Bed-Stuy: 'Experiencing a Little Bit of a Depression'?
The New York Times took a look at Bedford-Stuyvesant this weekend as an area once considered one of the roughest in the city, but one with a rich cultural history where you can now smell gentrification in the air, mainly via the fragrance of higher-end retail. More interesting than the article’s notes on gentrification is…
The New York Times took a look at Bedford-Stuyvesant this weekend as an area once considered one of the roughest in the city, but one with a rich cultural history where you can now smell gentrification in the air, mainly via the fragrance of higher-end retail. More interesting than the article’s notes on gentrification is how it touches on current home values in Bed-Stuy: “‘We’re actually experiencing a little bit of a depression,’ said Tanya Blackwood, owner of Location Location Location, a real estate agency. ‘We’re back to where people are undervaluing houses—it’s just bananas.’ The neighborhood’s size makes it difficult to narrow down a price range for houses, but livable two-families generally start around $600,000, said Keith Mack of the Corcoran Group. A house in great shape, he said, might fetch $875,000. (Houses in the historic district still command a little more, but there are very few listed.) A perusal of Web sites like PropertyShark.com shows houses trading at or below $600,000. ‘I could’ve given you a general price point a year ago,’ said Lakeisha Edwards, a broker at Prudential Douglas Elliman. ‘But it’s now really property by property; in between those are so many short sales and foreclosures.'” Agree?
History, With Hipper Retailing in Bed-Suy [NY Times]
Photos by nvrlowdown
Jscheff lives in Ft. Greene.
I think almost every neighborhood is undergoing a reality check- and I se no insult in saying prices are down because they are. But they are down everywhere. I didn’t find the article itself negative but jscheff’s re-titling above is yet another misbegotten attempt to prove he’s sophisticated and knowledgeable about Brooklyn. Maybe he is, but I can only assume it extends no further than Bklyn Hgts or Park Slope. I don’t mind a certain amount of editorializing, but jeesh. At least editorialize what you know something about.
We’re discussing Bed Stuy, DIBS. Please stay on topic.
***Bid half off peak comps***
When I saw the quote of the Billy Joel lyrics in the first paragraph I thought “Not again!”
People’s preconceived notions of the neighorhood are going to be around for a long time, so that Billy Joel lyric and crime stats will be part of the Bed-Stuy story for now. I don’t agree with that, but it is part of what the general public knows and this article just panders to some of it.
It would have been nice if they could have put more on the history of the nighborhood. The one or two sentences they did put in there are certainly not enough.
Isn’t it incredible that BHO knows everything about every neighborhood???
“I actually didn’t think the article was all that negative.”
Naw, just price movement.
“There is a lot of stuff always on the market that needs a complete gut rehab.”
But but but I thought inventory was limited. Tha tha tha they said that no one’s building any more land.
***Bid half off peak comps***
CG_ups, again, a good point. I think the thing I liked about the NY Times article is that it talks sincerely about a community which remains strong and engaging despite the slowdown. I can’t say enough how i hope that people moving to the area do so because they value the history and community, not because it’s prey for opportunists (which actually i don’t think is a huge issue where Bed-Stuy is concerned, it’s too well defined). So in that sense I think the Times piece is actually OK.
I actually didn’t think the article was all that negative. Bed Stuy is an extremely large area and very, very diverse in the quality of the housing stock.
I’m not sure what a really spectacular property would go for now. There haven’t been any on the market since those two limestones on the 400 block of Stuyvesant sold…one to Babs Corcoran. There is a lot of stuff always on the market that needs a complete gut rehab.
BTW, like “subprime”, depression contagion is coming to a zipcode near you.
***Bid half off peak comps***