Monthly Archives: December 2009

The Real Deal: Williamsburg trumps nabes in condo sales

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By Candace Taylor

Williamsburg leads Brooklyn in number of condo transactions so far for 2009, according to a November report from the Marketing Directors.

The neighborhood has had 269 condo closings through November, according to the report, which gathered data from ACRIS and the listings database On-Line Residential. That’s compared to 125 in Park Slope, 77 in Greenpoint, and 60 in Prospect Heights.

Williamsburg has more condo listings in 2009 — 348 — than any other neighborhood, but the neighborhood is also offering competitive pricing, according to Tara Hogan, vice president of research for the Marketing Directors.

“I think for right now Williamsburg has quite a few buildings that offer great value,” Hogan said.

The average sale price for closed sales in Williamsburg was $548 per square foot, the report says, a significant discount from the average asking price in the area of $757 per square foot.

There have been “multiple price corrections” in the Brooklyn market, which saw a surge in condo development before the financial crisis hit, the report said. Since then, prices have suffered: The average condo asking price in Brooklyn as a whole has decreased 11 percent since January.

Activity, however, is improving: The number of new contracts signed in the borough has increased 11 percent since September.

Williamsburg also had 235 signed contracts.

Park Slope’s 125 closings have an average price of $624 per square foot and the neighborhood saw 81 contracts signed, the report says. There were 231 listings total for the year in the neighborhood with an average asking price of $670 per square foot.

Greenpoint’s 77 closings for the first 11 months of the year had an average sale price of $588 per square foot, but only nine contracts signed at an average price of $545 per square foot.

Meanwhile, the area had only 42 listings.

CONTINUED EXCELLENCE IN SALES & MARKETING EARNS THE MARKETING DIRECTORS, INC. 13 NATIONAL AWARDS

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Adrienne Albert, Founder and CEO of The Marketing Directors, IncNEW YORK, NY — The Marketing Directors, Inc. has once again earned top honors at The Nationals with an impressive 13 Silver Awards recognizing the firm’s outstanding achievements in the industry.

The awards were announced by the National Association of Homebuilders’ National Sales and Marketing Council (NSMC) which oversees The NationalsSM, the nation’s largest and most prestigious awards competition for new home sales and marketing professionals.

Award winners were selected from more than 700 entries by a panel of industry professionals from across the country.  The Marketing Directors’ 13 Silver Awards will now be in the running for National Gold Awards which will be announced at the 29th annual Nationals Gala, to be held on January 19th, 2010 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas as part of the International Builders’ Show (IBS).

“Over the past 30 years, we’ve operated through all kinds of markets and economic conditions, and the knowledge and experience we’ve gained along the way have allowed us to consistently achieve positive results for our clients regardless of the prevailing conditions,” says Adrienne Albert, Founder and CEO of The Marketing Directors, Inc., which has been directing marketing and sales/leasing programs for high-density developments across the country since 1980.

“Year after year, our talented team of professionals proves to be among the very best in the industry, and we’re delighted to receive this national recognition from our peers.”

Crystal Point in downtown Jersey CityThe top project awards for The Marketing Directors, Inc. include the coveted Community of the Year for Crystal Point, a 42-story, 269-home condominium building situated along the Hudson River in Jersey City, NJ facing downtown Manhattan, which was also awarded Best Brochure, Best Internet Marketing Campaign-EBlast, Best Integrated Internet Marketing Campaign, Best Color Advertisement, Best Overall Ad Campaign, Best Sales Center and Best Interior Merchandising of a Model.  Hudson Harbor, a collection of single-family townhomes and condominiums rising next to the Hudson River in the historic Westchester County, NY Village of Tarrytown, won Best Black & White Advertisement.

Marketing and sales professionals within the Marketing Directors organization who were singled out for an exceptional performance throughout the year include Angela Ferrara for Sales Manager of the Year; Dawn Nassaney and Danielle Rosania for Sales Person of the Year; Dara Commorata for Rookie Sales Person of the Year; and Grace McCadden, Alyssa Brennan and Danielle Rosania for Sales Team of the Year – Crystal Point.

