A Softer, Gentler Prospect Heights Market
A new article in The Real Deal takes a look at the Prospect Heights market and sees some “softening.” StreetEasy numbers show that median prices in the neighborhood dropped 4.8 percent, from $619,000 to $589,000 between he second quarter last year to the second quarter this year. The mag’s reporter visits open houses and see…
A new article in The Real Deal takes a look at the Prospect Heights market and sees some “softening.” StreetEasy numbers show that median prices in the neighborhood dropped 4.8 percent, from $619,000 to $589,000 between he second quarter last year to the second quarter this year. The mag’s reporter visits open houses and see “light” traffic (only two couples in an hour at The Washington Condos, above), though local broker Doug Bowen of Core Realty says Prospect Heights’ prices are stable and there’s high demand and price premiums for Vanderbilt Avenue pads. Bowen says new developments east of Vanderbilt are going for between $600 and $750 a foot. One prospective buyer at an open house said she was enjoying the lack of frenzied competition for properties in the area and noted that “this might be the right time to buy because it seems slower, less frantic, more relaxed.”
Inside the Open Houses of Prospect Heights [The Real Deal]
I live across the street from the washington.
Mezzanine scandal = unsold condos.
The 2 units with 5 foot ceiling mezzanines are both vacant.
Question: how come condo owners never use their balconies?
i bought a buick for the price of a cadillac. i know buick is an up and coming brand, but i prefer that. i picked the perfect time to buy.
I agree with 2:25, but I would add, “with popcorn,” and “from your luxury condo turned rental.”
And I like Prospect Heights a lot, but — come on. Might as well snag a rent-stabilized apartment there, in this market that’s a better investment.
“relatively low current prices”
Naw. Prices, even by any relative measure, remain virtually unchanged. The 6 to 8 (or whatever) percent Case-Shiller drop only shows the direction, not the magnitude, for Brownstone Brooklyn TM. If the drop sustains itself, and I think it will, only then will we see significantly lower prices, relative and absolute (I know, I know – you bulls think I’m drinking Absolute vodka).
It’s only a good time to buy on a low-ball-the-comp basis. From bidding wars to selling wars, here we go!
In addition to the AY effect wild card, don’t forget about the move of all intake services for the entire city to the Bedford-Atlantic Armory. While in Crown Heights, this is going to be only 3 or 4 blocks from North Prospect Heights, including the condos pictured above. While the few blocks from Washington to Franklin may seem like cultural miles to some folks on this board, the 20,000+ homeless men who will be redirected from the current center in Manhattan to the B-A Armory will probably not make a distinction as they make their way through this neighborhood to the shelter every night and kill time in it during the day.
“You might have been there, but nobody from there would ever call it that.”
Wrong. I just did. But yes, I never heard anyone else use that term.
Bottom line – if you want to buy in Brownstone Brooklyn right now the best deal is to sit on the sidelines and watch the bubble deflate.
Obviously PH is not as desirable or as fully gentrified as Park Slope, but anyone who thinks that there isn’t a significant price discount which more than accounts for this needs to wipe the white powder off his nose. PH is one of the most rapidly improving hoods in Brooklyn. Vanderbilt Ave is well on it’s way to being the next Fifth Ave or Smith Street, the housing stock is nice, access to the subway is actually probably a bit better than Park Slope because the 2/3 is just a more reliable train than the F, and access to Prospect Park is just as good as the Slope. Also, PH has great access to the Fort Green restaurants and nightlife (which to me is a bit more edgy and interesting than slope nightlife) On the other hand crime is bit of an issue, and the proximity to the still sketchy parts of Crown Heights might scare some away for now. Also, the great unknown of AY hangs over the neighborhood. My take is that in the short term this will be a pain in the ass, but long term it will add vitality and value to the neighborhood. Bottom line – if you want to buy in Brownstone Brooklyn right now the best deal, the best combination of “nice enough right now” and “potential to get even better” with a little bit of “relatively low current prices” is Prospect Heights.
unbelievable. first you say PH is good because it is “up and coming”. then you say that “up and coming” should be priced with already established. and, yes, a swath of PH is close to the park. if you don’t mind crossing a mad highway/circle where many people have died. yes, that is way better than strolling on gorgeous residential streets all the way there. you are so right. hell, i hope you ARE right. then i can pick up a PS brownstone for less than 1.5 b/c clearly people prefer “up and coming” areas cut off by heavy traffic. commissions slow much?