Is It a Buyer's or Seller's Market in Townhouses?
Here’s an email we received from a reader this week: I was hoping you could foment some sort of discussion on the summer brooklyn townhouse market. I can’t really figure out what’s going on. It seems like a lot of stuff is left over from the spring, but then some great stuff just flies off…
Here’s an email we received from a reader this week:
I was hoping you could foment some sort of discussion on the summer brooklyn townhouse market. I can’t really figure out what’s going on. It seems like a lot of stuff is left over from the spring, but then some great stuff just flies off the shelf. I’ve been to dozens of open houses the past few weeks, some are empty, some are thronged. I can’t tell if it’s a buyer’s market or a seller’s market. It seems like a lot of people are waiting for the fall to see what comes on the market. What’s your sense?
Seems to us like there’s not a lot of good inventory and that buyers aren’t desperate enough to go for the crap. Your thoughts?
Photo by Da Nator
Good point 10:20 #2. Unless you are working from home (or close by) in the ‘burbs, there’s a lot to be said for a short commute and more time with the family. That for us, plus the unique experience of being in Brooklyn, versus a cookie-cutter suburb, was what we decided we wanted.
It’s amazing how Prospective buyer KNOWS the quality of life will be better in a burbs than in Brooklyn.
The post reads like an ad for Westchester home builders.
Prospective Buyer,
Whether Brooklyn in 2007 is the kindd of place where you want to live is your business, of course. But the funny thing is, when I bought out a house (in 2002), I priced out the alternatives too. I concluded that–once I factored in taxes and buying two cars–nowhere in New Jersey (that I’d want to live) would be cheaper than buying in Brooklyn. Unless I moved so far out that I’d end up being a “slave” to the commute and the train schedule and have less time at home.
I guess it might be different now, but my impression that the burbs have shot up in price just like the city in the five years since.
Now that I’m chiming in, the under has no chance.
10:11, good one!!!
Prospective buyer, poignant post and your situation is similar to what so many people, particularly those of us with young children, face. I recently decided to leave Manhattan, but stay close, opting for brownstone living in BH, rather than moving to the suburbs. We thought it was best for everyone, but who really knows? No question it’s a huge decision; likely the biggest of your life and your children’s. I wish you the best of luck.
my feeling is that crap is being priced as if it were quality, and quality is being priced as if brownstone was solid gold. Some places have sat for months, I’ve watched them, and have come head-to-head with sellers who wouldn’t budge off of their asking price (even though the price has already quadrupled in the previous decade!) This is all fine, it’s how a free market works, I just find the market to be kind of schizoid at the moment.
(John is now offering Prospective buyer $10 to break up next post into multiple posts)
Damn those Park Slope stroller moms!
9:38 definitely got it right.
Condos have flooded the market, and there are many more on the way.
As for townhouses, there really isn’t much solid inventory on the market right now, so anything decent is being bought rather quickly at premium prices. Queens has started to slow, which is the first sign that Brooklyn might eventually be hit by a correction (however, this appeared likely before and nothing happened). From a prospective buyers point, for whatever it is worth, my wife and I are in the market for a brownstone. Both of us grew up in Brooklyn and love it, even with many of the recent changes that have taken away much of Brooklyn’s original identity. we both also make very good salaries, and have reached a point where we no longer believe it is worth it to buy a townhouse in Brooklyn, because of the high prices. Both true city kids, we are now considering moving outside of NYC, because the quality of life will be much better. Essentially, we have come to the conclusion that it is better to buy a very nice house with larger property in New Jersey or Westchester for $700K-$900K, then buy a townhouse in Brooklyn for $1.5M-$2.0M. While some people argue that the townhouse is a better investment, is it really? For the next ten years, my wife and I, and any children that we might have in the near future would be restricted on our lif style. Eventually, through inflation and rising salaries, the twonhouse would become rather affordable and allow a better life, but that would probably take ten years. to buy something in New Jersey or Westchester, we could live a great life now without worry of finances. We could continue to take great vacations, and no longer be a slave to our job with greater financial flexibility. In addition, as inflation and salaries increase, the house in Westchester and New Jersey would become extremely affordable, allowing us to purchase a beach house or even retire earlier.
That said leaving the City is no easy task. the convenience, the diversity, the chance for our kids to grow up with such diversity, all pull on my wife and I; however, every Saturday and Sunday that I walk around Brooklyn, I realize much of the diversity, respect for others, and street sense that brooklyn was known for is gone. It is replaced by individuals who has a sense of entitlement over other the surrounding people, who let their kids run wild without an attempt to instill some discipline in their kids, who believe that their neighbors should cater to their spoiled children, and who openly cheer Brooklyn, but complain about the way people act (despite the fact that Brooklyn had been that way for 50 years priro to their arrival and was that way when they moved here). Do I really want my kids to grow up in this? Is the convenience of the city really worth it, aftre all once my wife and I have kids, am I really going to be out on Friday nights and/or Saturday nights, even once every three months?
While I don’t have the answers, the questions have convinced me Brooklyn is changing for better or worse, and I am not sure the changes are worth the price.
I think that posts about how many posts there are should not be counted towards total post count…D’OH.