One57

When people think of New York City they probably think energetic, unforgettable, rich, artistic, soulless, busy and cosmopolitan (adjective and the drink).  When I think of New York City I think of One57. The newest addition to the skyline of the ‘City that never sleeps’. But what makes One57 different than any other luxury high rise in Manhattan that only multi-millionaires can afford? Not only will it be NYC’s tallest residential project ever at 90 stories high once completed, but also will become a prize asset investment for global billionaires. It is still under construction but more than half of its units have already been sold and rumor has it that the prime minister of Qatar spent $90 million on a penthouse there taking the spot for NYC’s record-breaking real estate record transaction. Previous record was of Russian billionaire, Dmitry Rybolovlev, who bought an $88 million apartment at 15 Central Park West for his daughter last year. As if that wasn’t already enough, Qatari Prime Minister wants to enlarge his penthouse by buying a group of another four adjacent condos making it worth $250 million. However, most of the buyers of these global real estate prizes rarely actually live in the properties themselves. So then why do they buy them? Wealth. Preservation. If your plan was to sit at the Starbucks all day on west 57^th street with a dream of meeting a billionaire ‘by accident’ you will probably have more luck drinking your latte slowly near Wall Street.

Just like the sovereign wealth funds of the gulf Arab countries, these high net worth individuals may invest on a much smaller scale, but are doing so for the same reasons: to make a profit. Values of trophy assets such as a unit in one57 are least affected to global economic fluctuations, which is why investors view high-end real estate as the best and safest investment option.

Every investment involves some sort of risk but especially during a recession, investors will stick to five main groups of investments: precious metals (gold, silver, platinum), Timber, Foreign Currencies, Equities and then Real Estate. Real Estate seems to always be the more popular option even though there is still risk involved. Nonetheless, there is still great opportunity for good cash flows. Cash flows should really work from the start so investors view real estate as two investments in one, money from the tenants and property appreciation. Selling it whenever you want. However, the current recession we are in is primarily because of real estate Sub-prime mortgage lending. Therefore, before you think about investing make sure you actually have the money not only to buy the property itself but also to have money for property taxes, repairs and maintenance if the property will not sell right away. Anyway, I doubt money is an issue for the owners over at One57 but they’d probably agree with real estate being one of their most favorable and profitable choices for investment so if you follow suit, there will be nothing separating you and them from that apartment at One57.