Review of a Regrettable Year

Byline: Gabby Warshawer Until recently, it seemed like New York City's real estate market was the exception to the rule. Unlike the rest of the U.S., what went up here showed few signs of going down, at least not dramatically. However, after Wall Street as we knew it collapsed in September, the question became how low the city's commercial and housing markets would go. While we'll possibly only begin to answer that question this year, a review of the events of the past 12 months indicates we have definitively exited the boom years. On the residential end, there were fewer and fewer deals inked, and inventory was sitting on the market longer. In the commercial world, office vacancy rose and rents dropped, and some of the industry's most powerful players, like Harry Macklowe, found they were unable to pay the piper when loans came due. Meanwhile, some of the city's biggest development projects, such as Atlantic Yards, now seem to be on life support, and it's unclear whether they will ever see the light of day.