Governor Pataki signed into law last week a bill passed by the New York State Legislature last month that that would make public the prices paid for co-op apartments in New York City.
Co-op apartments comprise more than three-quarters of the city¿s inventory of individually owned apartments. In co-op apartments, residents own shares in the corporation that owns the building whereas in condominium apartments residents own their units outright. Co-op buildings have boards that must approve major physical changes to units and new owners, whereas condo owners can sell to whom they choose without having to obtain approval of the building¿s board.
The sale prices of condo units is publicly available, whereas the sales prices of co-op units have not been available publicly.
In recent years, most new developments have been condominiums, but many of the city¿s most prestigious pre-World War II buildings are co-ops.
The ¿secret¿ nature of co-op transactions has contributed to the ¿exclusivity¿ of some of the city¿s co-op buildings where privacy is highly prized.
The disclosure of co-op sales prices may have some impact on the value of such units, but probably not as dramatic impact as location, amenities and views that are still the most important factors and older properties tend to have more desirable locations and more protected views.
The new legislation was sought by the city¿s Finance Department and would permit the city to publish information on transfer tax forms. (In 2003, a law was enacted after an indictment of 18 city tax assessors that allowed the city to publish sales prices of other real estate transactions. That law was intended to apply to co-op sales as well but was not worded appropriately.)
A spokesperson for the city¿s Department of Finance told CityRealty.com today that the information will begin to be available by the end of this week using ACRIS (Automated City Register Information System) at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/jump/acris.shtml where one clicks on ¿begin using ACRIS¿ and then clicks on ¿Search Property Records¿ where one enters the building¿s ¿Block¿ and ¿Lot¿ numbers.
¿Block¿ and ¿Lot¿ numbers can be obtained by accessing the Department of Building¿s Website at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/html/home/home.shtml and selecting borough and entering street number and street.
The information will appear under the category ¿real estate transfer record¿ and initially will go back as far as July, 2004 and eventually as far as January, 2003.
Co-op apartments comprise more than three-quarters of the city¿s inventory of individually owned apartments. In co-op apartments, residents own shares in the corporation that owns the building whereas in condominium apartments residents own their units outright. Co-op buildings have boards that must approve major physical changes to units and new owners, whereas condo owners can sell to whom they choose without having to obtain approval of the building¿s board.
The sale prices of condo units is publicly available, whereas the sales prices of co-op units have not been available publicly.
In recent years, most new developments have been condominiums, but many of the city¿s most prestigious pre-World War II buildings are co-ops.
The ¿secret¿ nature of co-op transactions has contributed to the ¿exclusivity¿ of some of the city¿s co-op buildings where privacy is highly prized.
The disclosure of co-op sales prices may have some impact on the value of such units, but probably not as dramatic impact as location, amenities and views that are still the most important factors and older properties tend to have more desirable locations and more protected views.
The new legislation was sought by the city¿s Finance Department and would permit the city to publish information on transfer tax forms. (In 2003, a law was enacted after an indictment of 18 city tax assessors that allowed the city to publish sales prices of other real estate transactions. That law was intended to apply to co-op sales as well but was not worded appropriately.)
A spokesperson for the city¿s Department of Finance told CityRealty.com today that the information will begin to be available by the end of this week using ACRIS (Automated City Register Information System) at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/jump/acris.shtml where one clicks on ¿begin using ACRIS¿ and then clicks on ¿Search Property Records¿ where one enters the building¿s ¿Block¿ and ¿Lot¿ numbers.
¿Block¿ and ¿Lot¿ numbers can be obtained by accessing the Department of Building¿s Website at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/html/home/home.shtml and selecting borough and entering street number and street.
The information will appear under the category ¿real estate transfer record¿ and initially will go back as far as July, 2004 and eventually as far as January, 2003.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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