Real estate market soars in Downtown Brooklyn since height of pandemic

(Source: nypost.com)  

By Jesse O’Neill | July 8, 2021 

The real estate market in Downtown Brooklyn is resurgent after COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the country and the economy.

Homes in the neighborhood have risen in value since the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, with median prices up 79 percent this year compared to the second quarter of last year, a PropertyShark study released Wednesday found.

Buyers could expect to snag an apartment for $765,000 between April and June last year, but during the last three months the median price has skyrocketed to $1,368,000, the study said.

The neighborhood also went from the 42nd most expensive in the boroughs to the city’s 13th priciest in just one spin around the sun, according to the findings.

Hudson Yards was the costliest area of the city, with median home prices at $5,710,000, the study found.

Tribeca and Soho rounded out the top three, as Manhattan neighborhoods dominated the top ten.

Dumbo came in ninth on the list, and was the most expensive neighborhood in the outer-boroughs, with a median home price of $1,490,000.

Housing rush: In-person school adds fire to rapidly heating market

(Source: therealdeal.com)  

College students, office workers had already lifted rental demand in NYC

June 17, 2021 07:00 AM
By Suzannah Cavanaugh

Stephanie Hatzakos knew in May she’d need a place in the city come September.

A single-mom-by-choice to twin boys, Hatzakos had bounced around throughout the pandemic. Wintering in Florida when Covid hit, she sublet in Cobble Hill last summer, then moved to Greece for the fall, before landing in the Hudson Valley last month to check up on the bed and breakfast she runs.

Her New York layover had a second objective — to find an apartment while rents were still discounted. Her twins’ Cobble Hill preschool would be in-person and she wanted to snag a sublet before jetting back to Greece for the next three months.

“I felt like there would be more deals before the summer started,” Hatzakos said. “If I waited until August or September, that’s when everybody else would be looking for something. That’s when everybody would be vaccinated and it would be even more expensive.”

Turns out, the market in May was already heating up with an influx of tenants like herself.

Last month, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that public schools would be entirely in-person this fall. That added a new cohort to the students and professionals scrambling to sign cheap leases in a rebounding rental market: families who had left town during remote learning but now needed housing near their kids’ school.

“I’ve had calls from people who were on the fence,” Compass broker Pamela D’Arc said during the week of the mayor’s announcement. “They’ve solidified their decision to come back now that their child will be in school.”

D’Arc said some families that purchased homes outside the city last year are looking to sell, then buy again in New York. But just as many want to cash in on the seller’s market and snag a city rental for the next year.

Bidding wars have ensued.

Douglas Elliman broker Bruce Ehrmann said he showed a $6,000 Chelsea rental — a space fit for a small family — 20 times in two days last week. Four offers came in, so his firm is asking each party to make a best-and-final bid. He expects the unit to lease far above its asking price.

“The [rental] market has changed so radically in so short a time that clearly some proportion of that change is due to children needing to go in person to school in the fall in New York City,” said Ehrmann. “There can be no question that’s part of the equation.”

Brooklyn has drawn families looking for space and greenery since the outset of the pandemic. Now, brokers say certain neighborhoods have grown especially attractive to families who want their kids to walk to school.

Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope and Williamsburg, each with at least one highly regarded school, have all seen a spike in interest.

Normally, New York sees a push for housing in July in expectation of the school year, said Erhmann. The surge for rentals and leases in early June shows new catalysts driving demand — de Blasio’s announcement as well as the call back to office work.

A Partnership for New York City survey found 62 percent of office employees are expected back to work by September.

Another factor driving demand could be renters who know they will be back in the city eventually and are trying to snag a place before prices rise dramatically.gm

“Families, younger renters, students are returning in pretty significant size and also pretty quickly,” said Sean Mitchell, CEO of rental tech company Rezi. “I think some of that is because they see the market turning.”

Hatzakos has her fingers crossed she isn’t priced out. Looking in May she found rents were already “obscene.” She managed to sign a lease on a sublet, but the other party pulled out at the last minute.

Now she is hunting online from overseas, but says it has been difficult. Most places are studios with no outside space for her kids to play.

“I come across back yards and decent apartments here and there,” said Hatzakos. “But they’re like $5,000, which is totally out of my price range.”

