That chill breeze blowing today through the lands of Battery Park City? No, it's not the waning zephyrs of winter—it's the cold breath of Fannie Mae, which, according to Crain's, has all but stopped purchasing individual mortgages for BPC properties, whether condo or co-op. "As a result," Crain's notes, "it has become almost impossible to sell a condominium or co-op in the waterfront neighborhood in lower Manhattan unless an all-cash buyer swoops in." Um, yikes?
The issue has to do with the ground leases in BPC, which date back to the creation of the land from World Trade Center landfill in the early 1970's. Unlike most everyone else in Manhattan, owners in BPC pay rent for its building's land—a problem that could be exacerbated in 2011 when the current leases expire and costs could jump. As if to rub it in, Crain's quotes one mortgage guy thusly: "Battery Park City is getting hit hard. Underwriters consider the area a declining market."
A declining market! Residents, what say thee? Also, wanna buy a space heater?
· Fannie May Crimps Battery Park City Apartment Sales [Crain's]
Loading comments...