Jeffrey Ditri

Brand New and Recuded Listings Available for Immediate to Decmeber 1st Occupancy

Contact JAD Realty Group to schedule an appointment.

610-781-8417

www.jadrealtygroup.com

Brand New Rental Listings Weekly! Studios, One Bedrooms, Two Bedrooms, and Three Bedrooms. Below Market Priced Apartments. Upper East Side, Gramercy, Murray Hill, Midtown East/West, and Union Square.

Contact JAD Realty Group for current availabilities or to schedule an appointment - 610.781.8417

www.jadrealtygroup.com/JAD_Realty_Group/Home.html

Brand New Rental Listings Weekly! Studios, One Bedrooms, Two Bedrooms, and Three Bedrooms. Below Market Priced Apartments. Upper East Side, Gramercy, Murray Hill, Midtown East/West, and Union Square.

Contact JAD Realty Group for current availabilities or to schedule an appointment - 610.781.8417

How much does it cost to live in one of the city's poshest 'hoods?

Not as much as it used to. If you're seeking a rental near many of the city's wealthiest denizens, you'll find an assortment of deals on the Upper East Side.

"Last year, if you were looking for a studio [on the Upper East Side], you couldn't find anything for below $1,500," says Dan Marrello, a managing director for Citi Habitats.

But things are different now.

"It's really unheard of that we're seeing studios at $1,000 to $1,400 -- but we are," says Adjina Dekidjiev, rental director for Manhattan Apartments. "I've got 39 [listings for] studios under $1,400 on the Upper East Side."

Of course, mansion-lined blocks aside, the Upper East Side has always been a little cheaper for renting than much of the rest of the city.

"The Upper East Side is a very established neighborhood, with every amenity you could want or need," says Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats. "What you're missing is the transportation factor."

That's especially true of rentals along First and Second Avenues, several long avenue-blocks away from the Lexington Avenue 4/5/6 trains. And, as other Manhattan neighborhoods have adjusted downward, so has the Upper East Side.

According to Citi Habitats' just-released May market report, the average studio on the Upper East Side rented for $1,619 -- almost $150 cheaper than the citywide average of $1,765 and more than $300 cheaper than last year's Upper East Side average. One-bedrooms rented for $2,190 -- more than $250 per month cheaper than the city average of $2,426. And a two-bedroom went for $3,029, compared to the city average of $3,444. (Three-bedrooms, however, were $719 pricier than the rest of the city, averaging $5,376.) Moreover, the vacancy rate is at 2.27 percent -- the highest in the city.

Upper East Side deals should come with the normal warning labels: The cheapest apartments are usually far east and are located in walk-up buildings that don't have particularly great amenities. Or, they're north of the 96th Street subway stop, just before the Upper East Side officially becomes East Harlem.

While most of these deals aren't on Lexington Avenue, they're not all on York Avenue, either. "I've got a studio on 89th Street between Second and Third for $1,050," says Marrello.

And big buildings aren't immune to the pressures of the market. "We have a building on York Avenue, and in that complex studios are in the $1,300 to $1,325 range," says Wayne Hattingh, a manager with SW Management, which handles several large rental buildings in the neighborhood.

Marrello is representing a building called the Hub on 101st Street, between First and Second avenues, that is paying brokers' fees and offering two months free rent. The building is new, has top-grade appliances, a doorman and landscaped roof deck. One-bedrooms are starting at $2,145 per month -- something extremely modest by luxury doorman standards.

And the Hub is hardly the only rental complex to offer such incentives -- there are eight Upper East Side buildings owned by major landlord Glenwood that are offering a month of free rent.

"Landlords are always trying to keep rent rolls high," says Marrello, "Now they're starting to advertise lower prices."

Now just might be the time for the posh seekers to pounce.

Rental-heavy brokerage The Real Estate Group New York has released the May edition of its Manhattan Rental Market Report (available to download here), and while rents stayed largely flat over last month, the year-to-year declines can be seen in the tables above. TREGNY also cites increased demand over the past month as a sign that the typically hot Manhattan spring/summer rental season will have life this year. Graduates should check out non-doorman buildings on the Upper East Side, where rents are at a 13-month low.

While the report doesn't factor in landlord incentives that drive rents down even lower, the May '07 to May '09 head-to-head neighborhood comparisons that TREGNY includes will still open some eyes to the state of the rental market. Neighborhoods such as Murray Hill, Midtown East and the East Village have seen some approx. 20% drops in certain categories over the past two years. Getting back to the here and now, below is a neighborhood snapshot of May rents (click on the graphics to make 'em bigger):

Former Corcoran sales director suing for commissions from Five Franklin, the Avery and Linden78

A former sales director for Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group says she has been stiffed for more than a quarter million dollars in residential brokerage commissions for sales in high-profile developments including Five Franklin, the Avery and Linden78, a court filing says.

Broker Nancy Reese accuses Corcoran Sunshine and other Corcoran entities of withholding at least $200,000 in commissions on closed sales and says the developer of Linden78 owes her $70,000 in commissions on canceled contracts, the court papers say.

The lawsuit was filed at a time when experts believe more contracts will be canceled as the condominium market continues to deteriorate. But real estate lawyers said most contracts between brokerages and developers include clauses that state that commissions are not due until the title is passed to the buyer, so brokers are generally not paid when a contract is canceled, attorney Adam Leitman Bailey, who was not involved in the case, said.

Reese, who left Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group at the end of April after working at the firm for about four years, accused the company of not paying her a total of $200,000 at Five Franklin Place, the Avery at 100 Riverside Boulevard, the Orion at 350 West 42nd Street and three other locations after the sales closed.

Reese also alleges in her lawsuit brought in New York State Supreme Court May 18 that the sponsor of the struggling development Linden78, at 230 West 78th Street, owes her $70,000 in commission fees even though the sponsor offered rescission rights to all buyers in mid-April.

The developer of the project is Urban Residential, but the lawsuit does not name that company, but instead the entities listed on the condo offering plan, including Amsterdam 78 and Metropolitan Housing Partners, with the state Attorney General's office, Reese's attorney, Debra Guzov, said.

Urban Residential did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Corcoran Sunshine declined to comment.

With the declining economy, the number of rescinded contracts has increased, impacting projects such as Linden78 and the Jasper at 114 East 32nd Street. But experts said they do not expect to see a flood of brokers suing their firms as Reese did.

Guzov, a partner with the law firm Guzov Ofsink, said that Reese was owed the commission after she presented ready, willing and able buyers, despite a rescinded contract.

"As we set forth in the complaint the commission has been earned and it comports with the language in the contract for earning the commissions," she said.