Posts Tagged ‘Up-and-Coming Real Estate Trends’

Buying Brooklyn Homes: Up-and-Coming Real Estate Trends

Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012

As a result of the changes in the real estate market and economy over the last few years, several new real estate trends are appearing. Here are four of them you might want to take into consideration when searching for Brooklyn homes to purchase.

Buy a home you can afford. In the past, some buyers bought more home than they could really afford. Today’s trend is to buy within your means (or even below your means). You still want to get pre-approved for a loan so you know the maximum you can spend, but don’t let that be your only guide to determining how much home you can afford. Consider your lifestyle. Do you want to spend your hard-earned income on vacations, hobbies, clothing, charity or your children rather than spending it all on mortgage payments? Do you prefer to live frugally now so you can save for your retirement? Or is your home where you prefer to spend the majority of your earnings?

  1. Consider live-in value as well as resale value: Buy a home that you’ll enjoy living in for the next five to seven years, rather than focusing exclusively on the future resale value of the home.  The rule in the past was that you needed to own a home for about five years in order to break even when you sold it. Now that real estate values are increasing at a slower pace, you may need to stay in your home up to seven years in order to break even or earn a profit when you sell it.
  2. Search for Brooklyn homes based on proximity: With the increasing price of gas, your daily drive to work can be very costly if it’s a long commute from your home. Consider buying a home that’s close to your work place or close to inexpensive mass transit. If you can find a home you enjoy that’s also close to where you shop and play, even better. You’ll save travel time and money.
  3. Compare the benefits of a well-planned smaller home to a rambling McMansion: According to Sarah Susanka, architect and author of Not so Big House, you can comfortably live in one-third less space than you think you can. Buy a home that you find beautiful and functional, and the size won’t matter.

Whether you’re looking at large or small Brooklyn homes, I can help you find and buy the home that fits your needs. Give me a call today  Charles D’Alessandro Your Brooklyn real estate agent with Fillmore Real Estate a call at 718/253-9600 ext 206 or email me at [email protected].