Douglas Elliman Q1 Report: Down and Downer
Not surprisingly, prices and volume in Brooklyn were both down in the first quarter of 2009 versus both the Q4 and Q1 2008, according to the latest market report from Douglas Elliman. The median sales price fell to $474,600 from $490,000 in the prior quarter and $527,000 a year earlier. Likewise, the number of transactions…
Not surprisingly, prices and volume in Brooklyn were both down in the first quarter of 2009 versus both the Q4 and Q1 2008, according to the latest market report from Douglas Elliman. The median sales price fell to $474,600 from $490,000 in the prior quarter and $527,000 a year earlier. Likewise, the number of transactions was 1,186, down from 1,846 in the fourth quarter and 2,761 in the first quarter of 2008. The median price declines were consistent across all property types: Condos (-8.6%), Co-ops (-11.4%), 1-3 Family (-10.6%), Luxury (-9.2%). East Brooklyn was by far the hardest hit, with median prices plummeting 25% year-over-year. Townhouses in Northwest Brooklyn fared pretty badly, too, with median prices falling to $1,087,500 from $1,287,500 in the fourth quarter and $1,200,000 a year earlier.
Market Reports [Douglas Elliman]
DIBS is so right about getting a good lawyer. When I purchased my coop and subsequently became the treasurer I was furious with myself. The amount of bills that weren’t being paid was shocking to me, water and sewer, taxes, heck the current treasurer was in arrears for over a year. Luckily many of the city bills can now be researched on-line before you buy. Small coops can be fraught with risk.
if one doesn’t HAVE to buy now, no reason to rush in to buy now – regardless of whether one assumes prices will tank big or not. There is a long list of items that make buyers hesitant to pull trigger. Job security or the lack of has to be among the top of the list. Given most potential buyers do not have huge cushion (savings wise) post paying current prices, really do not expect any rebound soon on transaction volume. In a skinny transaction volume environment, doesnt take much to tank the median prices – ie only takes a few sellers who HAS to sell to tank it and make other sellers on sideline to assess “were those weak sales an anamoly or small sample of what’s to come”.
Prices might stabilize but unlikely to surge so again, no reason to rush in to buy now UNLESS one HAS to (ie need the extra space, no rental alternative, Stubborn spouse who insists on buying,…).
Brooklynnative…as a member of Team Bearshit, you all behave the same way. In this instance you’re banging on about the inventory numbers without actually citing any of them.
If you want to argue something specific like that, come to the argument with some supporting data.
I presented all the data above to support my ongoing view (still currently being proved by the data) that prices are not “tanking” “falling off a cliff” etc for the 1-3 family market. That’s been my point all along and it seemds those of you expecting a crash have been doing so since early 2008 yet the nymbers don’t support it.
lechacal, that is becoming an issue. I hope any of you out there looking at a condo or coop get yourself a good lawyer to review their finances.
I don’t know if there is any way to make a condo or coop divulge the number of units in arrears. BUYERS BEWARE.
That paternity leave thing sounds very socialistic French to me, but what do I know about such things. 🙂
Congrats.
I think you talk of buying and selling homes to much in same vein as stocks, Mr Champion.
I don’t think sellers are ‘sitting on the sidelines’. One usually sells home not because of market (good or bad) but personal needs/wants. Change in job location, family situation (death, marriage, divorce, etc) or desire to downsize or ‘trade up’.
# of times in adult life this happens is pretty small #.
DIBS, I’m curious as to how you interpret the fact that the numbers of sales of in the “Brownstone” category went from 94 to 32 in “Northwest Brooklyn.” To me, that means, inventory is pilling up, prices will come down. I guess you could say frustrated buyers are adding up as well. However, I don’t agree with the argument that there is less inventory. I’m much less in touch with the market than I was 6 months ago, but I checked Corcoran, Streeteasy and Natefind in the last couple of days and it seems to me I”m seeing a lot more listings than before. Anyhow, as a member of Team Bull(Shi#) I didn’t understand what you were implying.
Now that the purchasing deed is done for me I have a hard time getting riled up by these kinds of threads. Not much I can do now but live. Threw a great three year birthday party for my daughter in the parlor level of my house this weekend. Even got out my guitar and played a bunch of songs for the kids and then had a Jewish easter egg hunt in the backyard. Thought to myself, this is exactly why I bought a house.
All that being said, of course Biff and Lechacal are correct that the buyers should continue to wait if they can (although I know first hand how hard that is if you have deadlines like a new baby).
Thanks Biff, as well as the many others who have offered their well wishes. You can see from the uptick in my posts that paternity leave involves a lot of time near the computer at home. 🙂
I will also offer a slight variation on my usual theme: regardless of whether they are in “prime” areas, single owner properties (including single family as well as rowhouses with rental units) will hold up better than both condos and coops. This is because, over the coming years, the risks of pooling one’s resources in a collective ownership arrangement will become increasingly apparent. These risks are negligible when employment is high and prices are rising (so deadbeats can always just sell to get out). I think the safety of being responsible for your own property and not relying on others’ monthly contributions to expenses will become increasingly attractive in the coming years.
Obviously I am glossing over a lot of detail, like the relative safety of established coops with good finances.