349 Metropolitan: Ugly and Foreclosed
Photo: Curbed

The Real Deal looks at the Williamsburg condo pipeline and doesn’t like what it sees. 5,000 new units are expected to come on line this year and next, adding to what is already a pretty saturated market in the midst of an awful real estate slump.

This really shouldn’t be a surprise – even in a market that’s moving up, the potential inventory in Williamsburg and the rest of north Brooklyn is huge. Developers (and recent buyers) are on the wrong side of what always looked like to be pretty scary supply/demand curve. The only difference is that that curve is now marked with black diamonds.

Let’s also acknowledge that there is a lot of crap on the market – and 349 Metropolitan (in the photo, above) is among the crappiest. Big ugly building, poorly constructed (judging from the stone panels that are already falling off the building) and in a pretty crappy location, even for the Northside. And the sales figures bear that out – as TRD reports, there has only been one recorded sale in the 40-unit project. (Back in February, Gowanus Lounge reported 21 units in contract, but that was before the whole project went belly up.)

Still, for quality construction in bona fide good locations, the hurt should be much less.