As has been well documented in the media for a few years now, the weak dollar has drawn droves of foreigners to Manhattan’s residential real estate market. The trend hasn’t been as pronounced in Brooklyn, though an article in this month’s Real Deal says that’s rapidly changing. “The pace of the interest by foreign buyers in the outer boroughs is probably double or more than it was a few years ago,” said Jonathan Miller, CEO of real estate appraisal company Miller Samuel. In particular, brokers say many overseas buyers are snapping up Brooklyn brownstones as investment properties and then renting out units or trying to flip them. The one Achilles Heel Brooklyn has in terms of foreign buyer interest is the dearth of new condo development in the borough’s toniest neighborhoods, such as Brooklyn Heights. On the other hand, the story also makes mention of a recent article in the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph telling readers that Brooklyn home values are sure to increase, especially as massive waterfront condos are finished. “The scale of these projects is so great that some analysts predict that this region of Brooklyn will become a second Manhattan, giving prices a further boost,” said the Telegraph story. First Carrie and her crew, now the foreigners—what’s next?
Foreigners Crossing Pond and the River to Brooklyn [TRD]
Photo by Vipal