Many years ago there was a book about going back to Brooklyn. Unfortunately, it was written in the wrong time, and now many people are going back. Areas that had been virtually abandoned are now “hot” again and properties are being snapped up at extraordinary prices.
Once again, we are seeing bidding wars especially for the brownstones for which the borough is noted. We have seen the rise of Williamsburg, Ft. Greene, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Borum Hill , Carol Gardens, Park Slope and Prospect Heights areas, all of which are within easy commuting distance to Manhattan. But what about the other areas. The demand is now moving to Red Hook and Prospect Park South. The Russian community is moving north from Brighton Beach and are purchasing the magnificent turn-of-the-century homes in Midwood and Flatbush. Bedford Stuyvesant/OceanHill which borders on Clinton Hill is turning around with many new retail stores on Fulton Street.
Investment grade properties such as multi-family, retail and office are in demand. Retail hubs such as the Flatbush/Nostrand Avenue section, the area around Macy’s, are once again leasing up rapidly with major chains. Many of the downtown office buildings have been converted to residential rentals and condos to satisfy the needs of young people moving to Brooklyn. In the 1980s, when the conversion laws changed, many of the apartment buildings along Eastern Parkway, Ocean Avenue and Ocean Parkway were converted. The low rents that once existed have been rising as vacancies occur and younger singles and families move to Brooklyn. The ethnicity in many areas has changed; for example, Sunset Park now has the third largest Asian population in the country after Chinatown and San Francisco.
The GRM (Gross Rent Multiple) has been increasing and we predict that it will continue to rise. Brooklyn is once again the place to invest in.