From left: 90 Clermont Avenue, Ofer Cohen and Melissa DiBella of TerraCRG
The sale of a beleaguered seven-unit rental building at 90 Clermont Avenue in Fort Greene has closed for $2.6 million, according to TerraCRG, the firm which was marketing the building on behalf of Eastern Capital, the bank that foreclosed on the property in 2008.
The building was purchased by a private developer operating via an LLC named Abraham Equities. His identity was not immediately clear. [more]
As asking prices for homes have crept up in neighboring Fort Greene, newcomers are looking to Clinton Hill, with its rows of brownstones, as a close alternative, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Clinton Avenue’s mansions, which at one time led it to be dubbed the “Gold Coast,” are now largely condominium conversions. They, along with the brick townhomes and brownstones, are big draws to prospective homeowners, the Journal said.
“There is a shortage of good houses, so houses tend to go quickly,” said Jill Seligson Braver, a senior vice president at Brown Harris Stevens.
The median asking price for a Clinton Hill home is $462 a square foot, according to data from Streeteasy.com, compared to $581 per square foot in Fort Greene. [more]
Things are looking up in the Brooklyn residential market, according to Gerard Longo, president of the Brooklyn New York Multiple Listing Service.
The MLS’ first-quarter 2010 report, which culls data from the listings registered in the MLS, shows that inventory dropped 22.7 percent year-over-year in the first quarter, while sales volume increased 10.08 percent to $181.67 million in the first three months of this year from $165.04 million in the first quarter of 2009.
While the median price dropped 7.02 percent during that same time period, the average price only declined .66 percent.
“I think we found a stable place in our market,” said Longo, who is also a principal with development firm Atlantic Walk Vestry and president of Brooklyn-based real estate company Madison Estates & Properties. “I think we’re flatlining here.” [more]
After taking cover at One Hanson Place this winter, the Brooklyn Flea will stay in the Downtown Brooklyn location on Sundays starting in April, according to the New York Times. With the news comes word that several eateries, including dumpling shop the Good Fork, pork sandwich maker Porchetta and Brooklyn Soda Works, will be joining the cast of characters. The flea will still operate its Fort Greene location on Saturdays.
The Atelier rents out its roof deck for $5,000 to $10,000. The extra income has helped it reduce common charges.From the March issue: It might be the real estate equivalent of coupon clipping or small-time political fundraising: Many condo and co-op boards in New York are keeping a sharp eye out for creative ways to trim their common charges and bring in extra revenue for their buildings.
The strategies run the gamut from hosting photo shoots to scaling back on electrical usage, but the goal of improving the building’s finances is always the same.
For example, the Atelier, a 478-unit condo at 635 West 42nd Street, is renting out its Sky Lounge roof deck year-round for private parties. Hillary Clinton and Lindsay Lohan have each already rented out the space, according to Dan Neiditch, the president of the building’s condo board.
The building makes the space available once a week at rates of $5,000 to $10,000 and rents the space out a few times a month, Neiditch said. The revenue has helped the building lower its common charges by 10 percent, said Neiditch, who is also the president of River 2 River Realty. [more]
From the January issue: Minority and working-class Brooklyn neighborhoods like Bed-Stuy,
Canarsie and East New York have been suffering from high concentrations
of foreclosures since before 2007.
But recent statistics indicate that distress is creeping into
gentrified neighborhoods like Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Fort Greene and
Brooklyn Heights now, too. The Williamsburg-Greenpoint area saw a 141 percent quarterly
increase in foreclosure filings during the first three quarters of 2009
compared to 2008, while Fort Greene and Brooklyn Heights saw a 71
percent jump. Brooklyn-based appraiser Sam Heskel counted 99 distressed real
estate listings in Williamsburg, including 44 condominiums that are in
“pre-foreclosure.”
Investigators are saying the recent heavy rains may have caused the collapse of the Fort Greene building at 493 Myrtle Avenue yesterday. After reports that the building was issued a Department of Buildings citation May 1 for a large crack that ran up the exterior wall, speculations that the building wasn’t safe for living had arisen. But, according to owner William Sang, the exterior crack had been there for 10 years, years before he bought the building in 2006. He said when the buildings department came to inspect on May 1, it said the building was safe for tenants despite the crack. However, scaffolding was set up on the building and workers had been mending the exterior crack for several weeks, said tenant Anh Nguyen. Fire crews were called to the building shortly after its collapse. Four people were injured and several buildings were evacuated. [NYT] and [NYDN] [more]
Despite the economic credit crunch, two developers are laying the groundwork for the construction of hundreds of apartments in Fort Greene. GFI Capital plans to build 375 units on the block bounded by Fulton Street and Atlantic, Clermont and Vanderbilt avenues. Andrew Zobler, GFI’s CEO, said he expects renters to be interested in his units but doesn’t know where he’ll find financing. Developer Martin Dunn wants to build townhouses in Navy Green, a 455-unit development south of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Dunn said he doesn’t expect there to be a demand for his units for several years. The Real Deal’s June issue looked at developers using the downturn to prepare for future projects. [more]
From the March issue: Why is Pottery Barn moving to
but not to
Why does Park Slope have numerous Starbucks while there are none in nearby
And why are store clerks in
suddenly asking to know your zip code? The one word answer is psychographics,
an art/science that uses the growing mountain of consumer data now available to
help retailers, and marketers in particular, make decisions about real estate. Analysts
use psychographic information to define consumer categories, which are often
given colorful names such as “Shotguns and Pickups” and “Blue
Blood Estates.” The results are used to decide where to locate stores,
restaurants, banks and even medical facilities.
