Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Brooklyn housing prices

The Real Deal reports some interesting Brooklyn stats:

From the start of 2004 to the end of 2005, the average price per square foot for all of Brooklyn increased 36.6% to $469.

These are the changes in median prices for Park Slope, from 4th quarter 2004 to 4th quarter 2005:

Townhouses: +103% to an average of $2.9 million
Condos: +5% to an average of $626,000

I find these numbers kind of bizarre, for a number of reasons. Why should Park Slope's townhouses have shot up so much more than, say, Brooklyn Heights, where townhouses only went up in price by 67%? And why should condos lag behind the price increases in other areas (Brooklyn Heights condos went up by 32%)?
The only thing I can think of is that a lot of new condos have been smaller units coming on the market in the lower end of the price scale... but given the prices of most condo developments I've seen, I find that surprising, as the new ones are usually expensive luxury condos.

Anyway, the numbers are scary no matter how you slice them, given that the median income in Park Slope is $50,983 according to the demographic info on the NY Times Real Estate web page.

6 comments:

Bitty said...

I've long tried to figure out how people of modest means (today $50 thou is modest) manage to keep a roof over their heads. (I'd be hurting if my own house hadn't been purchased thirty years ago...for $29,500.)

My daughter currently lives in San Diego (military housing; cost: $0), and so does my long-time pen pal. When I visited S.D. and my pal, she started talking real estate values, salaries, etc., and I thought now I'm going to find out what California salaries are really like. My friend was delighted -- and I was stunned to learn -- that she was making $16/hour. She had a responsible, lower-level professional position.

How the heck does one buy a third-of-a-million dollar bungalow (because that's what the least of them cost) on $16/hour? In her case, she has owned her home for 30 years and she's not her only source of income, having a husband who not only once worked but is now retired, but still... That's only one couple in all of CA. How do the rest afford even modest shelter? And obviously the same situation exists in NY.

Anonymous said...

my buddy just sold his east village 250 sq ft studio for $260K. now thats crazy.

Anonymous said...

Brooklyn heights real estate shot up a few years ago, and hasn't moved since. I think because it was overpriced to begin in, townhouses there go for Manhattan prices, so to me it makes sense that Park slope increased the way it did, because Park Slope townhouses are way cheaper then anywhere else in Manhattan and Brooklyn Heights. Condo prices in Park Slope did exactly what Manhattan apts did. You made a really good decision to buy, last quarter's prices were very good.

Anonymous said...

Re: why Park Slope houses went up so much... You work in publishing and yoou don't have a guess? Three words, and it rhymes with Bonathan Fafran Soer.

Madame X said...

good point Linus! Though few enough people read books, it's not like he's really a celebrity... but there is also some actress, whose name is escaping me, who lives on Prospect Park West, and Heath Ledger bought a place in nearby Boerum Hill... and back to books, there's always Paul Auster.

Anonymous said...

Um, everybody hates Jonathan Safran Foer. I don't think he's driving up prices.