The NationalsSM – which originated as the MIRM Awards in 1982 – recognizes superior new home sales and marketing achievements.  The nation’s largest competition, The Nationals’SM awards ceremony is held each year as part of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) annual International Builders’ Show (IBS).

About The Marketing Directors

 The Marketing Directors is a full service marketing and sales/rental organization specializing in new homes and recognized as a national leader in high density residential development serving many of the industry’s most prominent developers across the United States and Canada since 1980.  The company is led by founder Adrienne Albert, who was inducted into the National Sales and Marketing Council of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Hall of Fame as a Legend of Residential Marketing in 2009 — the first woman to be inducted into the “Hall” in its 16-year history.  David Tufts leads The Marketing Directors, SE formed in 2007.  Jacqueline Urgo leads the NE operation. The Marketing Directors presently represents condominium and rental developers in markets such as New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina and Mexico.  For more information, call 212-826-8822 or visit www.themarketingdirectorsinc.com

CRYSTAL POINT EARNS NINE SILVER AWARDS FROM NATIONAL SALES AND MARKETING COUNCIL

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Upscale Jersey City Condo Building A Gold Award Finalist In The Nationals Competition, Including Coveted Community Of The Year

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Crystal Point, the upscale condominium building on Jersey City’s waterfront, has been honored with nine Silver Awards in The Nationals, the annual awards competition presented by the National Sales and Marketing Council (NSMC) which recognizes superior new-home sales and marketing achievements throughout the country.

Most notably, the iconic 42-story building rising along the Hudson River waterfront was singled out in the coveted Community of the Year category. Crystal Point and members of The Marketing Directors, Inc., its marketing and exclusive sales agent, also received Silver Awards in the categories of Sales Person of the Year, Sales Team of The Year, Sales Manager of the Year, Best Brochure, Best Internet Marketing Campaign, Best Integrated Internet Marketing Campaign, Best Overall Ad Campaign and Best Sales Center.

The Silver Award recognition signifies Crystal Point and The Marketing Directors as finalists for prestigious Gold Awards in each category which will be announced during a gala celebration at the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) annual International Builders’ Show this January in Las Vegas.

“Being recognized by industry peers in an extremely competitive national competition is a great honor for us and a well-deserved tribute to the hard work and dedication of our sales and marketing team and construction professionals,” says Brian Fisher, a principal of Fisher Development Associates, which is developing Crystal Point just 25 feet from the banks of the Hudson River. “We’re also thrilled for our homebuyers who will be able to proudly call this award-winning building home.”

Created by the renowned New York City architectural firm Gruzen Samton LLP, Crystal Point features 269 upscale condominium homes with unobstructed New York City views and myriad of resort-like amenities and services. The distinctive design of the Crystal Point building maximizes its unrivaled waterfront location and creates homes with modern, open and furnishable living areas.

“Crystal Point offers the added advantage of rising on the final piece of developable waterfront land facing Manhattan,” Mr. Fisher points out. “This unrivaled location ensures homeowners will never have to worry about their unobstructed views of the ever-changing New York City skyline.”

Sales activity has remained strong at Crystal Point thanks in large part to the professionally-decorated model residences and continued construction progress at the building which enable visitors to get a true sense of the quality, upscale interior finishes and unrivaled waterfront location that creates majestic views of the riverscape and New York City skyline. Also contributing are limited-time Grand Opening prices starting from the low-$500,000s which provide tremendous value and have created an unsurpassed buying opportunity.

Crystal Point’s distinctive, crystalline-style glass exterior was designed to maximize the building’s riverfront setting and reflect its exclusivity and diversity, notes Adrienne Albert, CEO of The Marketing Directors, Inc.

Inside, one-, two- and three-bedroom homes will range from 800 to 1,817 square-feet of well-designed living space complemented by a wide array of premium finishes.

