Checking In On 268 Wythe Avenue
When we posted about this new condo project at 268 Wythe Avenue back in February before its came on the market, the majority of readers were positively disposed to its design, as are we. It’s now been almost four months since the development’s 13 units were offered for sale, and, according to StreetEasy, only one…
When we posted about this new condo project at 268 Wythe Avenue back in February before its came on the market, the majority of readers were positively disposed to its design, as are we. It’s now been almost four months since the development’s 13 units were offered for sale, and, according to StreetEasy, only one unit is in contract so far despite one round of price cuts back in June. Problem is, they’re all still priced around $700 a foot.
268 Wythe Revealed: You Likey? [Brownstoner] GMAP
“Prices are way to high in Williamsburg at the moment.”
This is really the only important sentence of this entire thread.
I think BJW, WL and myself occasionally get so defensive since the Williamsburg we see everyday and the one portrayed on Brownstoner and other real estate blogs is so vastly different.
Any POS new construction building located in the middle of nowhere off the G train in Clinton Hill or Bed Stuy is “not bad” – yet an identical looking building in Greenpoint or Williamsburg is “oh the G sucks, the L sucks” blah blah blah.
Sure – Wine Lover is a big Burg booster, as am I, but so is everyone else with regards to their own neighborhood.
Obviously with the excess of condos coming on the market – price really has nothing to do with the desireability of the neighborhood, but basic economics. Prices are way to high in Williamsburg at the moment.
Anyone who buys low in Williamsburg will make a killing compared to some equally ugly gray box 7 blocks from the G train in CH/BS in 10+ years. Manhattan and the already established businesses in 11211/11222 aren’t going anywhere
🙂
saw this condo a few weeks ago. there are basically 2 layouts. one of the layouts is REALLY hard to use–the other is perfectly fine but hardly a 2 bdrm. the second bdrm is VERY small with almost no closets. more of a home office space.
either way you look at it the place was VERY overpriced. i walked out of the condo and looked to my left and right and all i saw were other new developments that looked pretty empty. that was enough for me to start walking back to the L train…supply vs demand–and i still can’t believe anyone would price a wburg condo at 700 persqft–try 500. very curious to see what wburg looks like around november december this year–much less this time NEXT year!
11217’s commentary would be far more persuasive if he could explain the mechanism by which Williamsburg is going to turn into Miami, or even what that means. over the next couple of years, it seems likely that prices will have to be lowered in order for developers to sell their buildings. some buildings, like w11, will be foreclosed and/or sold short or at auction. others, like the edge, may well stay empty while their developers lose more and more money.
developments that lie fallow will be purchased by opportunistic cash investors, probably mostly from the hasidic community.
anyway you slice it, there will still be more people buying into the neighborhood. for a neighborhood that’s been thriving amidst the ugliness and noise of an unprecedented construction boom for the last number of years, I don’t see why having that process and all its attendant ugliness–partially finished buildings, etc.–means its death knell.
so please, explain.
Well yeah…those weren’t the best examples, DH.
But there are a lot of yuppie 30 something parents in Williamsburg who would think those closings would represent the end of civilization as we know it.
The thing is…once all of this shakes out, Williamsburg will probably be a lot better place for it…more people will be able to afford it…the kinds of people who actually made it a place to live and play. That’s a great thing…but you’ve just got to fight the wine lovers of the world who paid too much for their place and want to fight it tooth and nail all the way down.
“if Dressler, Dumont and Bird ended up going out of business (heaven forbid!). ”
i wish
I’ve actually come to enjoy Williamsburg quite a lot this summer, and have been partaking in the drinking and restaurant options more than ever.
But as a residential neighborhood, it’s toast for at least 5-7 years and quite possibly longer. It’s GREAT news for anyone wanting to get in and buy something cheap although, but the entire neighborhood was built on the speculation that it would be the coolest place on the earth forever.
The rest of Brooklyn was not.
Having paid the prices people paid in the last few years to sit next to empty and rotting buildings…well not my cup of tea and from what I gather…not the cup of tea from people I know who live there either. They bought there because they thought it was cool. What happens if that goes away even a little bit? I mean…the schools aren’t great, there’s very little green space, crime seems to be on the rise, the median income is still in the mid 20’s…do you REALLY think all those people who moved there with families aren’t going to consider bolting if Dressler, Dumont and Bird ended up going out of business (heaven forbid!).
Again…I trust someone’s numbers who actually DID a study on it, not some anonymous person on a blog who says he’s not a broker, but “already done his own tally”
11217,
Do we really have to break out the “you’re a broker” trope every time? I’m not, I can assure you. I live in the neighborhood and am fairly involved in the “changes” going on. Are there abandoned sites? Of course! Are there completed buildings with people living in them? Also! I’m all for getting the truth out there, but I see A LOT of unbalanced perspective and neighborhood flame wars (for instance, given your posting history, you seem to have an issue with the neighborhood). You say this is going to be Miami, but if you’ve actually seen the number of high-rise condo towers in Williamsburg, you’d realize you can count them on one hand. Miami? Not so much. As for the inventory, I have done my own tally. You tell me where he got 2,800 each time because it’s completely dumbfounding math from what I’m seeing. Maybe he means there have been 2,800 units built so far (meaning a large chunk of that is already occupied), but otherwise I think it’s off.
Well in my case, it’s fly cuban homies, but YES…I’ll take any! 😉