Condo of the Day: 430 Clinton Avenue, #4D

Really interesting article I just read about previous downturns in NYC…

The complete article and I excerpted some of the more interesting parts…

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090311/FREE/903119970

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The report, “State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods 2008,” examines more than 30 years of sale-price data to identify trends that might be useful to residents and city officials as they cope with the current downturn. It identifies two great real estate upturns (from 1980 to 1989 and 1996 to 2006) and two big real estate downturns (from 1974 to 1980 and 1989 to 1996).

Citywide, real estate prices declined 12.4% between 1974 and 1980, then jumped 152% between 1980 and 1989. They fell 29.3% from 1989 to 1996 and increased 124.2% from 1996 to 2006. Overall, prices skyrocketed 250% from 1974 to 2006, when they began to level off across the city as the latest real estate boom ended.

Local gains during the recent boom were strongest in the Manhattan neighborhoods of East Harlem (sextupled between 1996 and 2006), Morningside Heights (quintupled) and Washington Heights (quadrupled).

Interestingly, a neighborhood’s performance during the 1974-1980 housing bust had little relationship to how that neighborhood fared in the next downturn, the report shows. And high-income neighborhoods were not insulated from busts and did not always perform best in upswings.

In the 1970s downturn, prices declined 16% in the Bronx, 14% in Queens, 13% in Brooklyn and 8% on Staten Island. They actually increased 29% in Manhattan.

During the 1989-1996 downturn, some of the poorest neighborhoods in the Bronx and Brooklyn fared relatively well. Prices actually rose in three neighborhoods in the Bronx and in two in Brooklyn, and the neighborhoods that avoided the worst were ones that had seen huge drops during the 1970s downturn. From 1989 to 1996, prices fell 33% on Staten Island, 32% in Manhattan, 31% in the Bronx, 29% in Queens and 26% in Brooklyn.

City investment in renovation, rehabilitation and new construction of housing helped stabilize home prices in the 1990s downturn, according to the report.

All of the 10 neighborhoods that held up best during the early 1990s downturn received well-above-average public investment in its housing stock, while the areas that saw the biggest declines received little or no investment from the city, the report shows.

It’s never a good thing to be mugged.

Independent of neighborhoods, folks need to know how to walk on streets, particularly if they are alone on deserted streets late at night. You can’t be walking staring at the ground oblivious to what is around you. That sends certain signals. Even a tiny female walking down the street and situationally aware, will project a vibe that will repel a mugger.

When I first came to NYC in the early 80’s I saw a man get beaten in the face by a 5 foot long crowbar…in East Soho. Got struck in the eye and his eye turned into a bloody peach. Then, struck about the body several times with the crowbar, with tons of people standing within just a few feet people standing around watching. My intro to NYC.
About 10 years ago, I saw the jewelry store owner on Macdougal St. (between Bleeker and 3rd St., I believe the store was called C’est La Vie?) laying on his back, dead, with his throat slit in a pool of his own blood soaking the carpet.
Of course, you live here long enough, you see all sorts of stuff.
I’m sure if you are a cop in any precinct house, you’ll see all types of criminal sitting in your holding cell before being on his way to central booking.

To bad it is so difficult to get a CCW here in the Big Apple.

Be safe.

11217,
You seem a bit out of touch with this neighborhood.
I’ve lived on this block for decades.
I ‘ve been mugged in the 80’s and early 90’s in the late night/early morning but the area has changed considerably. I do not feel threatened on the street alone at any time. There’s an Associated supemarket 2 blocks away. There’s another Associated supermarket on Futon (5 blocks) away that is open late, last time I shopped at night I think they were open to 9:30 (maybe 10PM?). 24 hr. Bodegas within 1.5 blocks. Restaurants, Bedogas, bars on Dekalb 5 blocks (=5 mintues walk). Or, walk down Green/Laffeyette towards dining, bars maybe 10 minutes. Myrtle dining/commercial area is also a 5 minute walk.
Two subway trains 1.5 blocks walk in either direction . Plenty of bus lines.

I for one am pleased NOT to have view, or hear, a supermarket across the street from me…or worse, on the ground floor of my building. I prefer the beautiful peaceful residential street that is Clinton Ave.

While it’s sad (in a way) that people are losing their homes, maybe this will start people thinking that they should spend 1/2 a million dollars on a ONE-BEDROOM apartment…

And maybe the market will start reflecting what real people can afford. (OH, and in that I include the folks that have overleveraged their $70k income and thought buying was the only thing to do… and now wonder how they can fit a baby in their 1-bedroom apartment with the ever-rising maint. fees)

Basically, my message… stop paying the $$ and the prices will come down. It’s how the market works. Keep going the way we’re going (i.e., an emergency $2000 expense means you can’t make your mortgage payment) and we’re all sunk.

Do you always do your grocery shopping at night after work? Have you ever considered doing it on the weekend? If you run out of something after 8 you can run into any of the bodegas or like I said go to Greene Grape.