Supply and Demand Getting Out of Whack?
The cover story in the real estate section of yesterday’s New York Times was about the impending glut of new condos in Manhattan, its impact on the market and how developers are reacting. With more than 28,000 units in the pipeline–about half of them under construction and half in the planning stages–many developers are switching…
The cover story in the real estate section of yesterday’s New York Times was about the impending glut of new condos in Manhattan, its impact on the market and how developers are reacting. With more than 28,000 units in the pipeline–about half of them under construction and half in the planning stages–many developers are switching to rentals or even other uses like hotels or commercial space. This got us thinking about Brooklyn. Dumbo and the area around McCarren Park seem like the only areas with a high concentration of condos coming online over the next year (not including the big plans for Coney Island). The Flatbush Avenue corridor projects are a little further out on the timeline and could be affected too, we guess. What’s interesting is that the Greenpoint projects are experiencing pressure but the Dumbo market appears to be holding up nicely. Any other areas that you think are vulnerable to oversupply?
Changing Course to Avert a Glut [NY Times]
Photo by Tony Cenicola for The New York Times
I have an idea. Try to live in Brooklyn for one week and not go into Manhattan once.
However much you claim to love Brooklyn, you won’t be able to do it.
Either you’ll have to go to work or you’ll get so bored, it’ll drive you nuts.
I love Brooklyn too, but please folks, don’t be dellusional!
“Brooklyn’s nice and all, but let’s face it: it’s always been and always will be the second-tier borough when it comes to the whole NYC experience.”
I’ve lived in NYC for 20 years–11 in Manhattan and the most recent 9 in Brooklyn. If I won the lotto tomorrow, I can honestly say I would not move back to Manhattan. I don’t miss the crowds and the attitude, but more important, the amenities in Brooklyn have finally gotten up to speed.
I LOVE coming home to my quiet Brooklyn block with friendly neighbors. We have a good-sized house and great outdoor space that doesn’t get covered with smog. And Manhattan, should I need it, is only five subway stops away.
“Brooklyn’s nice and all, but let’s face it: it’s always been and always will be the second-tier borough when it comes to the whole NYC experience.”
The whole “NYC experience”? I’m pretty sure you must not be from ’round these parts. We’ve set aside Murray Hill for the folks in from out of town to enjoy the NYC experience, please check it out.
As a longtime Williamsburg resident who just bought into the neighborhood, I still have faith in the fact that the market will not crash. A) We got a great deal, and b) some people prefer the tempo of Williamsburg to Manhattan. I would hate to live in Union Square / the East Village etc. I would go for a West Village brownstone, but seeing as I dont have a spare 4 mill, I think I’ll be just fine over on Northside.
Anon 12:12 wrote:
“I predict that in ten years Brooklyn will become the scene for everything and anything avantgarde. All the up-and-coming artists, musicians, writers, scholars, dancers, actors, etc will make Brooklyn their home, because it’s more affordable than Manhattan. They will find a network of youthful, like minded folks there and the experience of living in Brookly will become preferrable to that of living in Manhattan. ”
It already is – pick up a current copy of Time Out New York and read the NY Times regularly if you don’t believe me. There has been much written about new scenes formed in Brooklyn that have shaped the entire output of the arts in New York City. Manhattan has long been over young-artist wise – too expensive and uber-trendy.
The various arts scenes in Brooklyn have been going on for years and years, and are now officially recognized internationally, especially in the fields of Dance, Jazz, Experimental and Avant-Garde music…
I own a lot in Brownstone Brooklyn that I would sellimmeidately for $250 psf. I think $100 to $150 is more realistic.
“Brooklyn’s nice and all, but let’s face it: it’s always been and always will be the second-tier borough”
I disagree. While this may be currently true, I predict that in ten years Brooklyn will become the scene for everything and anything avantgarde. All the up-and-coming artists, musicians, writers, scholars, dancers, actors, etc will make Brooklyn their home, because it’s more affordable than Manhattan. They will find a network of youthful, like minded folks there and the experience of living in Brookly will become preferrable to that of living in Manhattan.
Flatbush will be the epicenter of it all. New art forms will emerge from Flatbush before their creators/authors become famous and move to Manhattan. The streets of Flatbush will eventually be lined with trendy stores and boutiques (all 20 or 30 blocks of it). And it will become an international tourist destination.
The fear of the 4th Ave condos, and how they would effect the value of our Park slope apt. prompted us to sell now and buy a house in Lefferts Manor. We felt that this might be our last chance to trade that apt. in for a house, and feel that the long term potential of a house in Lefferts will give us a better value than one of many apts in Park Slope (and alot more space for right now).
The more Manhattan declines, the even further Brooklyn will. Brooklyn’s nice and all, but let’s face it: it’s always been and always will be the second-tier borough when it comes to the whole NYC experience. Brooklyn’s the zeitgest now because Manhattan is so astronomically expensive – the people who moved there would’ve been the people moving to Manhattan 12 years ago.
Most people who weren’t born and raised in the NYC area have no idea what Brooklyn even is, except that when they get here it’s the “closest thing thing to Manhattan” they can afford.
Once Manhattan declines significantly, if ever, there’ll be a mass exodus from Brooklyn – except for the few tweedy types who’ve always inhabited Park Slope, BK Heights, etc.