Forum Archive

I realize that this is a bit of an overarching question and topic, but I have been reading through this site for the past week and would appreciate any advice/thoughts from this group.

My wife and I currently live in the Upper West Side (we rent). We’re at the start-a-family stage of our lives and are thinking about moving to Park Slope. We’re currently debating whether to rent or to buy. If we rent, it would be be a 2 or 3 bedroom; if we buy, would be a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment or potentially a brownstone (one or multi-unit). So, our options are open.

Would love to get people’s perspectives on the rental vs buying market now in park slope. Rental units seem to offer more per dollar, although the units are not as nice in my opinion. Do people see the buying market weakening recently? Any particularly overheated/underheated type of units? Historical context?

Basically, any perspective on the market now would be useful. I’m looking to live here for at least 4+ yrs with the potential of staying longer (if a brownstone, say) or of buying elsewhere and then keeping this as an investment unit. I recognize that I may be coming into this at the top of the curve, but from a quality-of-life perspective, I think that Park Slope seems like a great place and from an investment perspective, I don’t think it’s unwise to have some portion of one’s money in real estate. And, frankly, I’m not naive enough to think I’m smart enough to time any market…