What's Selling in Williamsburg?

1.

There is a new building, the luce condos, that went on sale less then 2 weeks ago, and already more then half have accepted offers.
see it here http://www.lucecondos.com/pages/listing.html

So the burg isn't over it seems

2.

http://www.lucecondos.com/

3.

#1,2 -> wow, shitty building, shitty website.

4.

#1 & 2 - let me guess....it's still a piece of shit.

5.

Are those Fedders I see?

6.

i haven't seen the condos but i agree the website sure does suck and is unusable.

7.

Mo matter how you brand it, it's still BUSHWICK. The only thing making them worth anything is the fact that someone created a fake neighborhood called East Williamsburg. GROSS and still overpriced.

8.

The worst condo website I have ever encountered. Well at least maintenance is cheap how much are those condos going for?

9.

My boyfriend and I just put an offer in and got accepted. The price is around $900 sq/ft, which is a BARGAIN when you consider this area is poised to explode. As for #1 and #2s comments, ignore! The building is amazing.

10.

how can you go wrong? fedders and bushwick.....a magic combination.

11.

i moved near here recently. didn't think it was bushwick (and don't care if it is); viewed grand and morgan as the borders. it's a nice place to live. I dig it. (I am a renter.)

12.

#9 - Are you and your boyfriend some type of dumb hipster? I hope the place explodes right back in your faces.

By the way, here's why hipsters suck:

http://www.hybridmagazine.com/culture/0902/dasilva.shtml

13.

Kate (#9) - that building *does* look amazing!

COUGH!

14.

Just because you poor, blogging-for-a-living idiots need to rent a space with 72 other people to get by doesn't mean you have a right to make fun of people like me -- just because we can buy nice apartments. Go back to NJ.

And it's East Williamsburg, not Bushwick. A year from now you'll be wishing you could afford to bring your boyfriend or girlfriend here for dinner.

15.

Oh, and #12, we're not hipsters... I work in psychology publishing and my boyfriend teaches autistic children. You won't find us at the coffee shop at 1pm. Moron.

16.

they are not hipsters they are yuppie scum!!

17.

Kate, I think that whatever gets one's foot in the door of owning NYC-area real estate is good, if it makes you happy then who is anyone to judge? I also work in publishing -- trade nonfiction -- and don't blog for a living because money is nice and roommates suck.

That said, I was with you until "go back to NJ." Because WTF does that even mean? I'm from New Jersey. Where the hell are YOU from? And if you're NYC born and bred why the hell are you buying in Bushwick?

Maybe try reading some of those psychology journals you work oh so diligently on before saying something so small-minded.

18.

This is halfway between Williamsburg and Maspeth, Queens. Just because Bushwick Ave. is near there, it doesn't mean it's Bushwick.

19.

God I hate those stupid bowl-on-a-table sinks.

20.

do you really feel good walking into that butt ulgy building everyday? i'm a freelancing stud and rent a gorgeous apartment for a reasonable price. life is good, for me. i pity you, kate.

21.

Looks like the Galaxy in LIC.

22.

I've lived in this area for many years and am a bit disheartened by all the new development. But hey, that's life..and despite all the other comments, is a great part of town.
Did you really say $900/sqft? That does sound like a lot! Just checking.

23.

"And if you're NYC born and bred why the hell are you buying in Bushwick?"

I am not Kate, but I am someone that was born and bred in NYC and looking to buy in Bushwick. Why? Is was to young to have purchased property before 2001. Sure, I was I was one of those lucky people to have purchased before the boom, but I couldn't.

How much are the Luce condos?

24.

the building seems to range from 500 to 600 a square foot which is somewhat reasonable but certainly not a steal considering what the building looks like. i'd say its an almost fair deal in an up and coming neighborhood that appeals to a very particular clientel - one who wouldnt be down to live in a nicer looking neighborhood where the youth culture is largely absent. In the end, if youre young and willing, its better to find a roommate, put your money together, and buy a room in the mill building. Construct yourselves bedrooms and share a giant living room. Or better yet, fuck the condo world and try to find a raw space in bushwick to convert. Not sure exactly how its done but i'd recommend renting in the area for a bit and making some contacts. Condos are for places that are already blown up. If your gonna try and jump the gentrification gun then it makes sense to me to look outside the condo world. Anyway, does anyone out there have any experience with this sorta thing in todays market?

