How Homeowners Save Over Renters in Northwest Brooklyn
Thinking of Renewing Your Brooklyn Lease? Here’s Why You Should Think Again
The mural of the Notorious B.I.G. that sits above the Lafayette Street Avenue station in Fort Greene, Brooklyn is, many would argue, a throwback to a bygone era, before the bistros, coffee shops, and restaurants when Fort Greene was artsy and a little rough around the edges and considerably more affordable. However, in the 25 years since the slain rapper’s passing, while prices in the historically bohemian neighborhood have naturally increased, it’s still possible to find a little of the flavor of the old days. And price-wise, compared to Downtown Brooklyn, a mere hop, skip, and a jump across Flatbush Avenue, you still generally get a little more for your money. Sometimes a lot more.
Brooklyn Point in Downtown Brooklyn, By AP Connolly | Photo Courtesy Of William’s New York
Living in Fort Greene and Downtown Brooklyn
Before going any further, it’s worth mentioning that Downtown Brooklyn is teeming with luxury condos packed with high-end amenities, and Fort Greene, which tends to be more brownstone heavy with certain height restrictions for developers, naturally lends itself to a funkier, organic type neighborhood. That said, there are similar-sized, fairly new condos in both places.
Built in 2014, 8 Vanderbilt Avenue, in the burgeoning Brooklyn Navy Yard, has amenities, including, most impressively a 30,000 square foot green courtyard and garden along with fitness room, bike room, cold storage, laundry room, live-in super, as well as a state-of-the-art cloud-based smart intercom system. Although it’s not brand new, it’s still a fairly recent construction. Apartment 4F in the building, which has 728 square feet, is currently listed for $685K.
A mere mile away, is the tallest (at least for now) building in Brooklyn, Brooklyn Point. Brand new and stacked with amenities, (wine room, game room, children’s room, private dining room, screening and performance room, al fresco dining, fire pit, fitness room, pool, rock wall, squash, basketball, spa, etc), here, unit 46F, a 717 square foot one-bedroom condo, is asking $1.88 million.
8 Vanderbilt Avenue, Photo Courtesy Of Compass
How Homeowners Save Over Renters in Northwest Brooklyn
Both condos would be great buys for luxury renters looking to capitalize on Brooklyn’s rising house prices and buzzing social scene. According to Compass’ Q3 2021 Market Report, almost 43.1% of all Brooklyn sales took place in South Brooklyn and Northwest Brooklyn, which includes Fort Greene and Downtown Brooklyn. Drilling deeper, over 80% of sales were for condos sold between $500K and $2M and the $1M-$2M price bracket accounted for the most volume sold with $1.53B in sales. Northwest Brooklyn was singly responsible for $32.8% of all Brooklyn sales in Q3 and of that number, almost half were condos. In other words, new-development in Northwest Brooklyn — mostly Downtown Brooklyn — were flying off the shelves. But the buyers were not looking to saddle themselves with massive mortgages. With current low-interest rates (3.125%) a mortgage for $800K (assuming 20% down) on a million-dollar home would have a monthly payment of $3,427, not including taxes and insurance. For someone who was previously paying $4000-5,000 a month in rent, that’s a great deal.
With low rates and plenty of available inventory in gleaming new buildings, it’s no wonder both the Manhattan and Brooklyn markets are currently on fire. Property Shark data backs up the soaring sales numbers with the Downtown Brooklyn market Median Sale Price up 16% year-over-year in Q3 to $847K, in line with Brooklyn’s overall Median Sale Price of $825K, also a 16% year-over-year increase.
A Perfect Storm For Buyers
The Brooklyn housing market is currently a perfect storm for buyers. It’s still more affordable than Manhattan, but rents have recently skyrocketed as much as 30% in some places, since the pandemic, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. It means that buying is now more affordable than renting, especially with interest rates at basement levels.