oh just noticed that it looks like you can buy the annualized data from dqnews & order other custom reports by zip code (archived quarterly numbers etc). that's pretty interesting, but I am not quite willing to fork over $100 for it...maybe after first quarter 2008 comes in.

Posted by: xanadu at March 9, 2009 11:36 AM in response to Where and When Will The Market Bottom?

Benson - annual numbers would be great - if broken down by zip code. Do you have a link to that info? The trouble with city-wide or even borough-wide statistics is that obviously there is a huge difference neighborhood by neighborhood in nyc. www.therealdeal.com had some interesting statistics for manhattan (diff between ask & sales price, etc.) but I can't find better numbers for brooklyn by 'hood. even if there is an issue with quarterly numbers, I think it is interesting to see the trends by neighborhood - which after all make a lot of sense (ie, not surprising that East New York and Sunset Park crashed first b/c that's where the bulk of foreclosures happened last year). The dqnews info also has median price per square foot...so that's helpful.

Obviously, to do the real analysis you have to get very granular. Personally, I have been looking to buy for years, so when I look at comparables on propertyshark, or the nyc finance dept for the Heights and Cobble Hill (where I'm looking), I have sadly seen most of the listings in person.

In a way, I almost don't want to buy, because then my whole real estate hobby will end. It's so much better than sports.

Also, I am love love loving the way brokers treat me now (and that is as good an indicator as comps). That IS priceless, as hannible notes.

Posted by: xanadu at March 9, 2009 11:30 AM in response to Where and When Will The Market Bottom?

Here's the link to make it easy. Tracks median price changes & sales volume by zip code. Notice that East New York and Sunset Park have already hit 45% -- and that is based on last quarter of 2008, which should be sales that happened before the market crashed.

http://www.dqnews.com/Charts/Quarterly-Charts/NYC-Charts/ZIPNY.aspx

Posted by: xanadu at March 9, 2009 11:13 AM in response to Where and When Will The Market Bottom?

Benson - not sure your numbers are accurate. Check out www.dqnews.com, which tracks real estate prices by zip code on a quarterly basis (y-o-y) numbers. According to that, Park slope is down 26% from Q4 2007 to Q4 2008.

Posted by: xanadu at March 9, 2009 11:04 AM in response to Where and When Will The Market Bottom?

as a wise poster on Calculated Risk once said (and as echoed by FinanceGuy)- you rent the home or you rent the money.

which is better depends, like any other investment, on whether you are you buying low or high? right now, you are buying high.

another risk the homeowner takes on is the quality of the neighborhood. if you buy in a recently gentrified community, you are making a big bet that it is going to stay that way. now that we are seeing hard economic times, layoffs, etc., and city budget cuts, we will inevitably have increased crime rates. so the renters have the flexibility of moving if their newly gentrified neighborhood goes bust. owners are going to have a much harder time of it.

Posted by: xanadu at December 12, 2008 5:15 PM in response to Home Ownership Bad for Your Health

That is my point, Boerum Hill. I was very actively & obsessively looking to buy. But the mentality has changed. I don't know what is going to happen to this city in the new world order. My defection is part of the reason that prices are going down (only a part). I don't even want to buy because that whole panic mentality is over...the idea that you have to get into this market before it leaves you behind. Over. Done. A brownstone in Brooklyn is just not what I want right now. I want flexibility. And gold coins.

Posted by: xanadu at October 28, 2008 5:49 PM in response to Case Shiller's Silver Lining?

That is my point, Boerum Hill. I was very actively & obsessively looking to buy. But the mentality has changed. I don't know what is going to happen to this city in the new world order. My defection is part of the reason that prices are going down (only a part). I don't even want to buy because that whole panic mentality is over...the idea that you have to get into this market before it leaves you behind. Over. Done. A brownstone in Brooklyn is just not what I want right now. I want flexibility. And gold coins.

Posted by: xanadu at October 28, 2008 5:49 PM in response to Case Shiller's Silver Lining?

That is my point, Boerum Hill. I was very actively & obsessively looking to buy. But the mentality has changed. I don't know what is going to happen to this city in the new world order. My defection is part of the reason that prices are going down (only a part). I don't even want to buy because that whole panic mentality is over...the idea that you have to get into this market before it leaves you behind. Over. Done. A brownstone in Brooklyn is just not what I want right now. I want flexibility. And gold coins.

Posted by: xanadu at October 28, 2008 5:49 PM in response to Case Shiller's Silver Lining?

agree with all above. prices are going to come down hard. especially when crime goes up in the city, and people are ready to get out of brooklyn, even if it means losing some money.

anecdotal, yet I think on point: I was feverishly in the market for SEVEN years...always bidding & never coming out on top. since the financial crisis hit, however, I have NO interest in buying anything. I have even stopped going to the ny times real estate page, which was my obsession for so long. I have embraced my rental apartment, which now I see for all the glory of flexibity that it is. If the city gets too bad, or if I lost my job, I could just cut out of here with no strings attached. and that feels pretty sweet right now.

so I'm not sure who the new buyers are.

and let's not forget the estimated 200,000 jobs that are being eliminated in this city.

Posted by: xanadu at October 28, 2008 3:07 PM in response to Case Shiller's Silver Lining?

the fact is, though, that neighborhoods that have only recently gentrified are going to retrench. spending habits are already changing as people adjust to the new mindset - so I'm talking cute little restaurants, trendy designer stores, fancy home product stores, etc. those will be closing quickly. and small businesses won't be getting any credit to open up new places. nyc is just not going to be the same. remember the early 90s, when there were crackheads on atlantic avenue?

I have been a "bitter renter" for years & am now so happy I didn't buy b/c now I would not move to some of the nabes I was considering. and I won't be alone.

Posted by: xanadu at September 18, 2008 12:26 PM in response to SELL vs RENT?

all I can say about the price is that The What was really on to something.

Posted by: xanadu at September 17, 2008 5:39 PM in response to House of the Day: 47 Sidney Place

I can't believe that no one is mentioning the global financial meltdown and its effect on the bklyn real estate market. No way can these prices hold...

Posted by: xanadu at September 17, 2008 5:07 PM in response to House of the Day: 47 Sidney Place