Williamsburg rents plunge as L train shutdown nears, Streeteasy says

Williamsburg
rents are falling ahead of the L train
shutdown.
Spencer
Platt/Getty

• Rents in Williamsburg continue to drop as residents
  move out ahead of the L train shutdown, according to
  StreetEasy. 
• The portion of the subway line that connects Brooklyn
  to Manhattan will be closed for 15 months beginning in April
  2019 to repair damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. 
• Landlords are offering more discounts to people who
  will soon renew their leases. 

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New Yorkers looking for a bargain on rent and willing to endure a
longer commute may be able to find a sweet spot in
Williamsburg.

It’s one of the city’s trendiest neighborhoods, but residents are
fleeing before a portion of the L train is shut down for 15
months beginning in April 2019, according to the real
estate-listings site StreetEasy.

To entice anyone who’s willing to move in as others relocate,
landlords are slashing rents. In June, the monthly costs of 48%,
or nearly half of all Williamsburg apartments listed on
StreetEasy were lower compared to two years earlier, the website
said in a
report released on Thursday. 

The average reduction was $250, but rents dropped by as much as
$400 in some buildings. StreetEasy found that over the last two
years, the luxury building Leonard Pointe had the most number of
units relisted on its platform at a discount. And, rents at 44
Berry Street dropped by $448 on average, the most in the
neighborhood.

“These figures are only likely to increase as inventory grows and
the L shutdown moves closer,” Nancy Wu, a data analyst at
StreetEasy, said. 

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is

shutting down the section of the L train that connects
Manhattan and Brooklyn to repair damage caused by Hurricane Sandy
in 2012. It 
plans to 
increase
service 
on alternatives to the L
train including the G, J, M, Z, and 7 lines. But as recently as
Tuesday, those lines — like many in the city — were jam-packed
during the morning rush hour commute, previewing what may be in
store when the L train shuts down, Gothamist
reported.  

Williamsburg residents who plan to stay and will soon be renewing
their leases have a good bargaining chip in the subway
disruptions. Some buildings are already extending the number of
months of free rent to three from one or two, Wu said. 

“While lower rents are attracting renters to live in (or stay in)
Williamsburg, landlords have to compete with each other in a
market that has 25% more inventory than it did last year,” Wu
said. “In June 2018, almost a third of listed apartments across
Williamsburg received a price cut, the highest rate of any
Brooklyn neighborhood.”

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