PIED-A-THERE!
With the pandemic pushing down property prices, buyers and renters can score deals — even in the city’s most expensive nabes
WHAT is typically the spring selling season for real estate has become the summer selling season this year, with listings returning to market at something close to normal rates last month.
But if inventory isn’t seeing outsized impacts from COVID-19, pricing is –– homes that sold in July did so for a median of 10 percent below their starting list price, according to StreetEasy’s July market report.
Landlords, too, have started to cut rents or offer concessions.
“There’s been more of an understanding among landlords that renters are leaving the city or there aren’t as many renters demanding rentals as there were in past summers,” says StreetEasy economist Nancy Wu.
From Tribeca to the Flatiron District, we’ve highlighted the (relative) bargains in what PropertyShark identifies as the seven most expensive neighborhoods in the five boroughs. 1. TRIBECA Tribeca is one of the country’s wealthiest ZIP codes, and one of downtown’s quietest pockets. The hidden alley of Staple Street (with its skybridge, above) is just one of its gems. The median sale price in the neighborhood is still a whopping $3.9 million — though many homeowners, with multiple residences to choose from, have left Tribeca behind for the moment. That creates opportunities for those with lower budgets. “People who didn’t necessarily think to live in neighborhoods like that can now,” says Stephanie Diamond, founder of listings roundup site Listings Project. A two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in a small co-op at 10 Jay St. has a fun angle to its foyer — and has been discounted by $155,000, to $1.99 million. Concessions on rentals are at record-high levels this summer, and a second-floor one-bedroom with exposed brick at 63 Lispenard St. now asking $3,385 is a prime example: the month of free rent on offer translates to $310 in savings per month. 2. LITTLE ITALY Best known for restaurants, Little Italy/ Nolita — where the median sale price is $2.8 million — is one of a cluster of downtown Manhattan neighborhoods where the living conditions are less popular among buyers amid the pandemic. “With the main draw of these neighborhoods being their central location and shops and restaurants ... all of these are less important factors for people” right now, Wu says. 240 Centre St., once the city’s police department headquarters, is now a sought-after co-op, and a wide-open onebedroom on the second-floor recently received a $100,000 price cut. Among the eyebrow-raising deals in the nabe, a threebedroom with washer dryer on Mulberry Street recently listed for $4,995 (down from $5,300) and a one-bedroom on Elizabeth Street on offer for just $1,700. 3. SOHO Behind Soho’s cast-iron facades are coveted lofts and condos, with a median sale price of $2.4 million. While the shops and restaurants of lower Broadway (right) may not entice tourists as much right now, proximity to Washington Square Park has been a draw, says McKenzie Ryan, a broker with Compass who is listing apartment #19 at 101 Thompson St. This onebedroom with sublet potential was on the market for $650,000 in May, but is now asking $625,000 after a few rounds of cuts. The apartment was originally a two-bedroom, according to Ryan, renovated into a one-bedroom by the previous owner. Ryan also reports that many prospective buyers are NYU students looking for an alternative to the dorms due to COVID-19. For another neighborhood deal, look to 71 Thompson St. #5B. With two months free, the neteffective rent on this apartment works out to just $1,995/ month. (Living in Soho for below $2K/month is normally considered a steal.) It could be a roommate-friendly apartment with no living room, or a generously proportioned apartment for a couple or even a remote worker living solo.
4. DUMBO
Though fewer properties in the waterfront neighborhood changed hands in the second quarter than sold at the same time last year, the median sale price actually rose 33 percent, to $2 million. But with the usual new-development amenities less appealing during the pandemic — think communal gyms, playrooms or lounges with catering kitchens — newer buildings are offering rare deals. At new-construction condo 98 Front St., designed by local architectural powerhouses ODA, a fifth-floor studio is asking nearly $100,000 less than it was at the beginning of this year. And with two months free on apartment 9F at rental building 25 Washington St., monthly costs drop to $2,979 — a deal, considering that it comes with access to a 2,500-square-foot rooftop. Elsewhere in the neighborhood, the rent on a 1,500-square-foot three-bedroom at 50 Bridge St. has fallen $600 since last year, to $4,800, and the place even comes with a furnished home office.
5. CARROLL GARDENS
While the low-rise brownstone neighborhood has some of the same draws as lower Manhattan, with its boutiques and restaurants, Carroll Gardens hasn’t seen the same downward market pressures as a result of the pandemic. “There’s still relatively more demand than Manhattan as people are looking for more space, affordability, and don’t mind the commute times as much,” Wu says. Still, there are bargains to be hunted. Take unit #12 at 360 Court St., an airy apartment with stained glass windows located in a converted church. It’s on offer for under $1 million after a series of recent price cuts. The weekly e-mail digest Listings Project is a great place to find deals right now: It only features properties for rent by owner and is aimed at more modest budgets. Diamond, the founder, says she’s seen a record number of submissions of late. A recent gem from the digest was a $2,200/month alcove studio in Carroll Gardens — a deal so good the spot already got snapped up.
6 HUDSON SQUARE
Quiet townhouses line the streets of Hudson Square, where the median sale price is $2 million. The neighborhood — located west of Soho and bounded by Houston Street to the north, Canal Street to the south and the Hudson River to the west — is seeing an influx of rental listings from folks who’ve left the city for now. “Owners [in fancy areas] plan to go back, but they are making them available for a few years,” Diamond, of the Listings Project, says. A no-fee three-bedroom spread at 213 Sixth Ave., for example, has seen its price drop by more than $400 since July (to $3,175/month). For those in the market to buy, a first-floor alcove studio at 185 West Houston St. has shelving to separate spaces. It’s now listed for $675,000 after a price cut earlier this month.
7. FLATIRON DISTRICT
Flatiron’s convenience to offices nearby and in Midtown has long made it attractive to commuters, who both buy — with a median sale price of $1.1 million — and rent in the nabe. The neighborhood’s popularity has fallen lately, especially for renters, as offices remain remote and commutes become less of a factor in how people choose their homes. But that means “there aren’t that many people right now competing, so it’s a great time for people to get in,” says Josh Sarnell, a broker with Corcoran who is listing 134 E. 24th Street #2F. The one-bedroom in a gracious townhouse is offering one month’s free rent, making it $2,370/month — extremely affordable for the area. And at $540,000, a fourth-floor studio at 284 Fifth Ave. is $30,000 cheaper than it was last fall.