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www.NEBankWorld.com
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OP P ORT UNI T Y OP E NS
HK Group
As Manhattan Housing Prices Plummet Founder
Fairfield County Commuters Wait And See Not Done Yet
BY DANIEL D’AMBROSIO
coMMerciaL recorD corresPonDent
BY LAURIE WIEGLER as really viable because they’re not going
coMMerciaL recorD corresPonDent
T
to bottom out to the degree that people he news last month from HK
might be waiting for it. It’s a great time Group Commercial Real Es-
I
n the past six months, prices for apart- now with the interest rates at 4½ to 5 per- tate was a head scratcher.
ments and co-ops in Manhattan have cent but, like I said, it’s really driven by The
fallen as much as 10-20 percent, de- the market and whether you’re working, founder, Ted
pending on location. In addition, land- whether you can afford it.” Hampe, had
lords and co-op managers are being Great rates aside, Salottolo is confi- resigned
forced to throw in freebies – such as one dent the lure of living in Manhattan will after two de-
or two months’ free rent, waiving broker at least keep prices more stable than they cades at the
fees and slashing parking costs. are in Brooklyn, which he says has just helm, and
Yet it is unclear whether or not Fair- cratered. Some of the top brokers Salo- the star bro-
field County residents who regularly tollo works with in the city have seen ker he took
commute into Manhattan are taking ad- prices plummet from $1,100 a square foot on as partner TED HAMPE
vantage. Brokers who spoke to The Com- for a condo to about $600 or $700. in 2001, Matthew Keefe, was now
mercial Record indicated that part of the “So people who bought a couple years in charge. Keefe claims Hampe, 74,
problem is a lot of people are taking a ago are reeling right now. They have to needed to “slow down.”
wait-and-see attitude when it comes to actually sit a lot longer, and they may Meanwhile, Hampe went out and
any move. never recoup everything they paid. got a full-time job elsewhere – and
Photo courtesy Citi-Spaces
Barry Salottolo, listings director with “In Park Slope and in Williamsburg I questioned Keefe’s honesty about
Citi-Spaces in Manhattan, is one of those have seen a 30-percent to 40-percent drop his exit.
brokers. in some properties for both sale and for Hampe started HK Group in
“Some people are waiting for the prices rent. Brooklyn crashed well before Man- Westport in 1988 after years in
to drop even more, [but] we don’t see that Continued on Page 2 corporate marketing. But then it
was announced that as of Dec. 31,
D E C I SI O N D O L D R U M S Hampe – who will turn 75 in April –
YOUR ONLINE LIFE JUST GOT would walk away from a company
Insurers Decry
that has racked up more than $1
MUCH MORE INTERESTING billion in sales in the past 20 years.
Visit the new www.CommercialRecord.com According to Keefe, who is 56,
L
ife insures were feeling confi- like regulators had consensus and • The most up-to-date it’s not weird.”
dent that a hoped-for proposal were moving forward. research tools On the question of why he left
would get the OK from regula- Peter Tedone, president of Con- his successful company, Hampe
tors last month – but to their sur- necticut’s VantisLife Insurance, was guarded.
prise, the proposal got shot down. said: “I do not believe it [the pro- “I can’t tell you everything, but
Insurers were unhappy to lose1999 a 310 was rejected on its merits
posal] STATE STATS the official word is that I wanted
2000
source of potential help in trou- …421I think there’s politics in every to get out of management,” he said.
bled times, but some insurers have
2001 environment,
395 and this is just one of Although Keefe was a very big pro-
Number of Connecticut
paused to grumble that the pro- 2002 them.”
435 ducer, he “was not interested in
posal’s death had more to do with Tedone had been watching the Multifamily Home Sales part-time management of the com-
political maneuvering than pure
2003 437
NAIC’s actions on the proposal, pany,” Hampe said.
policymaking. 2004 757 though they wouldn’t have
even 20000
20,000 “He was solely focused on sell-
The proposal would have 2005 al- 862 affected his company. Re-
directly ing,” he added. “I was spending
lowed insur-
2006 gardless,
863 he said, it was frustrating as much as 75 percent of my time
ers to lower
2007 to917
see the idea get derailed. managing two offices and 13 bro-
capital and
2008 548 15000
15,000 kers.”
surplus re- Not So Free And Easy Hampe now has other plans in
serve require- The plan of loosening capital and his new position as a senior vice
ments by surplus requirements had garnered president in the Westport office of
about 6 per- its share of controversy. Consumer 10,000
10000 Prudential Commercial Real Estate,
cent, a move groups argued it was the height of and was a little taken aback at his
industry rep- irresponsibility to lower require- former partner’s assessment of his
TOM SULLIVAN resentatives ments at a time when the nation position in life.
say would was learning the harsh conse- 5,000 “It sort of belies the fact that I’m
5000
have freed up more money to make quences of free-and-easy finances. working full time and looking for-
investments and do business. Insurers countered the capital re- ward to a new challenge,” Hampe
The National Association of quirements for the industry were told The Commercial Record.
