Brooklyn Real Estate Begins to Collapse, Too

Following last week's release of sobering 2008 fourth quarter Manhattan real estate data, now it's Brooklyn's turn. Some highlights from Curbed: "Sales fell 42.7%," comparing 2007 4Q with 2008 4Q; median prices "fell 7.5% to $490K from $530K in the same quarter last year; average prices dropped 5.2%"; luxury building median sale prices dropped 6.2%; and "median condo sales prices fell 4.7%, median sales prices of coops went up 2.9%." One upside: Brownstone Brooklyn homes' sale prices increased 12%, but real estate appraiser Jonathan Miller calls them "a relative anomaly in the market."

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By Jen Chung in News on January 13, 2009 9:52 AM

Comments [rss]

sand at the beach

I hope the real estate market goes to record lows so that every day people have a reasonable chance to buy a home. As it is now where I live near downtown Brooklyn, there are so many new condos that are going unfilled. The reality is:who is bringing home 6000/month to pay on mortgage and maintenance for overpriced condos. Paying that much, you just can't sleep at night. They have warehoused many apartments in Fort Greene projects that they had hoped to knock down and make "affordable housing" (not). Across the street from that they knocked down all the ammenties for everyday living for over 3000 residents in those buildings. Gone are a big supermarket, duane reade, laundry, dollar store and eateries. Those people now have to trek to other places 10-15 blocks away. Who's winning here.

Spirit of 76

Hey, if they keep this up, maybe I'll finally be able to afford a nice place in DUMBO.

WorksInDUMBO

how is it an "upside" that home prices in Brooklyn have increased 12%? So it's GREAT that already overpriced real estate has gotten even MORE overpriced and out of reach of the average person?

bornbrednewyorker

This is common in a recession. The smart owners will just take their homes off the market and wait it out, unless of course there's an immediate personal or financial need to sell. It will go back up , just like stocks will. History always repeats.

Bottomless Chips

I completely disagree. You should sell now if you can find a buyer. If you look at historical data, we have a ways to fall before housing prices get back to par.

http://mysite.verizon.net/vodkajim/housingbubble/

bornbrednewyorker

Disagree all you want. You're showing me stats for all of the U.S. not just NYC, which is a completely different game.

Bottomless Chips

No, it's going to be worse here than "there." You've got it all backwards.

Prices skyrocketed here, and didn't in Des Moines, Iowa or Lincoln, Nebraska. In Iowa and Nebraska, they'll stay stable. It's places where they skyrocketed (Vegas, FL, CA) where it has to come down. New York is included.

NannyState

What constitutes a "smart owner"? Someone who still has their job? A smart owner is someone who sells out of their overpriced neighborhood and buys into a better bldg., neighborhood, or up and coming area. No one I know is trading up. They are treading water on the way down.