These are the most popular appliance brands in Manhattan luxury listings

(Source: therealdeal.com)

TRD analyzed thousands of listings to rank the top 10 manufacturers
New York

May. 19, 2021
By Christian Bautista | Research By Andrew Bennett

Which appliance brands are favored by Manhattan’s elite? TRD Pro analyzed nearly 15,000 active luxury real estate listings to find the answer, identifying the most popular appliance brands in high-end homes. The analysis included nearly 15,000 Manhattan properties listed on LavaMap as of May 17 that were asking $4 million or more.

The ranking shows that German appliance maker Miele is the most popular choice for high-end Manhattan developments. The brand, which makes kitchen appliances and washing machines, was mentioned in 568 luxury listings, nearly twice that of the runner-up, Sub-Zero. Another German brand, Gaggenau, ranked third, appearing in 245 luxury listings.

Some American brands, including Sub-Zero and Viking, made the list. But by and large, there appears to be a preference for foreign brands in luxury listings. In addition to Germany (Miele, Gaggenau, Bosch) the top 10 includes brands from Sweden (Electrolux), Canada (Danby) and South Korea (LG).

Check out the full ranking below:

Most Popular Appliance Brands in Luxury Listings, Ranked by Mentions

Brand	# of Mentions in Listings
Miele	568 568
Sub-Zero	314 314
Gaggenau	245 245
Bosch	159 159
Viking	132 132
Thermador	47 47
LG	46 46
Electrolux	44 44
Whirlpool	41 41
Danby	19 19

TRD's ranking included 14,985 listings from LavaMap priced at $4 million or more, all of which were active as of May 17. TRD performed keyword searches for about 200 brand names to determine the most popular appliance brands.

Manhattan contracts bloomed to all-time highs in the spring

(Source: therealdeal.com)

$3.5B worth of contracts were signed in April, breaking a 7-year-old record
New York

Jun. 10, 2021 
By Cordilia James

Everything’s coming up roses in the Manhattan residential market.

The borough saw a record-breaking $3.5 billion worth of contracts signed in April across 1,616 transactions — momentum that continued into May — according to a report from UrbanDigs.

April’s numbers eclipsed the previous record, set in July 2014, of $3.36 billion worth of contracts. May also broke that record, with $3.37 billion worth of deals inked across 1,596 transactions, according to the report.

The report examines last-ask prices of homes that went under contract in Manhattan from 2004 to 2021. Though there is always a chance some of those deals could fall through, author John Walkup said he thinks the actual value could be even higher.

“You also have a whole number of deals that are happening that are just not reported,” he said. “Especially with new developments, they have a lot of contracts that are signed but they aren’t disclosed. There could be a significant amount behind the scenes here.”

Most of the contract volume was driven by an increase in transactions priced at $2 million or more. For homes worth more than $4 million, for example, the number of deals jumped 100 percent in April 2021 compared to April 2019.

The lower the price, however, the less of a difference there was in the number of transactions. For properties asking between $2 million and $4 million, there was a 66 percent increase in deals compared to April 2019. For properties asking between $1 million and $2 million, there was a 42 percent increase in that same period.

Some factors at play include record low interest rates and a greater desire for more space, Walkup said. A shortage of quality turnkey homes with amenities may have led those who could afford them to snatch those properties up like hotcakes, he added. It also helps that many buyers in higher price ranges likely weren’t hit too hard financially during the pandemic.

“There was a lot of financial market volatility, which if you’re in trading or if you’re in finance can translate to a good year,” Walkup said. “Anytime you have that much price movement, it’s really great, especially for the trader class.”

With vaccinations underway and families gearing up for travel, factors that traditionally slow down New York City real estate in the summer will come back into play, Walkup said. While he expects contract volume to decline, he anticipates that it will land around above-average levels.

“I think it’s going to be a busy summer,” Walkup said, “but I don’t think it’s going to be as frothy as it was in March, April and May.”

An $8M Dumbo condo tops Brooklyn’s luxury contracts

(Source: therealdeal.com)

The week saw contracts signed for 21 townhouses, 15 condos and 3 co-ops

Jun. 08, 2021
By Cordilia James

The number of townhouses may have pulled ahead this week, but an $8 million Dumbo condo reigned supreme.