Insurance Commissioners was long considered overly conserva- Hampe said he will be doing his
considering the proposal until the tive, and freeing up more capital 00 own deals at Prudential, and will
1999
’99 2000
’00 2001
’01 2002
’02 2003
’03 2004
’04 '2005
’05 2006
’06 2007
’07 2008
’08
NAIC’s executive committee shot would have allowed them to do be recruiting brokers “who don’t
it down, saying the industry hadn’t business in a constricted financial require that much attention” to join
demonstrated a strong enough need environment. him. He admitted leaving the com-
for such changes now. Now, individual state commis- ❑ Source: The Warren Group pany he founded was emotionally
“I was just baffled,” said Bob sioners might allow those capital draining, but said he was excited by
Sheridan, head of Savings Bank Life changes within their state borders. the challenge of getting back into
Insurance of Massachusetts, who Continued on Page 2 property sales full time. ■
2 THE COMMERCIAL RECORD February 13, 2009
If you weren’t reading CommercialRecord.com last week, here’s a sampling of what you missed:
U.S. housing markets from Florida to California have suffered price drops of 50 percent or more from their
peak, but now, at long last, a bottom is within sight, likely in the fourth quarter nationally, according to a re-
port from Moody’s Economy.com. By the end of the housing downturn, nearly 62 percent of the nation’s 381
metropolitan areas will have experienced double-digit-percent declines in house prices, peak-to-trough, says
the report by chief economist Mark Zandi and a team that includes Celia Chen, senior director of housing
economics. The declines will exceed 20 percent in about 100 metro areas.
CB Richard Ellis, which has offices in Hartford, New Haven and Stamford, saw its 2008 fourth quarter net
income fall 95 percent year-over-year, from $122.4 million in 2007 to just $6.5 million last year. For the
year, net income stood at $83.9 million in 2008, down almost 79 percent from $390.5 million in 2007.
Peter Gioia, vice president and economist for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA),
isn’t expecting any substantial improvement in the state’s employment outlook until at least 2010. Gioia
cited reports from the New England Economic Partnership and Moody’s Economy.com, both of which expect
SUBMIT A COMMENT
e-mail: editorial@thewarrengroup.com Connecticut to lose 60,000 to 80,000 jobs in the next 18 months, with no recovery until mid-2010. Gioia
said the state may lose up to 40,000 more jobs in 2009, though things may be less bleak in the second half
of this year.
www.thewarrengroup.com
February 13, 2009 THE COMMERCIAL RECORD 3
better value,
hattan had its slowdown,” says Salotollo. this is subject to a slight variation after
further review.
Where Have All How it all will play out is, of course, un-
The Commuters Gone?
reliable.
clear. If consumers
Yet, all this prospective good news for are not buying ste-
buyers means naught if everyone fears reos and microwaves,
losing his job. New York State Unemploy- chances are they are
Case dismissed.
ment figures reflect cause for worry, too, also afraid to buy a
as the state has issued two extensions of new condo or flat as
emergency benefits, the most recent being well.
approved by President Obama. Asked how much
Salottolo says it’s another reason why the prices will have
BARRY SALOTTOLO
people are waiting. to drop, if there will
“Even the people who had ‘good jobs’ – be a tipping point before the commuters
you see them walking around the streets will move into the city where they work, Get Business Class
and they’re unemployed – so it’s a scary Salotollo was skeptical.
Internet and phone for
99
thing. [These are] people who think that “That’s going to have a lot to do with the
they’re untouchable.” fact that people in Fairfield County who
Further supporting the unemployment
problem: bridge and tunnel traffic for the
main nine arteries into New York was
down 5 percent over last year. Aaron Don-
are middle- or upper-middle class who are
living pretty nicely may not want to come
into the city and be priced out,” Salottolo
says. ■
$
per month with an agreement.
