Did You Hear? Red Hook Is Hot!

Anon 12:14p and 11:47a,

12:04p was me, thought I had my name in, but posted before making sure.

Yeah, the "be careful what you wish for" etc. was directed to the original poster (cobblestoner).

I am right with you regarding your posts, read similar things in local papers.

And as for cobblestoner, welcome to the neighborhood. Note that apple muffins (and so many other baked goodies) at Margaret Palca's rock. But I won't bore all here with other neighborhood minutia, just welcome.

Chuck, re: $600-$700psf for Red Hook properties, I tend to agree. No idea what is happening with Imlay down there, and ongoing word about Red Hook Stores apartments above fairway seems to point to rentals, so I just don't see a major bastion of high-end luxury apartments and/or other properties present that can yank $/sqft up so high, especially as much of the real estate down stock there (a limited extremely few properties aside) tends to have either new renovations with very cheap finishes or homes that are in utterly bad shape.

Your comparison with Boerum Hill is interesting.

One thing I have noted is that people really do have a huge problem with not being 3 or 4 blocks from a subway.

The issue is non-existent for me. I am used to taking the b61 to the subway, or walking 10 minutes from my present location across to Bergen or Carroll Street F stations.

But I must say, it is considered a HUGE issue for everyone else my wife and I have encountered when visiting us -- "oh, I could never live out here" and when discussiong properties for sale in the area, "no way I'd pay that much to live so far away" referring to Tiffany Place as if it is in the remote wilds.

Oddly enough, I have a good friend who lives near the corner of Atlantic and Clinton, who is extremely athletic, had a bike he uses alot etc, and he was utterly nonplussed about the Fairway opening, saying "so what, i just wouldn't want to have to go all the way down there."

His loss. Silly, since ~1 mile south on a bike is nothing. But there is something very significant to most people about being so far away from the subway, be it on Tiffany Place or especially all the way down in Red Hook (which I love and spend alot of time in, personally).

Anyhow, to each his own.

I get the sense that major primary movers like Imlay and other large high-$psf factors would have to present themselves to support any chase up in price to even Boerum Hill levels, let alone some Cobble Hill pricing levels that some new developments are thinking of charging (down in Red Hook).

I am quite a bit surprised that Red Hook's pricing catch-up (given that everyone has known Fairway etd were coming) has now lead to new properties trying to push the limits of outpricing other more central neighborhoods.

And this comes from a person who loves Red Hook.

Aaaanyhow...

Posted by: webster at May 18, 2006 1:18 PM

Anonymous 4:21p,

I never said that I considered Tiffany Place as Red Hook. Read my post more closely.

What I said was that my experience regarding living on Tiffany Place for a number of years has been that people think it is too far from trains etc, and therefore for many of them the idea of Red Hook (the next neighborhood down extending another mile south, starting at the tunnel) is wayyyyy too far.

My apologies if that was unclear.

However, come to think of it, in the sense of old maps, the waterfront below Atlantic Ave has been called Red Hook for a long time, although it is considered "Cobble Hill West" (or Carroll Gardens West" below Sackett) by brokers in recent years, or just Columbia Street Waterfront District.

For these reasons, the port sign at Atlantic and Columbia Street specifically calls it "Red Hook Terminal."

So, whatever. I just like where I live, (and Red Hook too) and could care less what some folks want to quibble over, in terms of names.

Just commenting about the present media hype, and then the reality of what most visitors / prospective buyers say about Tiffany Place (which is likely to be more the case for the further removed Red Hook neighborhood), based on 6 separate cases of identical results in terms of majority of feedback from 6 separate friends' apartment open houses / sales processes here on Tiffany Place.

You can only imagine this must be doubly the case for the "masses" that similarly rush to Red Hook properties for showings, only to get out there and spout feedback that it's just way too far out for them.

And for the record, I already have kids, well aware of what that means for Tiffany Place (less expensive nice back door into PS 29 zone). That was a major reason why I picked Tiffany Place and not something like President or Summit or other streets down here.

So yeah, well aware of that for a long time now.

Posted by: webster at May 18, 2006 8:32 PM