25.

developers take hope - reading these mails its clear it doesn't matter what you build or where you build it in brooklyn, there's always some clown out there willing to pay the price in the desprate run to get on the property ladder.

Moreover, there are actually people, besides brokers, who really do think lame-ass bland living-boxes are "amazing". (or "luxury" or "stunning" etc etc).

26.

#18 "This is halfway between Williamsburg and Maspeth, Queens. Just because Bushwick Ave. is near there, it doesn't mean it's Bushwick..."

Why is it called East Williamsburg? Maybe it should be called South West Maspeth. It's still Bushwick. There was no such thiing as "East Williamsburg" until a few years and a few smart ass realtors ago.

27.

I think this just points out that people are hungry for reasonably priced new developments especially in non-manhatten areas and not the over-ubiquitous "luxury developments" which have pretty much priced out a large segment of New Yorkers. Because, let face it, if I had "luxury" money which comes with a luxury social lifestyle, I'd pay a mil in Manhatten for a closet before I'd ever go out to the boroughs. And, that's coming from a happy Brooklyn resident albeit not one who can afford "luxury".

28.

Hey #23, I am sorry. I did not at all mean to imply that there is anything wrong with Bushwick, just meant that a seemingly elitist "go back to New Jersey"-type native Manhattanite probably would not purchase her first home there. As I said, anywhere one enters the tough NYC-area RE market, if he or she is happy, it's all good. Hope you find a sweet place to live.

29.

#20 Just another example of how Curbed used to be cool until it was infiltrated by a bunch of haters. I didn't buy in this building, but I did (by the skin of my teeth) just close on an apartment elsewhere in BK. The bottom line is that, as a renter, you're paying for someone else's mortgage. Your apartment is nice and the one Kate bought is a piece of shit? Ok, but financially, what's that getting you? Nothing. You are flushing your money down the drain. At least Kate's getting a tax break and building some sort of equity. So if you can pull it off, do it (buy, that is) I pity your ignorance.

30.

#19 ME TOO!!!!!!!!

31.

hey 29, you're getting a nice place to live, becuase most of us want that anyway. And for the first 10 years of a 25 or 30 mortgage, you are pretty much just paying the bank money for the privilege of being lent enough to buy your house. Just throwing that money away really. Remember, till you paid it off that house isn't yours, its the banks.

32.

I haven't had time to check where this building is, but, and I've said this before, Flushing divides Bushwick from Williamsburg. Anything west of Flushing is in Williamsburg, not Bushwick.

33.

31 rents.

34.

#31. That's pretty funny logic. Paying down interest is not throwing away money. You're not factoring in the rapid appreciation of value that's likely to happen over the 5 or 10 years that the property is "owned." The previous owner of my condo walked away with appx 70k after "owning" it for 2 years. (That's after paying closing costs and fees, etc.) Not bad, in my opinion.

Anyway, most people who buy property in NYC don't stay in it for the life of the loan. I certainly don't plan on paying 1mil for a 380k loan over 30 years.

35.

Sure, equity is great... but $900/sq ft in that area? Gimme a break. That's ridiculous!

Oh, but that's right... real estate ONLY goes up.

36.

$900 a square foot does seem high but, the most expensive unit in that building is $625 square foot. Getting in for only 10k and no closing costs really helps out those who will never have 20 % down (70-120k) to buy in this area or 15k and up for closing costs.
Even haters should be able to recognize a good deal.
As far as your mortgage goes...your interest is tax deductible, unlike your down payment, your closing costs or your maintenance.
I don't mind an ugly building, I live inside...it's the poor suckas across the street that overpaid and have to look at my building I feel bad for.

37.

I think people are missing the real issue here: If these units are indeed going for $500-600/s.f., that's par for the course for other units in this neck of Williamsburg (e.g., Luxe226, The Point) which sold MUCH less quickly. (In fact, I think the Point even had to do some rentals).

