Hello Rastov, I am in agreement with the other posts here regarding 10% on the market.
As an attorney I would look at the age of the building - condo vs. cooperative - how many units are owner occupied vs. sublet, etc. A good attorney can "spy" issues immediately for you.
I do foreclosure defense and short sales here in Manhattan and we are finding the problems are essentially all in new construction.
I recommend that you pose your questions to the listing agent. I'd be interested in the answers.

Best wishes to you - now is a great time to be purchasing in Manhattan!

Rastov,
In this market especially the number of listings for sale is higher than ever. As a matter of fact if there are lots of listings in the building you have a chance to get an apartment at a super great price as the sellers have to stay competitive in their pricing if they want to sell. If you like the location, the building and the apartment, put an offer on it and have an attorney who is EXPERIENCED in NYC REAL ESTATE ( cant stress this enough) do the so called due dilligence on the building. This means you will have the buildings financials and everything thats going on in the building including the physical condition and needs for repairs etc examined. Only if your attorney approves the building as a safe purchase for you , you then move forward to signing the contract. There really is no other way to find out all the pertinent details regarding the building. Needless to say your attorney needs to be someone you trust and somene that knows what they are doing.

Best of luck

Andrusha

Rastov,

It's not necessarily unusual for a building to have as many as 10% of their units up for sale at the same time, especially in the current market. If it is relatively new construction, some people who bought on speculation are selling becuase the returns they anticipated are not there, and are therefore selling. Others must sell in this current market because of job loss or transfer.

If you decide to move forward on the purchase (and if you like the building, apartment and location, you should), your attorney should uncover any red flag problems the building might have while performing his due diligence (reviewing the offering plan, building financials, condo or coop board meeting minutes, etc.). If all checks out, you should feel comfortable moving forward with your purchase.

Best of luck to you,
Glenn Connolly
Sotheby's International Realty.