend and roughly 5569
prospective buyers were hopping from one open house to another. Here is the dataset. Let’s check the
boroughs:
Manhattan – the average dropped to 3.52 per open
house, from 4.20 recorded the weekend earlier. A 16% drop in traffic,
which is significant. Busy in East Village (13.00) from just three open
houses submitted. Above the average traffic in Central & west
Village (4.73), Upper West Side (4.37), Gramercy Park Area (4.20). Even
Upper East Side was above the average with 3.75. Way below the average
was in Midtown West (1.86) and Midtown East (2.20). See the rest below.
We received 190 replies from Manhattan. Last year, on February 17,
2019, the Manhattan average stood at 3.93.
Brooklyn – very strong 8.39 per open house,
thanks to these three super strong open houses with 40 attendees each.
Hence, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill and Park Slope/Prospect Heights
are off the chart. See details below. We received just 31 replies from
Brooklyn.
Bronx – the average dipped to 3.78, from
5.08 the weekend before. Just 9 open houses received from the Bronx.
Queens – the average dipped to 4.20 from
an insignificant statistical sample of just 5 open houses that
arrived from Queens. I don’t think the Queens agents care very much
about these statistics?
Staten Island – radio silence.
Size – Multi-family buildings (13.75),
JR4s (9.86) and Townhouses (8.50) were super hot. Studios (2.03) and
4BRs (2.60) on the bottom of interest.
Price - $500K-$1M most visited price
segment with 4.98. Above $3M were of least interest with 1.90.
Type – practically no difference in co-op
vs. condo attendance. We did not see this in a while.
Condition – Excellent/mint condition on top
this week with 4.41.
First Open
House – 205% more
traffic at first open houses (7.73) vs. the stale ones (3.76).
By Appointment
Only – 280% more
traffic at “normal” open houses (4.46), vs. those advertised “by appointment
only” (1.59).
This is all
for now. I received interesting comment from Therese Bateman, of
Level Group, in response to Aimee Becker’s initiative to delay posting
her sales listings on StreetEasy: “Hi Fritz, Thank you for the OH
Index - indeed, knowledge is power and having real time data like this
is invaluable. I applaud Aimee Becker's initiative. I will be delaying
putting any of my new exclusives on StreetEasy for at least the first
month of the listing agreement. In addition to co-broking, (90% of NYC
sales), I will market my exclusives through alternative methods. Other
agents will do the same. We know we don't need StreetEasy and it's time
StreetEasy learns that it does need us. StreetEasy can't be the
"go to" for sales listings when new listings are seen
elsewhere for a full month before they appear on SE, let alone the
number of listings that will never show up at all. Members of the
public will gravitate to the next site that "has it all" (especially
the new listings) such as www.linecity.com which is free
to use. It is comprehensive because it includes all those listings that
agents do not feed or delay feeding to StreetEasy. It is the new,
attractive public interface of OLR (good reliable tech and database),
which is not looking to steal or require payment for your leads. If we,
the thousands upon thousands of agents use our individual and social
media influence to alert our clients, friends, family and colleagues to
an alternative comprehensive website, the general public will gravitate
to the most direct, reliable and least misleading source of
information. It's time. I'm definitely OK with you publishing my
comment.”
Let me know
what you think.
Best of luck
at your open houses this weekend. Do not forget to check the dataset. A
lot of interesting comments from all of you. If your listing is NOT on
StreetEasy and you had an open house, please put that in the comment
section. It will be interesting to track the traffic generated just from
co-brokering and from other web sites.
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