Isn't it most likely that the $10,000 down payment that led to the swarm of contracts discussed here? And if not, what exactly about this building does make it special enough to sell this quickly in a slow market?

And just an IMHO: If a significant number of owners took the company up on the $10K down payment, think twice about buying. Having a majority of the building that highly leveraged could mean a wave of sales/foreclosures if times turn tough, which is bad for property values as well as the maintenance/management of the building.

38.

For all the haters: point out a property that is a better value. Forget value, just point out a new development that is cheaper than this one.

It's so easy for those already "in the game" to ridicule new projects. There aren't many properties that are affordable to those with less than six figure salaries.

Instead of hating on some place, show an alternative. I bet you can't.

39.

Where else can you find one bedrooms (NOT studios) for $355,000?

40.

Can someone please tell me if any other buildings are offering a 10k down payment?

41.

Maybe #37, but I think the huge incentive here is that the seller is paying all closing costs. For new construction in NYC that's around 20k+...A huge chunk of change. For most people, that's also the difference between being able to afford buying their first home and not. For a 350-400k new construction, you'd typically be looking at shelling out 55-65k (downpayment and closing costs) in order to get keys.

As for an inceased likelyhood of foreclosures? I wouldn't be worried about that. If anything, these buyers will have more money left over in case they fall on hard times. Most intelligent people wouldn't put their very last dime into buying their apartment anyway. Right?

42.

#33 you're a genius.

43.

$355,000, no closing costs, and close to Manhattan? Best deal of 2007 so far!

All 1BR apts? I predict lots of turnover.

44.

# 31 - HUH? the place belongs to the bank? when I sold my old place last august I got $885K minus the $315 i owed on the mortgage. only paid on it for 5 years. bought for $420K. let me tell you, the profit was ALL MINE, not some bank's.

real estate will always be a great way to make money. no clue why anyone would rent. TERRIBLE for your future.

45.

This article points to a truth I learned when I started in the mortgage biz eighteen years ago: people want to own their own home, but, living in NY Metro area, it's difficult to come up with large downpayments and closing cost monies.

Say what you will about the location, the opportunity to own a "piece of the rock" for $10,000 is fantastic. And, as someone pointed out, the cc's on new construction are substantial, usually 8% of the mortgage amount ($27,000 in this case). So, having the builder pay that is not only unique, but enhances an already great opportunity.

I wanted to make an observation on the whole location argument. From my reading of this thread, it appears there are those who believe the location of this condo is horrible, others who think it's fine, and others who don't care about the location, they just want to own something at a reasonable price.

I started out lending mortgage money in 1989. That's long before NY was such an attractive place to live (in fact I escaped to the suburbs just three years later; couldn't wait to get out of the city I grew up in). Back then, graffiti, filth, dog-poop everywhere, crime, poor subway service, were all the norm for life in the Big Apple.

New York was not then the shining star it is today.

You all might find it difficult to believe, but even then, people bought homes and apartments in New York City. And they did it in huge numbers. People weren't thinking about the dismal state of things around the city, instead, they wanted to make a dream come true, own a home, and improve their financial (and ultimately personal) situation.

Homeownership does that. No matter your opinion on renting versus buying, bubble versus crash, or where your money really goes (landlord or bank): owning a home is one of the single most beneficial experiences any one person or family can undertake.

Finally, I wanted to address the observation about high foreclosures with a low downpayment. Forget it. I've been putting people in homes with very little money down for nearly twenty years. And folks pay their mortgage.

The notion that low down is more likely to lead to foreclosure is a myth. I know it from real world experience. Foreclosure is more likely to result from a financial cataclysm like job loss, illness, or divorce, not from putting low downpayments.

46.

Just to add...East Williamsburg was designated by the city. The "East Williamsburg Industrial Zone" goes through this area. Realtors are exploiting it by calling the area past the Jefferson stop East Williamsburg. Until you pass Flushing, you're in East Williamburg.

47.

#26

Look on any Hagstrom map and there as a catagory is a neighborhood called east williamsburg. If you drive down Seigel street there are signs "East Williamsburg Industrial Park" installed by the city. You have no clue of the world outside Bedford Ave it seems

48.

