4Q-Elliman-Chart.jpg
Condo prices and transactions in Brooklyn continued their decline in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a report from Prudential Douglas Elliman. The median price of a condominium fell 3.9 percent from the third quarter and 7.5 percent from a year earlier; the number of transaction fell 20 percent and 43 percent over the same periods. While volume was also down significantly for co-ops, prices for the traditionally more stable apartment class were roughly flat. The big point of light? Townhouses in Brownstone Brooklyn, which saw median prices rise 15 percent from $1,115,000 in the fourth quarter of 2007 to $1,285,000 in the fourth quarter of 2008. “Currently, brownstones seem to be [a] relative anomaly in the market,” said Jonathan Miller, whose appraisal firm Miller Samuel prepared the report. “It’s a form of housing stock that’s limited in availability and, for the moment, has been relatively unscathed.” Sounds nice, but we think it paints too rosy a picture.
4Q Brooklyn Market Overview [Douglas Elliman]
Brownstone Brooklyn Prices Unscathed in 4Q [The Real Deal]
Brooklyn Apartment Sales Prices Fall 7.5 Pct [Reuters]


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  1. Dibs, the more you speak the more you sound like an uneducated cheerleader. Whatever makes you feel better about your soon to be half off crib in Bed Stuy. It doesn’t take much to realize whats going on but theres always a coupl’ of delusional few who need that proverbial brick to the head 😉

  2. “Did you read that? As I already implied, collapsing volume is the proverbial ‘canary in the coal mine’ for collapsing prices.”

    It’s only the canary in the coal mine if inventory rises significantly.

    Which it has not thus far with regard to brownstones. If people hold out (as I suspect most will) and not try to sell, the limited supply of housing will keep things higher than if there was a ton on the market.

  3. “BHO sits on the sidelines massaging Miss Muffett’s feet.”

    With Aveeno.

    “Even witht he data right in your face you remain ignorant.”

    You mean this data, daveinpigsty?

    “Still, brownstones are not immune to the economic downturn, he said, although they appear to be holding up well for the time being. There were only 60 townhouse sales in brownstone Brooklyn in the fourth quarter, a 36.2 percent drop in sales volume from the prior-year-quarter. Slowing sales mean prices will almost certainly fall in the coming quarters, Miller said.”

    Did you read that? As I already implied, collapsing volume is the proverbial ‘canary in the coal mine’ for collapsing prices. If waiting and saving to put more money down on a cheaper house is ignorant, I don’t want to be “informed”.

    (Member Team Bear)

    ***Bid half off peak comps***

  4. Yes, if you don’t need to sell, there is really no problem. And if you are intending to buy, I see no reason to buy today if you have cheap rent. I think its pretty conservative to say your downpayment will magically grow from 20% to 25% within the next year even if you keep it in a lame 3% CD.

  5. BHO: Are you actively looking for a home, or are you siting on the sidelines?

    I think wasder has the right attitude. Head down. Nose to the grindstone. For those of us who own and don’t need to sell, there is nothing more to do but keep making payments on the mortgage and living our lives.

    For people looking to jump in, I am interested as to what drives your decision. (Miss Muffet need not respond to that question.)

    Although people can talk in theory, we won’t know the full picture until this is all over and we can look back at the timing and trends.

  6. “Besides, price drops almost always begin at the top of the market — as demonstrated by the 20ft. Park Place home which listed for 1.99 last week.”

    Re: I believe we heard from someone later in that thread who had seen the property who said it needed massive amounts of work

    I remember that and concede the poster may have been telling the truth. But a flaw in my example does not, I think, undermine the overall soundness of my observation.

    After reading all the comments up to this point, my hope here — as someone who is just finishing grad. school and is thus nowhere close to buying anything –is that developers see the stability in the brownstone market and actually start building properties that maintain the historic charachter of the neighborhoods we live in . . . because even in a volatile market they will continue to sell.

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