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September 28, 2009
Williamsburg - To Buy or Not?
My husband and I are looking to buy an apartment in the next few months and have seen tons available in Williamsburg, most in new construction. My question is: what's the climate up there right now? Would it be a sound investment or throwing money at a sinking ship?
Comments
Well, i'm biased since we're looking to buy in Williamsburg too. We definitely went back and fourth about whether we really ought to be buying in an area with so much vacant new construction (finished, unfinished, and unstarted) in a slow-moving market. However, those same negative factors mean that we can get a lot more space for a lot less money than we could elsewhere.
Also, given that all the construction has already brought tons of young families and other buyers to the area means that there'd have to be something really devastating (like unemployment going up to 25% or the MTA scrapping the L train) to cause the neighborhood to regress to the old crack-whoring, gun-slinging days of years past.
No property that we buy in Williamsburg is going to appreciate in any meaningful way for years to come. And we're fine with that, since the return on our savings is near zero anyway. In the meantime, we can enjoy a large apartment, most likely with outdoor space, and not have to be millionaires to do it.
Posted by: pringler at September 28, 2009 3:02 PM
It's always sunny in Williamsburg. Just kidding.
Pringler has it right, especially regarding the Northside where before the bubble condos were going for a higher cost per SF than in downtown Manhattan. Now there are deals to be had. If you don't want to move for a while (years, as all the inventory gets absorbed) and you get a good price, I think it's a good idea. The worst has probably been priced in by now.
Posted by: corolla at September 28, 2009 3:50 PM
well.. this is so complicated because it depends on what you really want. we bought in the north burg area and are very happy for many reasons.
when buying something, you need to think about a lot of things.
1 - is it a good deal vs. renting. with tax deductions, it may work out cheaper to own.
2 - do you like the apartment? we looked for 2 years, and found our perfect place. we plan to stay for a very long time.
3 - in the 94th precinct, you have incredibly good crime stats. no bad areas, no housing projects, etc...
4 - there are several good public schools in district 14 and a new charter plus expanding private schools (montessori, reggio emilia, catholic, etc..) this bodes well for the property values going up.
5 - wburg is still in the early waves of new buyers moving in. it's gentrifying daily. more people will bring more people. restaurants and stores keep opening. streets with no retail or restaurants are now major retail corridors.
6 - BABY BOOM. it's crazy. lots of small children and pregnant women. couples and families are the biggest purchasers of property. as families see wburg as an option, then more will move here.
7 - Wburg rental prices are high. very desirable neighborhood to rent in. so, even if you need to bail, you can easily rent it out if you can't sell.
8 - if nothing else, you are damn close to manhattan.
Posted by: wine lover at September 28, 2009 4:32 PM
No matter what you look make sure the development is on sound footing. Try to buy in a 50%+ sold bulding. 70% would be MUCH better.
IMO, it is a good time to buy in Williamsbug. There are good deals out there. I would just stay away from building that is not even in finish yet. There are a lot of finished construction already that is looking for buyers.
Posted by: crimsonson at September 28, 2009 5:28 PM
Eh, yeah, I guess. All of the above is true, but you may want to do a lot of research on the location and quality of the construction you're buying. Williamsburg was the land that time forgot for some good reasons: one of them is that there are some highly toxic industrial sites. I wouldn't buy near Macarren, or the BQE strip for that reason.
Posted by: Heather at September 28, 2009 5:45 PM
Sure, come on over. Buy a piece of crap at inflated prices over here so my inflated priced piece of crap house can hold its 15x more than I paid for it value and help make my tax bill so high that I can never retire. And Pringler, you must not get out much. We still have the crack whores and gun slingers. They just come out later at night.
Posted by: williamsburgguy at September 28, 2009 6:57 PM
Wine Lover does have some good points. And if it's actually cheaper to buy and you're getting more space...So, I'm dying to know: How much do you think W'burg condo prices have come down? I mean closed sale compared to closed sale -- not asking prices.
Posted by: mopar at September 28, 2009 11:05 PM
The environmental problems are huge -- do your research. I cannot believe people want to bring up their children here.
Posted by: tuleburg at September 29, 2009 8:55 AM
fortunately, no one will have to be digging any wells for drinking water. and the air quality in most of the neighborhood is comparable to most of the city. you do some research before giving out homework assignments.
the area to be avoided is the east williamsburg industrial zone which aside from a few residential streets (beadel being the nicest) is mostly, you know, industrial. it's also in greenpoint.
Posted by: mt_molehill at September 29, 2009 2:53 PM
wine lover has some good advice and seems to know what he's talking about re williamsburg. as for the public schools, the only decent one in williamsburg is ps 132 in the italian part of williamsburg by the graham and lorimer stops. the other good to excellent ones are all in greenpoint. and we're talking elementary schools here, as there's not much in the way of intermediate or higher schools yet. but the LES and lower manhattan have some excellent magnet and private schools that are easy to get to.
the italian section is also the nicest place, in my opinion, to live at this point. but I'm biased having settled here a few years ago after 10+ years of renting all over williamsburg. it's got a lot going on and is accessible via a relatively short walk to the nuttiness of north side and to mccarren or mcgolrick (or even closer cooper park), but the streets are clean and it still feels like a neighborhood.
Posted by: mt_molehill at September 29, 2009 3:01 PM
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