REBNY Condo Market Report: No Need to Panic (Yet)
The Real Estate Board of New York has started releasing monthly reports on residential sales in Brooklyn, and the one compiled by the trade group for April ’08 shows moderate gains in sales volume and prices over April ’07. REBNY’s data, which is based on sales lodged in city records and is independent of listings…
The Real Estate Board of New York has started releasing monthly reports on residential sales in Brooklyn, and the one compiled by the trade group for April ’08 shows moderate gains in sales volume and prices over April ’07. REBNY’s data, which is based on sales lodged in city records and is independent of listings on its ResidentialNYC site, shows the average condo sales price last month was $656,784, a 4 percent bump over the average price last April. The largest jump in recorded sales prices was in the South Slope, where new developments coming to market boosted average prices up 96 percent, to $608,824, and there were three times as many sales in the neighborhood as in April 2007. Park Slope as a whole had a big increase in sales volume, with 43 sales recorded last month as opposed to 15 the same time last year. (Full press release on the report’s findings on the jump.) The organization is releasing the monthly condo reports “because of high anxiety in the market,” says Mike Slattery, head of research for REBNY, who notes that the numbers are influenced in a big way by new projects coming online. ‘Course, since the data REBNY uses is based on public records, stats for April 2008 probably give a better picture of the market three to six months ago, since sales take a while to go from being in contract to showing up in NYC records. Nevertheless, based on this report, the condo market isn’t looking as scary as some other recent press has made it out to be. Still and all, we’ll see…
Condo Market: You Can’t Handle the Truth! [Brownstoner]
Photo by the vamlumtimes
SOUTH PARK SLOPE, GREENPOINT, AND WILLIAMSBURG POSTED BIGGEST PRICE SURGES
NEW YORK, May 27, 2008 The average sale price for a condominium in Brooklyn increased four percent in the month of April to $656,784, compared to the same period last year, according to monthly sales information released by ResidentialNYC.com, the city’s most comprehensive residential real estate web site with thousands of exclusive home listings.
Prices were up significantly in the borough’s primary condominium corridors. South Park Slope posted the largest price increase as average prices for condominiums soared 96 percent to $608,824. The number of sales also skyrocketed from three sales in April 2007 to 21 sales in April 2008. The surge in price and sales is the result of new condominium developments in that neighborhood.
Greenpoint average condominium prices also jumped significantly in April, increasing 40 percent to $560,947, while the number of sales in that neighborhood jumped from seven sales in April 2007 to 25 sales in April 2008.
The price increases for condominiums in Brooklyn are the result of new units being built and the continued appeal of its distinctive neighborhoods, said Steven Spinola, REBNY President. Several Brooklyn neighborhoods are now seeing the results of rezonings in the last several years that have enabled hundreds of new condominium units to be built. Further, based on the April sales information, the average price increases are quite substantial and demonstrate the continued health of the housing market in the borough, despite a slowing market around the country.
The monthly sales information also found that the average prices for condos in North Williamsburg and East Williamsburg were each up 12 percent to an average price of $798,000 and $510,000 respectively. Overall, Williamsburg had 35 sales compared to 31 last April.
Park Slope overall saw a jump in the number of sales from 43 sales in April 2008 compared to 15 sales in April 2007.
The Fulton Ferry area posted an average sales price increase of 20 percent to $1,246,250. The high price of units in Fulton Ferry is the result of the sales of large lofts and new luxury units.
About ResidentialNYC.com
Launched in September 2007, ResidentialNYC.com is the first comprehensive Web site enabling homebuyers to link to thousands of exclusive home listings in New York City from thousands of REBNY residential member brokers. Since its launch, ResidentialNYC.com has logged more than 11.5 million hits, and 461,000 page views from 130,000 unique visitors.
The site provides access to condos, co-ops, townhouses and homes both for sale and for rent. ResidentialNYC.com also contains a wealth of information about New York City’s residential real estate market, neighborhoods, school districts and more, making it the only true one-stop destination for New York City homebuyers on the Web.
Actually, it took 25 years to get to $1m, and 4 to double that. The last doubling was pretty sudden. But whatever, the point was not the suddenness. The point is that ordinary economic rules still apply.
“For the pioneers, when the brownstone they bought for $20k is suddenly worth $2m”
In Park Slope, this process took over 30 years.
I don’t call that “suddenly”
8:21, I opened by books to get into the co-op, so why shouldn’t I expect full disclosure from the newbies. On a co-op board, you get to know where all the skeletons are buried. Now, if that ain’t a barrel of fun, I don’t know what is. If you live in a co-op, you have to decide if you’re going to be one of the passive follow along sheep or if you’re gonna actually run things. I prefer running things.
I sold my co-op for an embarrassingly large profit, and rolled into a brownstone. Most happy to be rid of the co-op scene and politics.
4:42 — Why do you think that only buyers are relevant? For market prices to go up, there have to be more buyers coming in with new money than sellers retiring/downsizing on the old money.
Recirculation of profits from NY real estate to buy more NY real estate can’t do it alone.
For the pioneers, when the brownstone they bought for $20k is suddenly worth $2m lots of options open up that don’t include working past retirement age, and, oddly, not all of them involve remaining invested in overpriced NYC real estate.
i’m guessing you never swore you would buy a co-op again.
i think rather you wish you had two dimes to rub together.
i enjoyed 6:22’s post and agree completely.
condos are glorified dormitories. never know who’s going to move in next door and trash the place.
no thank you.
Dear 6:22:
You think it’s “fun” to “trace the money” and peer into people’s finances?
What a power-hungry a-hole!
Typical Co-Op Board Member.
That’s why I swore I would never buy a coop again.
1:30- I second the comment that its family money. I was treasurer in my old Park Slope co-op. Every single person who bought after me (had family help with the downpayment. In a couple cases, the family gave them the full purchase price. A lot of times its hard to trace the money if their clever, unless you really know what to look for and what to ask. When you see situations where the down pmt is $500K and the salaries are only $100K, you know something is up. The thing with co-ops is that the board can be as nosy as they want to be (uncomfortable if you’re on the outside trying to get in, fun if you’re already on the inside).
How do you think all these creative artsy writer/musician/teacher/save the world types can still afford Park Slope. Was a real eye opener to a self-made kid like myself. Took me years of hard labor to save up a down pmt. I would not have minded a little help. Not at all.
By the way, get over your Manhattan vs Brooklyn bias. The paradim shift is permanent. I can now afford to live where ever and vastly prefer Bklyn over Manhattan, like most of my neighbors.
Hey 1.15 – I’m from the UK and it seems clear to me, as we say there, that the sellers of that place saw your friend coming.
I think a lot of singles are buying at even younger ages also. Especially those who think they will be in New York for the long haul. As finding a mate becomes increasingly difficult, the huge amount of homosexual people in NYC and the later and later people tend to marry and have kids, these same people are interested in forming a sense of stability by buying property.
I see it over and over again. Single people from 25-35 have been a HUGE boon to this market in the past few years. Especially in Brooklyn.