Thirty-nine contracts for homes asking $2 million or more were signed in Brooklyn from May 31 to June 6, according to Compass’ weekly report. It’s a slight uptick from the previous week’s 36 contracts.

Twenty-one of those deals were townhouses, 15 were condos and three were co-ops.

Though fewer condo contracts were signed, they had higher price tags: The median asking price for a condo was nearly $2.9 million, while the median asking price for a townhouse was $2.8 million.

A 3,236-square-foot penthouse at 85 Jay Street topped the list. The unit has four bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms, 11-foot ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows and a 781-square-foot wrap around terrace.

Next was a 4,400-square-foot townhouse in Brooklyn Heights that had a last asking price of $7.5 million, or $1,704 per square foot. The renovated home has five bedrooms, four-four-and-a-half bathrooms and a two-tiered landscaped garden.

Contracts were valued at $126 million, up from the previous week’s $100 million. Homes were on the market for an average of 169 days, which is shorter than the previous week’s average of 219 days. The average discount stayed the same at 2 percent.

Rents for single-family homes just saw the largest gains in nearly 15 years

(Source: cnbc.com)

PUBLISHED TUE, JUN 15 2021

Diana Olick

KEY POINTS

• Single-family rents were up 5.3% year over year in April, rising from a 2.4% increase in April 2020, according to CoreLogic.
  
  
• That is the largest annual gain in nearly 15 years.
  
  
• Regionally, by top 20 metropolitan markets, rent gains were highest in Phoenix
  

Even as the coronavirus pandemic ebbs and Americans get back to work and play, they still want more space at home. But with home prices hitting record highs, demand for single-family rental homes is soaring – and so are the rents.

Single-family rents were up 5.3% year over year in April, rising from a 2.4% increase in April 2020, according to CoreLogic. That is the largest gain in nearly 15 years.

Rents for single-family detached homes (not townhomes), were up an even stronger 7.9% compared with a year ago, as millennials in particular seek more outdoor space. Nearly half of millennials surveyed by Corelogic, and 64% of baby boomers, said they, “strongly prefer” to live in a single, stand-alone home.

“Single-family rent growth showed a strong rebound in April 2021 with all price tiers back above their pre-pandemic rent growth rate,” said Molly Boesel, principal economist at CoreLogic. “While rent growth slowed last April at the start of the pandemic, the rate of rent growth this April was running above pre-pandemic levels even when compared with 2019 and shows no signs of diminishing.”

The rent gains are across all price categories, even low end, which exceeded pre-pandemic rent increases for the first time. By category, the gains are as follows:

· Lower priced (75% or less than the regional median): 3.9%, up from 3.2% in April 2020

· Lower-middle priced (75% to 100% of the regional median): 4.8%, up from 2.5% in April 2020

· Higher-middle priced (100% to 125% of the regional median): 5.1%, up from 2.3% in April 2020

· Higher priced (125% or more than the regional median): 6.1%, up from 2.2% in April 2020

Regionally, by top 20 metropolitan markets, rent gains were highest in Phoenix, where single-family rents were 12.2% higher than a year ago. Next, Tucson, Arizona, with a gain of 10.6%. That was followed by Las Vegas at 9.3%. Atlanta, which had the lowest unemployment rate of the 20 metros, came in fourth at 9.1%.

On the flip side, Boston saw an annual decline of 5.9% in rent prices and has experienced the largest decrease of the 20 metropolitan market rent prices for nine straight months. Chicago was the only other decliner, at 2.6%.

With home prices continuing to gain at a double-digit pace, and more potential buyers being priced out, demand for single-family rentals is unlikely to cool anytime soon.

“The inflation that is currently here is slowing the most interest rate sensitive part of the economy, that being housing,” said Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at the Bleakley Advisory Group.

Brooklyn real estate is booming — but should you buy or rent?

(Source: nypost.com)

By Annie Daly | June 3, 2021

Brooklyn had always been NYC’s No. 2.

It was for hipsters. It was for broke young people. It was for those who “gave up” on Manhattan.

But the pandemic has finally changed that attitude, as thousands of life-long Manhattanites poured into spacious townhouses and amenity-laden new construction towers.

