Funny, All These Awesome New Condo Units Aren't Selling

^ Thank you. Real estate is always a boom and bust proposition and anyone could have seen this coming since 2006. The build-outs are simply because they already had the financing and needed to at least try to sell something. But for the last year, these developers knew there was trouble ahead...and now it's here. What happens next? Bankruptcy, of course, and when these condo towers have changed hands enough times, they will have a value and so will the units. And then whoever survives the Wall St. crash will buy. But they will sit empty for years and "Viridian" will be crusted over with verdigris.

Anna Merkin: No.

It's called the business cycle. There are peaks and valleys. It was clear that the economy and the housing market were going to take a turn south at some point, and when it did there simply wouldn't be enough demand for all these new units.

The fact that we are in the midst of the worst downturn in 80 years, for which our government is at least partly to blame, is only a coincidence, not the cause.

I am truly offended to see some despicable commenters here making light of this tragic situation.

This will have a drastic impact on the economy, particularly in Mexico. Many of these buildings, for example the Toren Condo in Brooklyn and 200 Eleventh Avenue, are built almost exclusively by undocumented workers who contribute to America (or what racists would call illegal laborers). Tom Robbins has written about these buildings in the Village Voice and the Mexican workers who build them. While their work is usually shoddy and often has to be redone repeatedly, the low-wage undocumented laborers offer developers a chance to extract maximum profits from their buildings, instead of having their profits go toward greedy American citizens.

I don't know what contractors and developers are going to do if their low-wage workers head back to Mexico during this economic slump. How will they maximize profits if forced to hire American workers for their next building?

i love it when Future Taliban works him/herself into a tiff.

otherwise, i'm not shedding any tears as the luxury housing market dives.

longacre, FT's talking about the "chess game" if you will. one narrative:

baddies attack us

us in shock and awe

gwb now has platform for re-election

us responds with overreach characteristic of an empire with no sense of its limits

us goes straight to baghdad

us gets its arse handed to it due to p-ss poor planning and preparation

gwb and his dick screw over the fiscal state of the country with two expensive occupations, ill-timed tax cuts, increased gov't spending, and hollowing out of competence in most gov't agencies

dominoes fall

change is coming

(change is all you'll earn)

I'm not detecting sarcastic anger in all these messages. I am detecting glee at the problems developers are having without any consideration of the hard consequences for others further down the food chain.

no. don't know if that's a comment on my social circle since most internet trolls are alone.

now's the time to buy you bitter renters. good one mr. m.

There's a big difference between sarcastic anger and celebration you dipshit.

I'm not thrilled at everything built in the past few years. But, why are most of you celebrating?

Don't you know anybody in construction? Don't you know anyone who lost their job because there's nothing to sell, build, finance or design? Trump could go to bankruptcy court again, but he's not going to drive a cab to make ends meet.

How about apartment buildings charging $3,000+ for a 1 bedroom apt? I can't imagine those getting filled that quickly either

Buy now or be priced out forever!

Oops, wrong blog, sorry.

Can they please demolish the buildings now please. I've lived in Greenpoint my whole life. 4 floor house. And these horrible condos are coming up taking away the views. For yearssss We had a awesome view the willyb bridge, and now a fucking condo sits blocking most of the view.

aRrrAHGHHH!

The Trump Towers built on the west side highway about 10 years ago are still about only 1/3 full. And yet these asshole greedy moronic landlords, property owners and developpers have been building their shitty "luxury" glass boxes for the last 10 years. And now they are surprised they can't fill them? There was no market for them 10 years ago, let alone now. The city should seize them via eminent domain and rent them out. $500/mo for a studio, $750 for a one bedroom, $1000 for a two bedroom, $1250 for a three bedroom, minimum 10 year lease. And the developers should be sent to jail.

"the new New York taxes on soda downloads"

Downloading soda is so convenient I have no problem paying a tax to be able to do it.

Let me know were you can sign up to squat since with the new New York taxes on soda downloads and just about every thing I am looking for a new place to live

This is my biggest and most exasperating "I told ya so" ever.

Fuck these goddamn developers... Fuck them and their shitty buildings

great time to buy!

if there was a half decent fishmonger in the neighborhood everyone would move there.

Let them go to the poor house. Greedy stupid bastards.

FutureTaliban: At last check, the Taliban blew up a lot more NYC real estate than it has ever built, and didn't have any investments at Lehman Brothers. As such, I don't think the Taliban can claim any credit for this, but thanks for sharing your nifty scoreboard.

my heart bleeds for the trust-funders that now have to stay in suburbian hell Ohio. Aww. Can't live out your Gossip Girl fantasies now that mommy and daddy's portfolio is worthless.

Someone's off his meds again.

Cool...so pretty soon it's gonna be like Escape from NY?

:D

Add to that the upcoming $3 one-way subway fares and the incredible tax hikes recently put into effect on absolutely everything including probably OXYGEN and it's becomes quite clear that NYC IS BROKE AND UNINHABITABLE!

Here's the final score for you war criminal azzwipes to chew on while you stand in the bread line:

Taliban -10

War Criminals - 0

GAME OVER

And sadly, a lot of the developers might get some sort of Washington bailout if they have their way, even though a shit-ton of these units wouldn't have sold no matter what.