Digestible Real Estate News
We’re keeping this recurring piece to do a bit more for those genuinely interested in New York real estate, not just food porn, and give my LinkedIn designation a little luster. Taking a note from the easy to absorb nuggets of information in Robinhood Snacks‘ newsletter (blanketed with this unshakable food theme), here are your RealEstateSnacks so I can make this newsletter tax deductible.
1. Now that we have distance from Q4 in 2019, it’s time to look back at 2019 as a collective – lucky for us, Forbes put together a nice, digestible piece covering the year on the whole. Much of the erratic nature of the market can be attributed to the mid-year increase of mansion taxes and transfer taxes, as buyers rushed to close prior to facing an uptick in transaction costs. Even though there are a glut of condos on the market, price drops in condos proved to be less severe than that seen in coops, highlighting discrepancies in value and ultimate preference of buyers. Most notable was that at the end of 2019 as more buyers entered the market, sellers universally came to terms with that fact that buyers will not bid on overpriced properties and pricing to market is the sole way to move inventory. Glass half full, due to a recent drop in mortgage rates, 2020 seems to be off to a busier start…
2. It seems that every year the neighborhoods to watch in New York real estate changes, with some likely suspects rising to the top coupled with some dark horse picks. 2020’s neighborhoods to watch are the same mixed bag. Leading the list for this year is Williamsburg, which got a new lease on life after the announcement that the L-train would not close. The majority of other areas populating the top-10 are in outer-boroughs, chosen for their lower costs of living. Three others to make note of: Clinton Hill (Brooklyn), Prospect Lefferts Gardens (Brooklyn), and Little Italy (Manhattan).
3. If you’ve ever wondered where New York’s wealthiest residents reside, the wait is over. Through a Population FactFinder on the NYC Planning website, you can see an in-depth look at every neighborhood under different lens, all accumulated from census information between 2013-2017. Top-3 wealthiest neighborhoods, via average yearly income? 1) The Upper East Side @ $322,432 2) Soho/TriBeCa @ $258,531 3) Turtle Bay @ $220,079. Click here for more.
4. This news update is not necessarily topical but here we are: there is a massive Harry Potter Flagship store coming to the Flatiron district, at Broadway and 22nd Street. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Details are limited but the space is 20,000 square feet, will be interactive, is touting itself as the “largest dedicated Harry Potter store in the world”, and is opening summer of 2020. However, the store design is already running into a lot of issues with the city – apparently dragons on the facade aren’t gelling with the local community board. Regardless, catch me showing apartments in a personalized Ravenclaw robe in the foreseeable future.
And for the home I’m ogling this month…
…this Brooklyn Heights loft for $2.6m…I mean, that living room though?
