REAL ESTATE, LOCAL BUSINESS, AND THE RECESSION

(Photo by Leonid Tarassishin)

WHAT MY APPRAISER SAID

When my wife Ellen and I had our house appraised recently, I complained to the appraiser that the current appraisal figure was $20,000 lower than the one done three years earlier (before we made some very visible major improvements).

Once I had a chance to think about it, the appraiser's response seemed right. He told me this 'minor downward adjustment,' as he called it, was actually good news.

Such a small [!] decline in the valuation, he explained, showed that our property had held its value during a time of catastrophic losses in so-called better neighborhoods on Staten Island and elsewhere.

He added that, in general, houses in our area were holding their value (a) because of their close-to-Manhattan location; and (b) because, even at the height of the real estate bubble, their selling prices usually were lower than elsewhere on the island and closer to their underlying value.

RESURGENT STILL

The meaning of our appraisal runs exactly counter to the findings of a poorly researched May 15 New York Times story about a slowdown in St. George's resurgence by City Room reporter Christine Haughney.

Haughney noticed (or was told about) Brooklyn developer Leib Puretz's unsold condos. She interviewed Karl Reina, the Karl's Klipper restaurant's owner, and heard about its dwindling income. On the basis of those two examples, Haughney concluded that St. George's resurgence has, as she put it, stalled.

Nonsense. Leib Puretz's condos are unsold because they're overpriced. They were overpriced and unsold during the housing bubble; they're overpriced and unsold now. Karl's Klipper's income is falling because those who can afford to eat out in this economy prefer the more interesting experiences offered by local restaurants like Enoteca Maria, Beso, Bayou and Adobe Blues.

Ms. Haughney wasn't told about my new neighbors across the street--the ones who waited until the price of their new house fell to a level they could afford, then made their bid. She probably didn't hear about the new couple down the block, either. Both teachers, they bought a bank foreclosure after the former Section 8 tenants vandalized the property and the absentee owner jumped ship.

Last weekend, they were out there, planting a sidewalk perennial garden. What's more resurgent than that?

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Comments

[condo Philippines]

What a blissful and inspiring article. Makes me sigh out loud, in appreciation.

Deirdre G

[Dan Icolari]

Very kind of you to take the time to deliver such a warm compliment. I'm glad the piece inspired you.