When we talk about real estate we are guilty of trying to talk about the macro trends in the industry. What needs to be knocked into all of our heads is that real estate is local. And when you think local, think hyperlocal as in neighborhoods and even streets.
The New York Times has an article discussing the Gravesend neighborhood that is dominated by Syrian Jews. Because of family and religious concerns a few blocks of this neighborhood sell for more than the rest of Brooklyn. And prices are going through the roof.
So when you read this site remember that we talk about the big picture, but if you are looking for advice on how your home is going to sell, talk to your neighbors. They can tell you the real deal.
In fact, it is a very particular part of Brooklyn, one where some of the wealthiest members of an extremely tight-knit enclave of Syrian Jews compete with one another for properties on a few coveted blocks of large homes around Avenues S, T and U, between the area’s main synagogues on Ocean Parkway and its most prestigious yeshiva on McDonald Avenue.
Because devout Jews are barred from driving on the Sabbath, houses within walking distance of a synagogue carry a premium. And while that has had an impact on real estate values in other Brooklyn neighborhoods, the effect could hardly be more extreme than it is in Gravesend, where house prices have risen to astonishing heights.
“This market is not dictated by interest rates or the price of real estate as a whole,” said Frank Lupi, the president of Wolf Properties, a real estate agency in Gravesend. “The houses over here, they sell very quickly, and you’re almost naming your price at this point.”
Elliot Betesh, the president of the Dr. Jay’s clothing stores, who lives on Avenue S, said, “We’re just a tight-knit Jewish Sephardic community that all lives together.”
Paying Any Price to Live Here – New York Times.
