NYC Real Estate News by Fernando Branco, Real Estate Broker, GRI, ABR, CNE - Fernando Branco Realty

Manhattan condominium sales continue to pick up momentum, even as prices continued to decline. In March, condo sales activity more than doubled, rising 101.2% compared with a year earlier, according to the RPX index designed by Radar Logic Inc. Sales in March were down 6.6% when compared with a month earlier. Sales of existing units increased 154% in March from a year earlier. Sales of new units, meanwhile, declined 25% in March. There was also a shift towards sales for small and inexpensive condo units in the $400,000-$600,000 range, said Quinn Eddins, director of research for Radar Logic. Condo prices, as measured by square foot, were down 14.9% in March compared with the same month a year ago. In fact, prices declined in seven of the eight neighborhoods tracked by Radar Logic. The biggest decline was on the Upper East Side, where average prices fell 28.8% to $925.93 a square foot. The only neighborhood that posted an increase in prices was the East Village/Lower East Side, where pri

Getting a mortgage loan modification might seem like a quest only a mythic hero could achieve. After all, the ranks of those who've lost homes in foreclosure dwarf the number of homeowners who've received mortgage help. Meet Lois Langlois, mythic hero. Langlois, a single mom, actress and homeowner in Santa Monica, Calif., suffered "a series of unfortunate events that all happened clustered together." First, she was served with divorce papers. Then she was loaded with medical bills, despite having two health insurance policies, after an SUV struck her son. Caught in a financial undertow, she turned for help to the nonprofit Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services. The organization eventually helped get her home loan modified. The seemingly mysterious nature of who qualifies for a loan modification is legendary among housing counselors. But these experts say there are ways homeowners can better their chances. Following are housing counselors' tips for getting a mo