Taking the Pulse of Townhouse Sales in the Slope
Last week we received a document entitled Charles Ruoff’s Townhouse Report, the first in a biannual series Ruoff, a Brown Harris Stevens broker who specializes in townhouse sales in Park Slope and Prospect Heights, intends to produce. Ruoff’s recent big-ticket listings include 598 2nd Street ($3,450,000) and 909 Union Street ($2,495,000). The broker’s assessment of…
Last week we received a document entitled Charles Ruoff’s Townhouse Report, the first in a biannual series Ruoff, a Brown Harris Stevens broker who specializes in townhouse sales in Park Slope and Prospect Heights, intends to produce. Ruoff’s recent big-ticket listings include 598 2nd Street ($3,450,000) and 909 Union Street ($2,495,000). The broker’s assessment of the current townhouse market in the Slope and Prospect Heights is as follows:
We are once again faced with limited supply of homes in all price points. The third quarter of 2007 produced some noteworthy sales and in fact record-breaking prices in both the North and South Slope as well as in the adjoining neighborhood of Prospect Heights. Inventory as well as demand seems to be especially lacking in the high $1 million dollar to low $2 million dollar range. The limited supply of multi-family homes on the market can best be attributed to the dramatic rise in rents for landlords now receiving very healthy cash-flow.
Sound about right to you?
Photo by Da Nator.
I received this newsletter in the mail. Some people may be taking this out of context, Brownstoner only quoted one small piece of this four page report. If you read the entire report it would be understood by most people ie: this is not all Ruoff is saying…
If you look at the house stock in Park Slope, it is mostly made up of families who own brownstones with one or possibly two rental units. The older folks have definitely been using the rental income to support their incomes. With rental prices dramatically increasing over the last year, this income has assisted these older folks keep their houses with increases in taxes, maint., and insurances. Seems clear to me.. they don’t need to contemplate selling
Yep–saying rents are depressing inventory is a way to avoid the whole issue of a…possibly softer market? Prices adjusting to a new economic reality? It’s an attempt to avoid the 400 lb gorilla in the room.
Rents in Park Slope depressing inventory in the sales market in Park Slope? I don’t think so. There are so many other macro and micro trends. What about condo conversions, what about people not wanting to have tenants paying less than the value of their apts in rent (you don’t get the equivalent of $500k invested in rent for 1/4 of your new 4 story bstone purchase.) Please can Mr. Ruoff cite sources for the facts behind his hypothesis?
im a renter looking for a new place and have found rents in park slope to be cheaper than when I looked a year ago.
thats my story.
houses in park slope are taking a lot longer to sell, especially those that need work. I think it is a hard time in the market- people are showing up to my open houses in droves for the things under 500k but not those above.
Fox reports, “Henhouse is secure.”
i own, don’t rent, but everyone around me who rents is having real problems. know a couple of people who moved in the last year from rentals – all associated with sky rocketing increases and had tons of trouble finding new rentals, and had to spend more.
Rents have been going up in Park Slope, might not be the case going forward. Rents have not been going down. Is this person under a rock who indicated this in an earlier post. I am a landlord and this had been a deciding factor for not selling in the past, I was getting more money from my two tenants..