Tribeca residents Catherine, 40, and Ricardo McKenzie, 42, plan to be among those city expats soon.

After renting in downtown Manhattan for the past 11 years, they’re now looking to Brooklyn for a long-term home.

“Brooklyn feels like a new beginning, a new focus as we shifting our minds to be more about our family,” Catherine, who co-founded the handbag shop Min & Mon and whose two children attend school in Brooklyn, told The Post. “Living through the pandemic in Tribeca made us realize that we don’t want to feel like we’re in the heart of things anymore. While [downtown Manhattan] does feel like home, there’s now this idea of feeling more exposed by being in Manhattan.”

Brooklyn brokers were the first to experience the influx of families, like the McKenzies, who were crossing the East River.

“We’re seeing a big uptick in Brooklyn, in both rentals and sales, because of that community feel,” said MaryElizabeth Smith of Corcoran, who is representing the McKenzies in their ongoing Brooklyn home hunt. “There’s a small-town vibe in many neighborhoods in Brooklyn that isn’t as common in Manhattan.”

In the first quarter of the year, Brooklyn saw 2,822 sales, up 11.8%, year over year — the highest Q1 total in 14 years, according to Douglas Elliman.

The median sale price during that period reached $900,000, an increase of $100,000 from the year before.

Meanwhile, the number of new lease signings in the borough surged five-fold, year over year, to 2,175 — the highest number ever recorded, according to the Elliman report. The median rental price was $2,730 during the same period.

For many Manhattanites edging to make a play in Brooklyn’s real estate boom, those numbers beg the question: is it better to rent or to buy?

Of course, it depends, said Corcoran agent Vicki Negron, who works with both rentals and sales properties in Brooklyn.

“The good news is that you can get what you want on both sides of the equation right now,” she said. “You just need to search for it.”

For those looking for a sweet deal, renting is the way to go, she added, noting that there is a “hyper-supply of rentals” on the market pushing down rents.

“The power has really swung in favor of the tenants’ side of the market, which means it can be a good time to rent right now,” confirmed Jim Kerby, a broker at Douglas Elliman who specializes in Brooklyn. “Landlords have had to lower their rents, and many have gotten rid of the various transaction fees, too, like the first month’s security deposit.”

It means that many renters are currently able to upgrade from a one-bedroom to a two-bedroom with a large outdoor space — a la the “Girls” episode where Hannah hangs out at that rich dude’s brownstone and they grill in his sweet backyard.

“Ultimately, it comes down to spreading out a bit,” Negron said. “At this time last year, we were in hunker-down or leave mode, and now we are in recovery mode, which calls for people to think about expanding their living spaces. Now that we know that many people can work from home, it’s about making room for home offices and home gyms that may stick around for a while.”

But for those with serious money in the bank, it’s not a bad time to make a lifetime investment in the city’s most populous borough — just don’t expect a discount.

“Interest rates are low, and home prices are likely going nowhere but up,” said Shii Ann Huang, a Compass agent who works in Brooklyn. “We hit rock bottom last year, and now we are already coming out of the bottom — so homes are likely only going to get more expensive.”

It’s a perfect storm that is leading to bidding wars and above-ask deals.

“People saw the lower pandemic prices and thought, ‘Wow, this is such a great deal,’ and then the number got jacked back up because there were multiple bids,” Huang said. “While we saw decreased prices across the board in both rentals and sales last quarter, we’re actually seeing a big shift now. And that’s going to keep happening.”

But a word of caution: While it may be tempting to snatch something up now, it’s important to not let the frenzy — or what Smith referred to as the “ ‘Hunger Games’ of real estate” — impair your judgment.

“A big thing we’re seeing in the market right now is people putting in offers without any contingencies to protect themselves,” she said. “They want the property so much that they’re not as risk-averse as they should be.”

Her advice? Slow down.

That’s precisely the logic that the McKenzies have adopted in their search.

Though they’ve lost out on a couple great homes in bidding wars, they’re still hopeful that the right Brooklyn home will find them — on their terms.

“I want a place that will feel like a home, but I don’t want something at any cost,” Catherine said. “I want the right place at the right cost because ‘winning a place’ is not me. I won’t be able to be at peace with myself if I win something that wasn’t wise.”