12/02/08

• Home

• The Magazine

• Archives

• Webcasts

• Advertising

• Job Board

• South Florida

• Subscribe

Seeing less green in Fort Greene

Craig Axelrod in front of the Verdi on Adelphi. He said he is confident about sales going forward, but added that in hindsight, he would have gone with a less flashy design.

Two years ago, Time Out New York named a stretch of South Portland Avenue in Fort Greene the "best block" in New York, noting that its brownstones gave it a "Sesame Street" feel — and that it's nestled in a neighborhood known for a "commingling of cultures" where "there's plenty to do."

And now? While the brownstone market is basically holding its own amidst a sluggish sales climate, developers of a handful of new Fort Greene condos are seeing units languish on the market.

Three new Fort Greene condos, in particular, have seen slow sales over the past couple years: the Clermont on Myrtle Avenue, the Verdi on Adelphi, and the Forté, which is on Ashland Place.

According to sources who asked not to be identified, and a post last month on the Brooklyn real estate Web site Brownstoner.com, the 52-unit Clermont, on Clermont and Myrtle avenues, is now being transformed into
a rental.

The developers of the building did not return calls seeking comment.

Although the building went on sale early this year, StreetEasy records indicate that not one unit in the building sold. Prices in the Clermont were ranging from nearly $400,000 for a one-bedroom, one-bath to $866,000 for a three-bedroom penthouse.  

About a block away, only three units in the 16-unit Verdi on Adelphi (which is located between Myrtle Avenue and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) are in contract, even though the building has been on sale for nearly two years. Prices on the unsold units were reduced by $25,000 to $50,000 early last month, and now range from $330,000 for a 533-square-foot one-bedroom to $649,000 for a 1,000-square-foot two-bedroom.

The broker who represents Verdi on Adelphi and one of its developers said the reason the building appears to be selling slowly is twofold. First, they said, the building was initially being sold via floor plans; second, marketing was scaled back until a few months ago, when the brokers had a model unit to show.

"We didn't have a sales office on site, and since the market has gotten much slower, people are only buying when they're ready to move," said Kara Kasper, a senior vice president with Corcoran who has been representing the building.

"If we could [go] back, we wouldn't have advertised so early," added Craig Axelrod, a principal of Emmy Building, the Verdi's developer. Axelrod noted that since adjusting prices, he's received three additional offers, and he is confident about sales going forward.

Axelrod also said that if he could turn back the clock, he would have gone with a less flashy design. Architect Gene Kaufman designed the Verdi on Adelphi, notable for a shimmering exterior finish capped by oval-shaped rooftop appendages.

"We're a little high end for this area," noted Axelrod. "If we had gone more bare bones, we could have had lower price points."

In another section of the neighborhood, just 35 units at the 108-unit Forté have sold since sales and marketing for the condo started in February 2007. Still, a representative for the Clarett Group, which developed the 30-story condo, said the company continues to have confidence in the neighborhood.

 "I'm not going to lie to you; they're not flying off the shelves," said David Perry, Clarett's director of sales. "But people who are buying here are buying for the neighborhood and location."

Perry said that a round of price reductions on unsold units this summer
sparked buyer interest, and that Clarett inked eight deals for condos in the past couple of months.

"We don't think there's going to be another round of price reductions," said Perry, noting that the firm is exploring a rent-to-own program for the building that would act as a savings program for prospective buyers (see Buying a condo, one piece at a time).

"We're not going to be a rental. We can hang out for another year if we need to," he added.

Another new condo in the neighborhood, the 74-unit Clermont Greene at 181 Clermont Avenue, is 20 percent sold since hitting the market this summer, a level of sales that its broker is pleased with given today's economic climate.  

"Two years ago, we probably would have been sold out by now," said Christine Blackburn, a senior vice president with Prudential Douglas Elliman who is representing the building. "But it's taking people longer to make decisions and get financing."

Blackburn said she thinks sales have been off at other new condos in the neighborhood because of "problematic finishes, construction decisions and location."

A large part of Fort Greene's lure, said Blackburn, is living in a brownstone neighborhood near a park, and buildings like the Forté and the Verdi on Adelphi are not on pristine brownstone blocks.  

"Our building is very modern, and it definitely doesn't look like a brownstone," said Blackburn. "But it's only six stories, and both sides face brownstone blocks. You're not hovering above the neighborhood on the 18th floor of a building.

"It's also different to exit your building and be on a brownstone block, not on Fulton Street."

Brownstones, of course, are what most people think of when they think of Fort Greene. A broker who's been selling them in the neighborhood for more than five years said that while they're still coveted and commanding high prices, there's more inventory on the market than there was a couple of years ago, and houses are taking longer to sell.

"Even in this tough economy, if you price a home right, it'll sell well," said Abdul Muid, a senior associate broker with Corcoran. "Buyers are not fools. No one's building these old homes anymore."

Muid said that brownstones in the neighborhood generally range in price from a hair below $400 a square foot to nearly $700 a square foot for a top-notch, "move-in condition" house on one of Fort Greene's most desirable blocks, such as Washington Park or South Cumberland Street.

A couple of years ago, said Muid, there would only be between three and five brownstones on the market at any given time, but in the past year or so, that number has increased dramatically; it's not unusual to see between 15 and 20 brownstones for sale in Fort Greene.

The increase in inventory means he's usually showing homes more before they go into contract, and most of his houses take between six and seven months to sell — about double the length of time they took to sell a couple years ago.

Muid said he's not surprised it's taking longer for some condos in the neighborhood to sell.

"People want the older brownstones. They want buildings with a lot of character, and that's what they're looking for in Fort Greene. These new developments can't create 19th-century detail."

The disparity between brownstone and condo sales in Fort Greene was highlighted in the second-quarter market report from HMS Associates, a Brooklyn appraisal firm.

HMS's report shows that while the average sales price for condos in the neighborhood dropped from $615,000 to $565,000 year over year, the average sales price in the neighborhood rose during the same period, thanks largely to sales of houses and co-ops.

"Fort Greene did surprisingly well in the second quarter overall, mostly because of two- to four-family home sales. And in that neighborhood, that usually means brownstones," said HMS's executive vice president, Sam Heskel. "The condo market is going to take a little longer to recover, and that's not just true for Fort Greene, but for all of Brooklyn."