New condo properties downtown, midtown, in the financial district of Manhattan, in Long Island city, at College Point in Queens, and in Jersey City, NJ are actively marking to Koreans in a huge effort to attract second-generation Korean tenants.
Unlike first-generation Koreans, who remain in areas like Flushing and Elmhurst with high concentration of Koreans, second-generation Koreans – professionals, such as lawyers, accountants, doctors – prefer to live closer to their offices in Manhattan. With this in mind, on September 17, Elite Prime Financing held an informational event for investors in New Jersey, for potential buyers of new luxury condos, such as 75 Wall Street, a Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group listing, William Beaver House, the “Ultimate Downtown Address” (at the corner of William and Beaver St, NY), Rushmore Riverside (New Jersey condos with spectacular NYC views), and 77 Hudson in New York. These luxury condos were either finished in 2007, or are still under construction and expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Prices run something like this: 75 Wall offers studios to four-bedroom condos, from $600,000 to $8,000,000; Rushmore Riverside’s two- to five-bedroom apartments run from $1,500,000 to $7,000,000. Giant Real Estate offers a one-bedroom apartment for $850,000. This condo has a Hudson River view and includes, among other conveniences, a complete indoor gym and swimming pool.
But real estate is also very active in Long Island City. Currently, 38 new condos are scheduled for completion within the next few years, with four condos already open for occupancy. Eight new condos will be finished before the end of this year. These are especially popular among young Korean professionals who work in Manhattan, since the locations are very close to Manhattan and the prices are lower.
At College Point, the Skyview Park condo, which is still under construction, started sales this past July. The condo complex is made up of six towers and includes commercial space. Prices range from $400,000 (studio) to over $2,000,000 (three-bedroom penthouse). Skyview started accepting applications over two years ago and has seen brisk business since then. They are now actively marketing to Koreans and other Asians. Marketing has been very positive, but, as one spokesperson put it, the condo market has been put off by the continued economic depression, and sales have slumped compared with last year.
The president of Peter Oh’s real estate group said, “Price changes for Manhattan condos are not all that significant. Nevertheless, new condo sales are slowed by almost half, and companies no longer expect 100 percent occupancy.” An industry analyst remarked that some condos are even advertising in magazines, but trade remains slow and condo sales have not picked up.
Meanwhile, many experts in condo sales anticipate fallout from the collapse of Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch; the price of newly constructed condos is expected to drop, which in turn could lead to a depression in the condo market. This is perhaps another reason that many companies are so thirsty for investors, and are now targeting young Korean professionals, attempting to draw them with competitive prices, lower than those in Manhattan.
