Brooklyn rentals/Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens

Sorry to disappoint you, but you wont find a place like that in CH/CG for <~$2700. That location is fantastic. Its hard to tell how big the apartment actually is just from the pictures though.

I looked at many "2br" places listed at around $2300 in CH/CG in late Feb/Early march and they were all either 1br+"den" type setups or run down buildings which needed a LOT of work.

The place you linked actually seems to be appropriately priced compared to the places I saw and comparable rentals listings. Whether it is worth it to you is another story....

You might be able to find a similar space in that price range if you don't mind living on the wrong side of the BQE (carroll, president, union, sackett, etc between columbia and hicks).

Forgot to add: I think this place would rent pretty quickly up to $2700/month. $3000 may take a while to find a taker but there are more 2br's priced at $3000 than $2500 in the area. it all depends on if the place is a real 2br or a living room with 2 walk in closets tho...

Brooklyn has not caught up yet - don't rent there as rents are out of whack with market pricing. Manhattan is offering better deals now and is a more desirable place to live. IMHO

I see your point, but it is actually a one bedroom, not a two bedroom. So the "good" parts of Brooklyn are actually more expensive now than Manhattan

Oops. For some reason I read it as 2br. They are crazy. $2500 max. I would offer 2300 and walk if they refused.

ok, now you are talking......

2 examples of what I would call more representative 1BR pricing in CH.

1) 1br on Henry bet Kane & Degraw "850sqft" - $2100
http://realestate.nytimes.com/rentals/detail/185-1687243/HENRY-STREET-Brooklyn-NY-11231

2) 1br on Clinton & Warren "800sqft" - $2250
http://realestate.nytimes.com/rentals/detail/254-466726/Floorthru-in-Beautiful-Cobble-Hill-Townhouse-Brooklyn-NY-11201

Both of these are in just as good a location as the one you posted. I don't think a terrace is worth $800/month......

I've seen about 25 apartments in the area recently, and have yet to see even one that's priced for today's market. The only inkling that Brooklyn LL's are starting to face reality is that some are now willing to pay the broker's fee. But the vast majority still want bubble prices AND expect the renter to pick up the fee, and there's no reason to pay a broker's fee in today's market (for conventional apartments, at least).
That line on the Henry & Kane listing above is typical of their attitude "Don't hesitate or you will be sorry." That kind of stuff is vintage broker arrogance, circa 2006.

Even Archstone offers better values in Manhattan than Brooklyn - the Archstone on Montague has apartments at about the same, or a little more than their Manhattan equivalents, but the buildings in Manhattan all have very nice incentives, whereas the Brooklyn one has none at all. And it's on an ugly, ugly block.

I'm moving in May and would like to be in Brooklyn, but current pricing just doesn't make sense. Manhattan is a far better value - and I'm talking prime neighborhoods, not fringe. Eventually that reality WILL reach Brooklyn, but I think it'll take 6 to 12 months, maybe more. Until then, I'll take Manhattan.

StF62, care to post some examples? When I was looking I checked out some places in the city as well and generally found equivalent apartments in the neighborhoods I was looking in to be ~500-~1,000/month more than their brooklyn counterparts. I was looking for 1,000+sqft 2br's.

Thanks

Manhattan has more large landlords, who I think have a better view of the market. When you have a building with 100 apartments, its easy to see market dynamics and the need to lower a pric to fill 10 empty apartments.

When someone has 5 units and 1 person Moves every 3 years, you get folks who just have no idea what is going on with the market.

junkman, I'm looking for a common 1-bedroom; I think the story is different for 2-beds, especially of the size you're looking for.
Since most of the ones listed by brokers are with full fee (unlike the ones I saw in Manhattan), I've been using craigslist, in addition to no-fee listings here, which are very few. Virtually all were at least exaggerations, some were outright lies. The few below are those I remember and can find (there have been so many, but they mostly fell into the split brownstone walk-up category.) Nearly every one was dirty, and around $2,000. Several were over restaurants, with the attendant smells and noise. They all blend together into a mass of overpriced unpleasantness.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/abo/1092817592.html
This place is the equivalent of those little Hell's Kitchen walk-ups, and has a miniscule, ancient pullman kitchen complete with a tiny dorm fridge. The building was quite filthy. Nice block, though.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/abo/1087663543.html
Windows right above a bunch of messy, open garbage cans. Notes posted in the lobby reminding tenants that garbage is their responsibility. (In NYC, garbage is the landlord’s responsibility. As is the cleaning of common spaces, which appears to have not happened within the past year)

http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/rental/471866-rental-513-hicks-street-brooklyn-heights-brooklyn
Dark, grim, unbelievably dirty and not a 2-bed. (not that I need a 2-bed, but it's listed as such.) Staircase on the verge of collapse. It's cheap, sure, but not nearly cheap enough.

Anything at the Standish - Great location, poor renovation. I would be OK paying their high price, had they done a decent job. Warped floors and non-functioning giant AC units stuck in windows? At these prices? Get real.

On the other hand, I've seen several decent 1-bedrooms in elevator buildings in Manhattan for around 2K, mostly through the management cos. While not luxurious, all were clean and as stated - I never felt that any of them were misrepresented. Sadly, there appears to be no Brooklyn equivalent. I think if I were willing to pay a fee (I'm not) I'd stand a chance of getting something decent. But again, that means I'd be paying above Manhattan prices.