Real estate firm buys an entire street in Manhattan

In times when New York City’s housing market is getting more competitive, some investors are buying an entire street. The real estate investment firm known as Firebird Grove bought 11 buildings in Greenwich Village, The Real Deal reports. The company paid over $32 million for houses in Patchin Place, located off of 10th Street. 

Patchin Place is a dead-end alley with ten 3-story brick row houses. The street was built in 1849 and has not changed much since then. The historical alley often attracts tourists in a mood for nostalgia.  

According to the Firebird Grove website, the real estate group is working with multiple “innovative firms that are dedicated to generating passive income and asset appreciation for investors.” The SoHo-based company modernizes historic multi-family properties for both investors and tenants. 

The market share of American homes purchased by investors is growing. The data released by Redfin shows that real estate investors bought 80,000 homes in the United States worth a total of $50 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021. 

“While record-high home prices are problematic for individual homebuyers, they’re one reason why investor demand is stronger than ever,” wrote economist Sheharyar Bokhari in the Redfin report. 

“Investors are chasing rising prices because rental payments are also skyrocketing, incentivizing investors who plan to rent out the homes they buy. The supply shortage is also an advantage for landlords, as many people who can’t find a home to buy are forced to rent instead. Plus, investors who ‘flip’ homes see potential to turn a big profit as home prices soar.”

Currently, rents in New York City are reaching an all-time high and surpassing their pre-pandemic levels. Overall, low supply and high home prices are a blessing for real estate investors and a curse for individual homebuyers. 

Image credit:

Greenwich Village Alliance website

Resources:

“Investment group buys entire street in Greenwich Village,” by Harrison Connery (The Real Deal, 2022)

“A Time Capsule Alleyway in Greenwich Village,” by Ellie Seymour (New York on my mind, 2016)

“Patchin Place,” (Wikipedia)

“New York’s last gas lamp in a West Village alley,” (Ephemeral New York, 2012)

“Real Estate Investors Are Buying a Record Share of U.S. Homes,” by Dana Anderson and Sheharyar Bokhari (Redfin News, 2022)