In New York City, all is fair in love and real estate these days, with soaring housing prices driving prospective buyers into a ruthless market where only the fittest emerge as property owners. "If it's in Manhattan, even for an ugly, windowless apartment or one facing a wall, there will be some buyers," said Douglas Wagner, president of the estate brokerage Benjamin James.
"With the interest rates very low and signalling that they will level off, people feel they're in a once in a lifetime market," Wagner said.
The feeding frenzy is being fuelled by the banks who, eager to cash in on the boom, are dramatically lowering their requirements regarding who qualifies for a loan.
Examples of just how high the market has gone include a nondescript 40 square meter (430-square foot) studio that went recently for 400,000 dollars.
In December, media mogul Rupert Murdoch agreed to pay a record 44 million dollars for a Manhattan penthouse. Later the same month, the city's first one-million-dollar studio came on the market.
"There are more and more people speculating, because they've seen the success enjoyed by others," said estate agent Stephanie Mallios.
With so much competition, "he who hesitates is lost," Mallios said, adding that prospective buyers who had not already lined up a mortgage stood no chance against cash-rich competitors.
Amy Hui, who recently sold her studio to purchase a 60 square meter (645 square feet) one-bedroom apartment, testified to the extreme time pressure on the buyer.
"It's pretty much a five to 10 minute affair. You don't really have the time to inspect things before deciding," Hui said.
And negotiating the price down is not even an option.
"Everything goes at asking price or above," Wagner said, adding that fear of losing out on a property was pushing people to overbid. Cecile Mirman, who just purchased an apartment in Brooklyn with her husband, said they found themselves competing with seven other buyers who were all willing to meet the asking price.
They ended up having to submit blind bids above the asking price - an exercise that saw Mirman and her husband emerge victorious by offering an extra 50,000 dollars.
"Maybe we paid too much," Mirman acknowledged. "But we really liked the apartment and just didn't want to risk missing out."
According to Mallios, buyers will try pretty much any tactic that might give them an edge in a bidding war, including sending flattering letters to the owner.
"Some of them are like love letters, you know '... we love your house, we love the paint you've used, our children love the upstairs bedrooms...' that kind of thing," Mallios said.
As far as the sellers are concerned, there have been indications that some owners have been taking advantage of the situation to bend the rules.
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