Real estate prices are now higher than before the pandemic.
(Photo: AP)
new York Bruno Ricciotti is the founder and co-head of the real estate agency Bond New York, which specializes in medium and high-priced apartments. Founded in 2000, it is one of the largest real estate agencies in the city with a reported order volume of one billion dollars in 2021.
Mr. Ricciotti, at the beginning of the corona pandemic, New York was considered a ghost town. How is the situation today?
It was a roller coaster ride. In 2021 the city was closed for four months, it was scary. Over 1000 people died from Covid every day. They could lie down in the middle of Tenth Avenue because there was no traffic. At most, ambulances drove by. But now the situation is completely different again: New York has come back at breakneck speed. It sounds like a cliche how resilient the city is to crises, but it’s always true.
The founder and boss of the real estate agent Bond New York considers the corona pandemic to be over.
How is this roller coaster ride reflected in the real estate market?
It was a 180 degree turn. In 2021 we were temporarily not allowed to show any apartments. The sales market was frozen for six months. But then sales picked up again at the pre-crisis level. The volume and prices are currently increasing rapidly. During the pandemic, prices have collapsed by 40 to 50 percent – now they are 10 to 40 percent above their baseline. In Bond, we had our best January in 22 years, and February volume was twice as high as January.
What is the reason for the strong recovery?
During the pandemic, a third of Manhattan residents have left, moved to the countryside or returned to their home countries. Now people are coming back. Demand exceeds supply by a factor of two. Monthly rents of $40,000 are not uncommon. This is New York. And the people who are coming here now have more money than I’ve ever seen before.
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Who’s coming back?
First came the medics. In the meantime, however, there are also many tech people, from Facebook, Google and Co. The tech companies have opened new offices on a large scale. Buyers from abroad are also back, who were completely absent in 2021. What is new is the trend of people working for companies in other cities, but moving to New York thanks to their home office, simply because they want to go to an exciting city. I haven’t experienced that in all these years.
What is the home office trend doing to the office real estate market?
I’m afraid it will remain in crisis. Our headquarters is in a 42-story building: 90 percent of the offices are deserted. Even after the pandemic, people don’t want to go back to the office – and demand this from their employer.
Do you fear a new bubble in residential real estate?
No. There are always little bubbles, but I don’t see anything that could trigger a crash like 2008. Prices will continue to rise, 2022 is going to be wild.
Mr. Ricciotti, thank you very much for the interview.
More: Corona spring: How the real estate market in New York is being reorganized