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
at least they’ll be little paris hiltons with some street smarts and know to at least call your driver if you’re wasted.
that’s all i’m sayin
This is anon-wife-of-out-of-work-husband-with-nanny-and -foreclosure-insensitivities and I agree with Biff, I love amy.
The single biggest factor in the Brooklyn/NYC vs Suburb debate is the public schools. Getting a good public education in NYC is a job (and not guaranteed) while in most suburban areas, the public school systems are better than adequate.
On a more important note So Maria (4:01) – where can I get GOOD curried goat w/ peas and rice in Brooklyn.
Perhaps the Brooklyn vs. the Burbs detour this thread has taken is related to the dreaded three-bedroom NYC apartment search. Brownstone Brooklyn has been the natural, and relatively affordable place to turn for such housing. But with such high demand for brownstones coupled with limited stock not to mention skyrocketing prices city wide, it’s getting trickier.
I don’t think anyone treats the spectre of a move to the country or the ‘burbs lightly. I certainly wouldn’t trade in my city digs for a McMansion, but I might trade it in for a sweet cottage with three bedrooms where I could walk to town and the beach. I would prefer to stay in the city for a lot of reasons, and the fact that it’s a better investment is surely one of them, but if it gets too expensive I may opt out.
Where is it easy to be a kid these days when it comes to social pressure? Many parts of the suburbs can be soul deadening, it’s true, but certain aspects of our youngest NYC residents’ social lives can be quite bleak, too. It’s hard not to look at some of my daughter’s school mates and wonder which of them will grow up to be Paris Hiltons.
It made the natural evolution to Bklyn vs. Burbs because if you can’t buy now (who can?) then many would have you believe you’re PRICED OUT FOREVER!!! and what’s left but drinking yourself to death on a riding mower out there, somewhere?
I existed in Bergen County for a dozen long years (a state fulla losers, as Brooce said, more or less), lived in Manhattan for another 10, and spent another 15 years as a student & peon in various small American burgs … only in Brooklyn for 3 yrs, but crash-willing, we ain’t leaving.
Out there in the U.S., if you’re lucky, there’s a half-block or two in your town that’s “a lot like New York, really,” where you sip coffee or drink with other refugees and wanna-bes and dream of moving back.
LOL, Amy. You did it again. Not having much of substance never stopped anyone, including myself, from jumping into a discussion. “anon wife of out of work husband with nanny who joked about foreclosure” will go down as an instant Brownstoner classic and constant reminder that everyone should be required to have a handle here, even if it does open people like me up to having others use my contradictory opinions used against me.
I grew up in the ‘burbs, despite some pencil-necked geek above assuming I grew up on a movie set, and it seems idyllic in retrospect, but I’m sure the experiences my kids will have growing up in the city will be equally as memorable and positive. Lastly, there’s something to be said for getting drunk every day by noon, although I prefer to wait until 1 or 2(pm).
For me, the problem with raising children in brooklyn is the other parents. Everyone is so sure of themselves. They are doing it the right way and everyone else is wrong. very very wrong.
Just like what I’m reading on this thread.
I visit friends in the suburbs and think “the house! the yard! the schools! the parking!” I prefer my place in Brooklyn, but I can see the upside to life outside a city. But nooooooooo! In Brooklyn, everyone here has one data point (“I knew someone who grew up in the suburbs once and they hated it” I can’t imagine doing that to my child!”) and they run with it.
Pfft. Brooklyn is a pretty provincial town when you get down to it.
Clearly this is self-serving, but I agree with 4:40, “The subject matter was ‘Is it a buyers or sellers market for townhomes,’ not ‘Bklyn vs Burbs.'” I am waiting for an official tally from PriceWaterhouse.
Thanks, Biff. And I’m really grooving on your name. Since I usually don’t have much of substance to contribute, I’m glad I can make someone laugh occasionally.
I’ve never lived in the suburbs, but when I was growing up I really envied people who did. My husband grew up in the ‘burbs though, and has told me what a soul-sucking existence it was.
For me personally, I think it would be a disastrous decision. I really like walking a few blocks and seeing several people I’m friends with, every time. I’m not the type to spend a lot of energy seeking out friends, so this environment is perfect for me, with the playground communities and the schools close enough to walk to. If I lived in the suburbs I would be alone and drunk every day by noon.
Of course, I may be forced to try it out after our house is snatched back by the bank. Dammit, there I go again!