Contrary to what many people assumed, current Brooklyn residents, rather than their brethren across the East River, are driving the sales of new condominiums in their own borough. According to the Daily News, Brooklynites have been the biggest buyers in some of the most high-profile conversions and new developments in recent months. At 110 Livingston, for example, where 90 percent of the units are sold, almost 60% of the buyers were from Brooklyn. At One Hanson Place, which is 55 percent sold, 48 percent of buyers have been from Brooklyn, compared to only 34 percent from Manhattan. Even at Richard Meier’s OPP, Brooklyn rezzies have held their own against Manhattanites (40 percent each). And at One Brooklyn Bridge Park, 56 percent of prospective buyers have been from Brooklyn. One exception to this trend has been Northside Piers in Williamsburg, where just 21 percent of buyers have been from Brooklyn. As Highlyann Krasnow of The Developers Group points out, though, the figures may be slightly misleading. She hypotheizes that many of the new condo buyers lived in Manhattan until very recently, perhaps renting a place for a year or two in Brooklyn to test the waters before committing to ownership. Seems like a reasonable theory to us.
Condo Sales Stunner [NY Daily News]
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