Crystal Point’s superb amenities include the Crystal Spa which will feature a thermal bath, sauna, steam and treatment room. Residents will also enjoy a yoga/aerobics room, game room with billiard and poker table, state-of-the-art fitness center, lounge with catering kitchen and flat screen televisions, kid’s room and a screening room within the Crystal Club. There will also be an expansive outdoor deck overlooking the Hudson River and Manhattan skyline will feature a lap pool, hot tub, private cabanas and lounge chair seating, as well as a BBQ and dining area, fire pits with accompanying seating, children’s play area and valet parking.

For additional information on the condominium homes at Crystal Point, please call 201-433-7778 or visit www.crystalpointcondos.com.

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FAST & FURIOUS

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Friday, December 11, 2009

FAST & FURIOUS

By JASON SHEFTELL

Christmas came early for some real estate developers and marketers, as more than a few holiday shoppers have added new homes to their wish lists. Across the city,fair-priced, ready-to-move-in new condos are experiencing unseasonably high traffic and sales activity for any economy.

Whether due to price decreases by sensible developers or certain buyers who believe the market has hit bottom, in the last 60 days one local condominium sold as many as 35 apartments. In the past week, another has sent out 11 contracts to be signed. One has prices starting as low as $500,000 with free parking and approval for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) financing of up to 97%.

Last weekend, the race to buy continued at those locations, which all offer something unique in various price ranges. Uptown, downtown, in Brooklyn and in Jersey City, units are finally moving fast.

Crystal Point

“All people do when they first see these units is walk right to the window and stay there, staring at the view,” says Brian Fisher, managing director of Fisher Development Associates, a three-generation development family focusing on the metropolitan area and Jersey’s Gold Coast. “We could have not finished the apartments and people would still walk to the window and ask prices.”

If they do, they’ll find out that the 42-story Jersey City coastal building has apartments starting in the low $500,000 range, with FHA financing available. It has marble bathroom floors, luxury fixtures, free parking for residents, a 30-year tax abatement, water views from every apartment, proximity to two PATH trains and an outdoor pool with views. of Manhattan. There’s also a Crystal Spa with a thermal bath, sauna, steam and treatment rooms. Since late September, Fisher reports more than 35 sales, with 12 contracts currently out. The Marketing Directors Inc. is marketing the building.

“We only take on projects that distinguish themselves from anything in their class or location,” says Marketing Directors CEO Adrienne Albert. “We do price studies to figure out what people will pay and why. Here, it was the amenities and the views. You can’t get this much at this price anywhere else.”

Fisher, who says he can offer fair prices for luxurious living because of his company’s ability to purchase land at low cost, says economic conditions are key.

“You’d have to be crazy not to buy right now,” he says. “This is a historic time, with interest rates low and developers offering the lowest possible prices they can. Four years ago, these would sell for double. Four years from now, they might again.”

For information, contact (201) 433-7778 or visit crystalpointcondos.com.

Crystal Point is so close to the water, you can touch it; buyers get free parking.

THE MARKETING DIRECTORS, INC. ENGINEER SALES

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New Luxury Residential Communities In New York City And Along
New Jersey’s Gold Coast See Increased Traffic And Sales

NEW YORK, NY – The housing market pendulum has finally begun to shift and under the direction of The Marketing Directors, Inc., several new luxury residential communities in New York City and along New Jersey’s Gold Coast have experienced a significant increase in traffic and sales.

The Visionaire — Battery Park City’s celebrated Platinum LEED Certified “Green” building — is an apt case in point, registering over 26 sales since the beginning of the summer, while 19 luxury condos have been sold at Midtown’s Platinum in the past four months — including seven sales in November.

Just across the river, New Jersey Gold Coast communities Henley on Hudson and Crystal Point are mirroring the success of their big city counterparts.

Rising along the Hudson River in Weehawken, N.J. facing midtown Manhattan, Henley on Hudson, which is part of Port Imperial, one of the country’s largest master-planned developments, has recorded 11 sales recently — all over $1 million. Crystal Point, the iconic 42-story waterfront building rising in Jersey City’s sought-after downtown area, is the site of 35 condominium sales in the last eight weeks.

