Your Open House: ‘Come Home to Harlem’ vs. ‘Don’t Buy Here’
After a tough winter, spring brings courting season in life and real estate. In Harlem, sellers have been slashing prices on newly renovated condos by hundreds of thousands, but buyers are still playing hard to get.
At 555 Malcolm X Boulevard, on the corner of 138th Street, Halstead brokers Michael Coker and Collette Smith have been tapping their fingers on the solid marble countertops for months now. The 36-unit pre-war building was finished in late 2007 with oak floors, stainless steel appliances and five-foot windows. It’s easily one of Manhattan’s most eligible bachelor pads. But a year and a half later there are still 10 units available—possibly nine after Sunday.
Around 12:30 that day, a young couple came in looking for a one-bedroom unit that just sold. “I hate brokers who tell people ‘hurry up and buy or someone else will take it’,” Ms. Smith told them. “But …” she left them to fill in the rest.
Walter Nimley, 33, and Sheba Taylor, 24, both grew up in Harlem and were intrigued when they saw the listing for the condo with an outdoor terrace. But they waited, thinking the $400,000 price might go down more. The gamble could have paid off, as unit prices in the building have been slashed by as much as $287,000, but not in this case.
“Where were you four months ago?” Ms. Smith gently cajoled them, as she listed off the more expensive units still available.
