Today the Wall Street Journal has an article headlined “Switch to Rentals Strands Would-Be Buyers” about how the developers of the Williamsburg condo Jardin angered some would-be buyers by abruptly deciding to take the building rental after units had been for sale. The story threads together two interesting ideas. First, rentals are evidently so hot right now that Jardin’s sponsors believe they’ll make more money on the building by renting it even though it was more than half sold: “As rents in Brooklyn continue to rise, a number of condos, including 75 Clinton St. in Brooklyn Heights and 100 Luquer St. in Carroll Gardens, are likely to become rentals. The trend is unusual because in a typical market condos are much more lucrative for developers. But experts say that rising rents—which have surpassed $3,000 on average for a one-bedroom in Williamsburg, according to MNS, a real-estate firm—have created a new dynamic.” Second, based on the comments of a couple people quoted in the story, it’s difficult to find an appealing (or perhaps appealing and affordable?) new condo to buy these days. Not exactly a scientific sample, but it raises the question of whether our condo glut is turning into a condo shortage. For example, one buyer who was in contract for a unit at Jardin had this to say: “There’s not a lot in Williamsburg. The new construction [is] all going rental.” Another would-be buyer who had inked a deal at Jardin said he and his family had been so thrilled about it that they’d felt like they’d “hit the jackpot.”
Switch to Rentals Strands Would-Be Buyers [WSJ]


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