Brownstone Market: Trouble on the Fringes?
This month’s issue of The Real Deal has an article about the ramifications of a cooling real estate market in Brooklyn (despite the debatability of that assertion). TRD contends that the more “farflung” nabes are the most vulnerable, pointing not only to some price reductions in spots like Bed Stuy as well as signs of…
This month’s issue of The Real Deal has an article about the ramifications of a cooling real estate market in Brooklyn (despite the debatability of that assertion). TRD contends that the more “farflung” nabes are the most vulnerable, pointing not only to some price reductions in spots like Bed Stuy as well as signs of mortgage lenders becoming more stringent about appraisals and comps. One Brown Harris Stevens broker claims that houses in Bed Stuy that may have been selling for for around $800,000 a few months ago now have asking prices closer to $600,000. Maybe, but frankly we haven’t seen many examples of such a dramatic shift. Sure people are being more deliberate in the search and may be less likely to plunk down a million bucks for a wreck in a less proven area, but 25% decreases are the exception not the rule as far as we’re aware.
Doubts on Fringe of B’kln [The Real Deal]
The ebola scare.
Don’t you recall the ‘white powdery stuff’ that triggered a nation-wide panic. It was left on trains, mailed to post offices, dumped into the ventillation systems of some gov’t buildings. It caused CBS (or was it NBC or ABC) at Rockefeller Center to close down the entire building because traces of white powdery stuff was found in the building.
Where were you when all this happened. Asleep?
I personally prefer bedstuy for cultural reasons. I visited a friend in Sunset Park before and was attacked by a hispanic guy who told me to “go back to Africa” OBVIOUSLY this is not indicative of the entire neighborhood but its a pride thing to me when I see historical black churches and the streets of proud african americans who came before me. I’ll pass on sunset park although I’ll agree they do have some nice properties there, I often cut through that area to get home when the BQE is bumper to bumper (which is quite often)
Sunset park is a safe area and is worth looking into. There are some beautiful brownstone blocks.
John how right you are. Enough already with bed Stuy it is a true Ghetto.
John how right you are. Enough already with bed Stuy it is a true Ghetto.
sorry folks but i was over in sunset park this week looking at the brownstones not only are they better priced than bed stuy, but the crime stats for the 72 pct are the best in brooklyn . why in the world would you go to bed stuy or even red hook when you can get the same thing in sunset without the gun shots of bed stuy, or the Housing projects and drug dealing of red hook. There are no Housing developments near sunset park. People you really need to wake up and wonder if what you are doing is stupid or just ignorance.
I remember in 2002, inquiring about the house in Red Hook that was mentioned in the article. Once again, I balked, because it didn’t have a centralized heating system. There was an old wood burning stove that heated the entire house.
Damn, damn, damn…hindsight is a $#@!*
I’ve seen the house that was featured in the article on the Massey Knackal website and thought it was a little strange. Not only did it seem ‘under-priced’. In addition, why would anyone enlist a broker that specializes mostly in commercial properties to sell a residential property when agencies like Corcoran, A&H, Halstead and Brown Harris Stevens would have been frothing at the mouth to get ahold of the listing. Nothing against Century 21 and Foxtons, but even they would have listed it for more.
My immediate impression was that there has to be something intrinsically unappealing about the house itself or the block for the owner to hand it over to Massey Knackal.
Don’t think this is reflective of a price drop in Bed Stuy.
Oh I couldnt agree more – the prices have continued up long past what anyone would have predicted and through shocks no one expected (although when was there an ebola scare -I think I missed it) – but isnt this history evidence that prices are bound to fall then evidence that prices will conitnue up indefinitly? One thing you cant overlook is that throughout the $ rise- interest rates were falling – that has definetly chaged.
As for the rental market – I dont see a bubble in rent prices, rents have been down for a number of years and have been trending up a little bit, but rent prices are tied much closer to incomes than sale prices and are also regulated in much of the city (!M RS units) so while I expect rents to rise modestly I dont agree that a crash in housing prices will correspond with a huge spike in rent. Obviously single examples like a building coming off Mitchell-Lama or a non-regulated tenant in a hot market gettign hit w/ a huge increase not withstanding.
What I do expect at some point (and will be happy when it comes) is a correction in the price of rental properties. As currently these properties are selling with ridiculous returns less than 0 in some places to 7caps in ‘bad areas’) – this is truly unsustainable – who would buy a rent stabilized building to make 5% return, its nuts.