Brooklyn, New York is considered a working class neighborhood with over 2.5 million people. The cost of a 3-bedroom home can run between $450,000 and $870,000 depending on the area. With unemployment still hovering around 9% and the uncertainty of new business start-ups, the housing market has no choice but to follow suit.
Figures for Brooklyn's sold real estate that ran from November 10, 2010 to January 11, 2011 were a little disappointing. Based on 1.269 total home sales, the price decreased 3.8% from the same period a year earlier. This makes the median average home located in Brooklyn on today's market around $500,000. The amount of home sales also fell by 18% compared to a year earlier. Homes in foreclosure still remain high with 3,911 homes presently in auction or a pre-foreclosure status.
Over the past decade, Brooklyn's employment sector has been changing from mainly manufacturing to service with 44% of the population staying within Brooklyn for employment. The high-tech and entertainment industry in nearby Manhattan provides an influx of jobs. Pfizer, a large pharmaceutical manufacturing plant, offers 900 employment jobs for many that live in Brooklyn. In 2005, the average household income was $36,188 with levels expected to be slightly higher today. But this still makes it difficult to come up with a substantial down payment of 10% or more that is required for purchasing a home in Brooklyn.
Immigrants have long found Brooklyn to be a popular home for planting roots and starting families. The varieties of neighborhoods that host different nationalities make it easy for newcomers to blend in. Bedford Stuyvesant is an area where African-Americans like to form and is known for cultural starts in the arts and hip-hop. Russians can be found in Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay while Bushwick attract the Hispanic-American population. Italian-Americans can be found in the neighborhoods of Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights and Bay Ridge where many family restaurants have been present for generations.
Investors that may buy foreclosures are not as apt to purchase homes in the Brooklyn area as other places in New York because of the slow turn around rate. With the forecast for further uncertainty in 2011 to continue for at least the first half of the year, the market is expecting prices to fall even more. This places investors in a -sit back and wait' mode to wait for pricing to bottom out.
Homeowners in all neighborhoods of Brooklyn are encouraged to hold on to real estate throughout the next year to wait for a more positive equity position to emerge. It is a great time for refinancing but many find it difficult when they are upside down in a home's worth. If you have been renting for years and have a substantial down payment saved, now would be a perfect time for home shopping in the Brooklyn neighborhoods. Prices are bound to go up within a few years and you could find yourself with much more equity than you bargained for.
For advise on buying or selling a house near Long Island, NY, speak with a somekeyword or call 1-800-824-0284. somekeyword can advise you throughout each step of the complicated real estate transaction process.
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