“Over the past few months we have seen many signs pointing to a resurgence in the housing market, among them being the influx of both new homebuyers and those who took themselves out of the market but are now returning with renewed confidence, ready to make a deal,” says Adrienne Albert, Founder and CEO of The Marketing Directors, Inc., which has been directing marketing and sales programs for high-density developments across the country since 1980.

“But the process of first attracting target audiences and then bringing them through closing has changed, requiring us more than ever to conceive and execute comprehensive and forward-thinking programs that demonstrate quality and value and ultimately drive sales.”

The Visionaire

Brainchild of famed architect Raphael Pelli, The Visionaire is a Platinum LEED Certified building that was developed by the Albanese Organization in Battery Park City along the waterfront overlooking Hudson River Harbor. The eco-friendly building features 246 homes ranging in size from 605 to 3,490 square feet living space currently priced from $690,000. Building amenities include a 24-hour concierge, fitness center as well as yoga studio, spa with sauna, steam and massage room, sky-lit indoor swimming pool and Jacuzzi, social lounge complete with a natural gas fireplace, TV, pool table and a separate private room for screening movies or catering your own events, children’s playroom and upper roof garden featuring trellised walkway lined with private gardens, built-in grill, wet bar, tables and chairs.

Platinum is a streamlined glass and steel building rising in the heart of Times Square providing its residents with easy access to the best that New York City has to offer. The chic new 43-story building boasts 220 condominium residences ranging in size from 748 to 1,488 square feet of living space. The residences at Platinum are impressively appointed and include floor-to-ceiling windows, high ceilings and stainless steel appliances. The Zone, a full floor of resort-style amenities including a quiet room with body massage chairs and fitness center outfitted with LifeFitness equipment, awaits residents looking to socialize with their neighbors or simply unwind after a hard day. Residences at Platinum start at $945,000.

Henley on Hudson

Henley on Hudson is a collection of 164-European-inspired homes comprised of classic multi-level brownstones and luxurious penthouses featuring from 1,717 to 3,148 square feet of living space. The community’s onsite amenities include the Club at Henley, a 6,000 square-foot clubhouse featuring a patio room with catering kitchen, club room, theater room, billiards and gaming lounge, state-of-the-art fitness center, Yoga/Pilates room and a Children’s Play Studio. The community also features a resort style swimming pool, English Gardens and Chapman Conceirge Service. A joint venture between Lennar Urban and Roseland Property Company, these homes are priced from $1.295 million to $1.995.

Crystal Point

Sleek and striking, Crystal Point is captivating homebuyers with a location that is a mere 25 feet from the Hudson River on the final piece of developable waterfront land in Jersey City that directly faces Manhattan. Developed by Fisher Development Associates and designed by noted architectural firm Gruzen Samton, LLP, Crystal Point features 269 homes — each with a water view. The stunning new landmark boasts a distinctive, crystalline-style glass exterior designed to maximize the building’s riverfront setting, and features magnificently-appointed one-, two-and three-bedroom home designs, an extensive offering of resort-like amenities and services and world-class views to create an unrivaled upscale living experience. Homes are Crystal Point are priced from the low-$500,000’s.

About The Marketing Directors

The Marketing Directors is a full service marketing and sales/rental organization specializing in new homes and recognized as a national leader in high density residential development serving many of the industry’s most prominent developers across the United States and Canada since 1980. The company is led by founder Adrienne Albert, who was inducted into the National Sales and Marketing Council of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Hall of Fame as a Legend of Residential Marketing in 2009 — the first woman to be inducted into the “Hall” in its 16-year history. David Tufts leads The Marketing Directors, SE formed in 2007. Jacqueline Urgo leads the NE operation. The Marketing Directors presently represents condominium developers in markets such as New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina and Mexico. For more information, call 212-826-8822 or visit www.themarketingdirectorsinc.com