Elliman: Condos Down, Co-ops Flat, Brownstones Up in 4Q
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…

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]
Sebb, I think that Miss Muffett deserves at least one day off so feel free to direct your ire at me as I’m a member of Team Bear.
“You have been paying rent and you refuse to calculate your losses.”
There’s two ways to calculate your position.
1) On “income/expense” which would be the cost of rent v the cost of servicing a mortgage.
2) On “gain/loss” on the value of the property.
On either measure, I think the Renters are ahead for any point in the last year.
I really feel sorry for those of you who are so arrogantly confident in the ever rising values of the beloved Brownstone.
I pity your complete lack of knowledge regarding markets as well as history. But I do envy that you have been able to enjoy more rest-full nights than the rest of us, cuddled in the warmth of your naivety.
Dont worry – I for one, wont spend too much time telling you how wrong you were, when your cocoon of ignorance is opened.
wasder and sebb…you’re both right. i bought my brownstone in May 2007 and even though it was all renovated and perfectly nice for most people, I dumped another $100k+ into it. I know that I could not sell it today for what I have in it and probably not even what I paid for it. But I don’t want to. I love it and am very, very happy. I’ve been through many cycles with many different properties in NY, Philly, Chicago and elsewhere and that’s all this is, a cycle.
I have no doubt that in 5-10 years I’ll make a handsome profit on this house. I certainly feel sorry for anyone who bought in 2007-2008 and have the misfortune of needing to sell now.
Sebb – I suggest you drive around Jackson Blvd. and the rest of LIC and then come back and state that NYC did not have too much construction. The amount of empty finished places there is shocking.
If you go into the D E website, you can see that the corresponding number for 3Q 2008 was $1,312,500 so there was a decline from 3Q to 4Q BUT, both the 3Q and 4Q median numbers were above the 2Q number which was $1.200MM. Volatile.
In the 3Q, there were ONLY 70 sales (and 64 in 2Q). I don’t know the 4Q number of sales but this is a small enough number that the median will be volatile because of a few very high end sales or an increase in the number of sales at the low end.
sebb–though I am nominally a member of your team, I wouldn’t be so quick to get all cocky at this point. Methinks a few years of just getting on with things and keeping one’s head down is in order. Nose to the grindstone as they say…
Miss Muffett: Will you still insist that you have not lost money, while waiting for prices to drop? You have been paying rent and you refuse to calculate your losses.
Well Anyhow to all the Brooklyn Brownstone owners who love brooklyn and believe in this market congratulations on a good investment .
Calling Miss muffett, how are you feeling this morning? Kind of sick hey.
As i have said before this is not Miami,Vegas, Ca , Arizona. We did not have the overbuilding that many other states had. If anyone on this blog thinks we had to much new construction in NYC, than you need to get out more and see what happened across America.
(Team BULL)
“Besides, price drops almost always begin at the top of the market”
Profound insight.