Blink and you may have missed a series of recent changes to the listings on StreetEasy.
In September, the platform introduced a new tool that allows real estate agents to enter all costs associated with renting an apartment. On the front end, the additions will appear below the requested rent via the hyperlink ‘see full breakdown’, which will open a pop-up with the monthly amount due and the deposits required to rent the apartment.
The update followed rumors among agents claiming that StreetEasy had removed the Days on Market metric from for-sale listings. However, the Count is still present, albeit much less prominent. It is now under the Ownership History section in a bulleted list next to Price Changes.
While the interface changes may seem minor, they mark Big Apple-exclusive changes amid industry-wide conversations about the finer points of how brokers market their listings. StreetEasy has refined its platform in recent months to meet new circumstances.
It added the cost breakdown for rental listings in response to New York City’s FARE Act, which prohibits agents hired by landlords from charging broker fees to tenants. A spokesperson for StreetEasy said the new tool will make it easier for agents to comply with the law and increase transparency for renters.
But the switch to Days on Market comes with different interpretations. Some pointed to the absence of rumors as the platform buckling under pressure from Compass CEO Robert Reffkin, who has publicly dismissed claims that the metric is potentially damaging to a seller’s prospects.
However, a spokesperson for Streeteasy said the choice to move Days on Market was a practical one, and not a reaction to oppose its inclusion. (It’s worth noting that Reffkin’s brokerage Compass is suing Zillow, StreetEasy’s parent company, over a policy that prohibits agents from listing properties on the platform that were once marketed as private exclusives, a policy the company adopted in response to the rollout of Compass’ three-phase marketing plan.)
The spokesperson added that the platform decided to focus its key metrics on the costs associated with purchasing the home, which would bring StreetEasy’s listings more in line with those on Zillow.
“Feedback from buyers indicates that they primarily want to understand pricing information – such as price, square footage and estimated monthly costs – underlying this update,” the spokesperson wrote in a statement.
However, StreetEasy has adjusted the period it takes to reset the number of days on the market, shortening the time frame from 90 days to 30 days.
Not so fast…
Barbara Corcoran’s latest transaction proves that the real estate icon knows what she’s doing.
The real estate brokerage founder and “Shark Tank” cast member found a buyer for her Upper East Side co-op just one day after putting it on the market and sparking a bidding war. The sale closed earlier this week for $13.5 million – more than $1 million more than the asking price.
The deal was a blow to Corcoran, who bought the five-bedroom penthouse for $10 million in 2015 and spent $2 million on renovations.
Corcoran’s 3,800-square-foot home was featured on CNBC in 2020, when she gave her “Shark Tank” co-star Kevin O’Leary a tour. However, the apartment’s features — a lush terrace overlooking Central Park and a glass solarium — weren’t showcased in their full glory until earlier this summer, when her home once again made the rounds on social media after she listed it.
Corcoran invited Caleb Simpson, an influencer known for asking strangers for tours of their apartments, to feature her home on his social media channels.
“Welcome to my penthouse,” Corcoran said in a video posted to Simpson’s YouTube channel, standing in front of a solarium dining table. “I’ve lived here for seven years, but if you want it, and you have $12 million in your pocket to spend, I’ll sell it to you.”
Corcoran’s deal came after a period of gains for co-ops in Manhattan, which recorded a 6 percent annual increase in signed contracts in September, according to Miller Samuel’s monthly report for Douglas Elliman. The number of listings for the property type in the municipality also increased by 6 percent year-on-year.
NYC deal of the week
The most expensive deal to hit city records this week was a tie between two units at 220 Central Park South — though the apartments, one directly below the other, could be headed for a combination. Units Nos. 25A and 24A each traded for $16.2 million, which, if purchased by the same buyer, would bring the total to $32 million.
The buyers listed in the city directory are two different shell companies, although the contracts were signed on the same day. Unit 25A last traded in 2018 for $13 million, while 24A sold for just under $12 million that same year.
Deborah Kern of Corcoran had the entries.
Read more
Compass is suing Zillow for “anti-competitive tactics” over its listing policy
StreetEasy to boot agents from special tools via private listings
The number of StreetEasy listings drops by more than 1,000 days after the enactment of the FARE Act
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