Condo of the Day: Resale at The Washington
After a rocky couple of years of Scarano-related delays, first-round buyers at The Washington Condo at 35 Underhill Avenue in Prospect Heights were able to close and move in last year. Now we’re starting to see the first resales in the building. One owner has just put his 1,474-square-foot second-floor apartment on the market for…
After a rocky couple of years of Scarano-related delays, first-round buyers at The Washington Condo at 35 Underhill Avenue in Prospect Heights were able to close and move in last year. Now we’re starting to see the first resales in the building. One owner has just put his 1,474-square-foot second-floor apartment on the market for $799,000, an increase of $100,000 over what he paid for it in early 2007. That doesn’t seem unreasonable to us.
35 Underhill Avenue, #A2E [FSBO] GMAP P*Shark
Sure, but what would $500k have bought you there in 2003 or 2004? I lived in Fort Greene in 2001-2002, before prices there exploded. Not the same thing as being across Atlantic from Clinton Hill, but $500k would have bought a heck of a lot of apartment back then (all the way back in the early part of this decade – which is really not very long ago at all).
The original point I was trying to make was that this place would have been worth $500k at best a few years ago. Probably impossible to know for sure because I dont think there was new construction there a few years ago, but I don’t think I was far from the mark.
But Lechacal, this is what I said earlier in this thread. Deep in Prospect Heights is just another way of saying right next to Clinton Hill, the neighborhood in which I live and think is awesome. So to me, a three bedroom/two bath condo two blocks from the Clinton/Washington C stop is not a bad place or a bad location. If you are thinking about it in terms of proximity to Prospect Park then of course this location sucks. Just depends on how you look at it.
Wasder – the $500k number I threw out there was very much based on location. This place is pretty deep into Prospect Heights. I bet $500k would have bought you an awful lot of apartment there just a few years ago. That being said, I wasn’t particularly familliar with PH real estate a few years ago.
11217 — All fair points. Only time will tell. My personal view is that the slump is not yet over in other markets and that it has just barely begun in Manhattan and PS/PH/CG/etc. And of course bear in mind that asking prices are in many instances *above* selling prices at the top of the local bubble (after going up so far so fast, why not keep reaching for the stars, right?). So for prices to drop, say, 20% from top-of-the-local-bubble levels an apartment with a $1,000,000 current *asking* price might actually have a resale value of less than $800,000 at the bottom of this cycle.
I’ve been saving my duckets for a few years waiting to buy. Now I’m finally in a position to comfortably do so, but I’ve decided to rent for at least one more year (maybe two) while things shake out. Maybe it ends up being a bad decision in hindsight. For now I’m pretty comfortable with my bet.
What—you could buy a house or a condo to raise a family. This one is three bedrooms and two baths, enough to have two kids in. I personally am buying a two family house in Clinton Hill, with enough rental income to make it affordable to me, but this is not an insane place to raise a family. While some of your predictions of doom and gloom are probably going to come true (I wouldn’t bet on AY ever getting built for instance) your rantings should not dissuade a reasonable person from the prospect of LONG TERM house ownership. I am aware of the fact that the house I just signed a contract on will be worth less, even possibly substantially less, in the near term. I am counting on it. But I feel confident that when I sell the house in 2030 or whatever I will have done alright by myself financially and will have enjoyed raising my children in a beautiful home in a wonderful neighborhood. I am sorry that the prospect of people living enjoyable lives is so anathema to you but that is what makes you a FUCKTARD to borrow your charming lexicon.
Lechacal–I don’t think you are on the same side as the What but I do think you are operating on some dubious assumptions. For instance, it would be foolish to assume that people who might buy this condo wouldn’t send their kids to the local schools. While I don’t know which schools this area is zoned for, I do know that there are several public schools in this area (PS 11 for instance), that are improving by leaps and bounds every year. You are no doubt correct that people expecting price increases to continue are in for a shock, but that doesn’t mean that this condo isn’t a reasonable investment for some buyers. I personally would rather have a house but still this is a large apt. And I think you are naive to suggest that this condo is only worth 500,000 tops. there hasn’t been a time where three bedroom/two bath condos went for that in a very long time (since before the bubble certainly) so where you are getting that number is beyond me. Anyway, I don’t mean to be harsh, and I am sure you are a reasonable person but some of the assumptions you are operating under seem to be misguided.
Lechacal,
While I partially agree with you, I think you are severely overstating things.
First of all, the median housing price in the U.S. has dropped 15% so far in the past year, much of this being concentrated and dragged down by places like Los Angeles, Miami, Las Vegas and Phoenix, each approaching declines of 30%. Some areas are showing signs that they might rebound (Boston saw a 1% increase, Denver as well showed a slight increase). They expect that by the end of 2009, perhaps as late as 2010, prices nationwide will begin to rebound on the whole.
In any case, total house price depreciation country-wide will probably fall into the 20%-25% category, with many areas faring much better and some faring worse. I expect NYC housing prices will drop 10-15%, with most of those declines in the less than prime areas. Inventory (which is still so low right now, it’s almost weird) along with the huge drop in building permits and the large number of co-ops (70% of owner stock) will all help us here.
Keep in mind that New York City is the 22nd most expensive city in the world. To suggest that housing price increases are finished for the next two decades is a bit melodramatic, in my opinion.
I think in 5 years, we will once again be on an upward cycle, hopefully more in line with the typical 5% or so gains a year.
the spaces are ‘unique’ but the quality of construction is mediocre. also, this can be a noisy stretch of washington….
if i was looking in this area i would offer low-to mid 6.
or consider the hello condos instead – somewhat comparable but with better amenities and quality of design/construction
For the record, it distresses me deeply that other participants in this board may view me as being on the same side as What.
Wasder – at current rates the monthly check is in the neighborhood of $4700 (less after tax, but marginal tax rates for someone in this place probably aren’t too high). That’s nothing to sneeze at. And of course add to that the private school tuition (feel free to correct me, but I don’t think most parents are very comfortable with the schools over there). Add to that:
– the opportunity cost of the down payment
– not many buyers last more than 5 years before their next move
– VERY real risk of capital loss upon sale
and you have almost no reason to buy at the asking price. What’s that place worth in pre-bubble dollars, maybe $500,000 if they’re lucky? I know I am beating a pretty old drum here, but people seem to have completely lost sight of what realistic long-term values are for New York real estate. The PS/PH markets bears all of the classic signs of a bubble, including a genuine belief among the residents that the price increases of the last few years are going to stick. I think a lot of people who bought in the past few years are going to be in for a lot of pain. We just saw this play out in the past few years in other real estate markets, and now it is starting here. The collective failure to believe it is happening, or to believe this market is different, is the same thing we saw in so many other markets.
wasder I thought you buy a house to raise a family not a Condo. You what to talk about the future? Ok Asshat here we go! Do you think we are going to have negative interest rates forever?! You you think foreigners will continue to finance out lifestyle? Did you think the Taxpayer is going to let Wall Street pass the loses onto them? Do you think Atlantic yards will get built? The Governor said that NYS will have shortfall of 26 billion over 3 years and the Mayor has said 2009 budget will be bad. Keep smoking the crack pipe with your bud Brownstoner! Maybe you can “cop” together on Grand and Putnam…
The What
Someday this war is gonna end…