Supposedly the large grey brick building next door on the corner overlooking the park is going to have a doorman, swimming pool, residents billard room and a garden. Anyone else here about this yet?

49.

Some clarifications: This building is located about 4 blocks from the Graham Avenue L train stop--the 3rd L train stop in Brooklyn--in East Williamsburg. This is NOT Bushwick. Bushwick begins typically beyond the Montrose Ave L train stop (5th L stop), or around Flushing Avenue. Anyone who claims this is Bushwick doesn't know the area. Second, the prices range from the low $500's to about $650 per sq ft. Not $900, as someone claimed.

And to the moron who goes "is that Fedders I see"--it is. I looked at the building. A heads-up, if you are looking for the white glove/doorman treatment, head to the Park Ave vicinity, not Williamsburg.

50.

Agreed, and if anything the neighborhood is closer to Greenpoint than anything else. Congrats on buying, and there's nothing sexy or creative or unique about renting-- you really are just paying your landlord's mortgage. If you can afford the down payment, it's so much smarter to rent, especially when similarly sized apartments in this area are renting for 2K/month for a 1BR.

51.

and by "rent" i mean "buy"...must go to bed.

52.

I share the sentiments of #40 - anyone know of other buildings offering a low down payment, similar to the $10k one here?

53.

I don't know of any in the NYC area. You don't see it offered very much.

54.

has anyone heard of problems with getting the luce building finished? are they continuing to work on them? it seems everything has pretty much stopped there

55.

i'm glad to see people on this site standing up to the buyer-haters.

56.

wow. what is wrong with you people? why so much hate? i own in this part of town, and for the record it is officially williamsburg. its on the border of wiliiamsburg and bushwick.

developers suck! i agree. and especially the lame ass ones who own all of the block that this bldg is on. is it one company or what? they are all so depressing and sad and ugly. it should be illegal.

i find it funny that curbed describes it as a way out part of brooklyn!

and go ahead and rent in bushwick and build out that great loft. then in five years you can be evicted so it can be made into luxury condos like what happened on the northside to all of the artists before you.

57.

DON'T DO IT SPOOOOKKKY IT SUCKS

58.

I own in this building. Got it for approx 650 sq/ft. All apartments anywhere near the Bedford subway stop are $1000/sqft, and ones going up around Graham are also $1000 sq/ft. And in terms of what it looks like, it looks a ton better than most of the current aluminum siding pieces of shit around it. (There are a couple brownstones across the street that are beautiful though - At least we can all look at those.)

As for anyone who busts on rent vs buy again - Do us all a wee favor before you start yappin. Open up any financial guide to being wealthy, and skim to the part about becoming rich and owning your own home. Then, tell all four of your friends on your blog how you totally gave a tongue lashing to some yuppie guy in cyberspace. Fuckin' nerd.

Williamsburg is going to change extremely fast. Even faster than it is now. The L line is expecting to double their train capacity by 2010 and people who are buying around Lorimer and Graham could make a killing in the next few years.

Actually...ya know what...forget everything I said. I'm an idiot. I should research all the Billyburg blogs before I just randomly start spouting off at the mouth. So sorry.

HEY RENTERS, in 2 years I know of a great apartment for rent - Just steps from the Lorimer subway stop. Luxury kitchen, patio, 2 floors, in house washer/dryer, city views, and more. Just a block or two from Whole Foods, the triplex theatre, and 4 Starbucks.

Decent price for this much square footage - But the landlord can be kind of an asshole sometimes.

59.

that is their official website?

when you call the number, it is the office of a broker who says they are co-broking with someone else for the apartments.

60.

What goes up can also go down, something this market seems to have forgotten, or wasn't born long enough ago to remember.

All of this new construction in Williamsburg concerns me because of the rumors I hear about shoddy materials, building code violations, certificate of occupancy hassles... I'd seriously do my homework on anything before buying. If it falls down in ten years, it'll be worth nothing.

Also, it's so a renter's market it is not even funny. $330K gets you a one-bedroom near Grahmn Ave? So would about $1500-2000, pretty easily. Your mortgage will be more than that.

61.

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