866-360-6418
distance carrier connection available. Comcast Business Class Digital Voice services (including 911/emergency services) may not
function after an extended power outage. EMTA required ($5/month). Call for restrictions and complete details. ©2008 Comcast. All
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4 THE COMMERCIAL RECORD February 13, 2009
I
t’s not what homebuyers, sellers and re- owner-occupied and the other is rented, will creases unjustified, but that in combination
financers want to hear, but they need to be charged a flat 1 percent add-on from Fan- they could seriously deter home purchases.
know: Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac nie, even if they’ve got FICOs above 800 and McMillan said “a borrower with a credit
are ratcheting up their mandatory fees and make 50 percent down payments. Refinanc- score of 670 making a 20 percent down pay-
toughening credit score ers who take cash out at settlement also will As recently as ment for a condominium would have the fee
and down-payment be forced to pay extra – as much as three raised from 150 basis points (1.5 percent) to
rules as of April 1. points if they’ve got low credit scores and two years ago, 350 basis points (3.5 percent) – more than
Most major lend- modest equity stakes. double” under Fannie Mae’s new schedule.
ers already are pricing Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac say they FICO scores in the “They’re shooting themselves in the foot,”
in the higher fees, ef- are tacking on these extra fees to counter said Steve Stamets, a mortgage loan officer
fectively raising costs higher risks and losses associated with certain upper 600s were in Rockville, Md. With substantial down pay-
to consumers imme- loan products, buyer equity stakes and credit ments of 20 percent and more, said Stamets,
diately and reducing scores. Declining home values in many parts enough to qualify “they don’t need to be that tough” on appli-
KENNETH R. HARNEY the impact of housing of the country are intensifying losses for both cants even if home prices decline slightly
stimulus efforts from companies when loans go to foreclosure. any applicant for more before the cycle ends.
Congress and the Obama administration. Though quasi-private enterprises until “When consumers with 720 credit scores
Under Fannie’s and Freddie’s new guide- last September, Fannie and Freddie now are prime financing. Now are being adjusted, there is something seri-
lines, even applicants who assumed that operating under the control of federal regu- ously wrong with the system,” said Harry H.
their FICO scores would get them favorable lators and are bleeding billions of dollars of scores of 720 to 740 Dinham, a Dallas, Texas, mortgage company
rates will be charged more unless they can red ink. Freddie spokesman Brad German owner and former president of the National
come up with down payments of 30 percent said that some of the loan categories and are the bare minimum Association of Mortgage Brokers.
or higher. For example, a buyer with a 699 credit risk combinations targeted in the lat- As recently as two years ago, FICO scores
FICO score who can bring a sizable down est round of fees “default at four to eight if you’re going to in the upper 600s were enough to qualify any
payment of about 25 percent to the table will times” the rate of other mortgages in the applicant for prime financing. Now scores
now get hit with a 1.5 percent “delivery” fee company’s portfolio. “We have to manage escape add-on of 720 to 740 are the bare minimum if you’re
at closing under the new guidelines. these risks appropriately,” he added, and that going to escape add-on fees – and still not
A buyer with a FICO score between 700 means pricing them based on the probability fees – and still not good enough if you choose to buy a condo or
and 720 will pay an extra three-quarters of a of higher losses. a duplex.
point. Even someone with a 739 FICO – once However, realty agents, mortgage bankers good enough if you Where’s all this headed? Absent congressio-
considered a platinum guarantee of the best and brokers are incensed at the new round nal intervention or new marching orders from
rates available – will get dinged with a quar- of fee increases, calling them counterproduc- choose to buy a the companies’ regulator, the add-on fees are
ter-point add-on. tive in an environment where housing needs here to stay. But there’s an alternative readily
Applicants who seek to buy a condo- help, not new impediments. They have begun condo or a duplex. available for just about anyone who wants to
minium and cannot come up with a 25 lobbying Congress and the two companies’ avoid the fees: FHA mortgages, where down
percent down payment will be hit with a federal overseers to scrap the latest add-ons. payments go as low as 3.5 percent and credit
three-quarter point add-on penalty, no mat- Charles McMillan, president of the Na- scores are not an issue for most applicants. ■
ter how high their credit score – simply be- tional Association of Realtors, complained
cause they are not purchasing a traditional in a letter to the Federal Housing Finance E-mail: kenharney@earthlink.net.
APPRAISAL
CT Chapter of
INSTITUTE the Appraisal
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Institute
For Membership Packet: 312-335-4100 (Chicago)
Thomas Caputi, SRA, President Jackie Cswerko, Exec. Director 860-482-9992 Educational
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Schedule
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CB RICHARD ELLIS
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