Thoughts anyone?

http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/4366-lic-sucks

It's amazing how much time people will spend to explain how horrible LIC is. I guess people love to hate places that are progressing.

Yea, this has been an ongoing topic of discussion in some of the streeteasy posts fo rmonths. There are real hater's on there and only one person, LICComment, who defends LIC. I do think some of the comments are valid though. Since the RE prices in Manhattan have dropped, LIC isn’t worth at much because the whole reason why LIC is such a good stop is because it’s so close to the city. Also, the constant argument that LIC (Hunter’s Point) is overpriced because it is hardly developed yet.

That's the thing though:

a) Real estate prices in Manhattan have not dropped - in fact, the median and average have both continued to increase (yes some "listed" prices have come down - but those are not actual prices).

b) Hunters point is not underdeveloped - yes, it is still developing, but by as soon as 2009 it will be more of a neighborhood than midtown or the financial district at a a significantly lower price. Most of the apartments in the waterfront area are still in the 700 psf range and the cheapest (decent) apartment in midtown is $950psf (that means a 550 sf apt for 520,000+ .

c) At least you differentiate Hunters Point and LIC. To make a blanket statement about "LIC" is like saying everything above 50th street from east to west and up to 125th street.

If things crash across the city (which i hope they won't) then Hunters Point will still be a nice place to live relative to the rest of the city. The number of new residents that will move to the area (Hunters Point) by the end of 2009 is in the thousands. It doesn't take a scientist to figure out that shops and restaurants will follow - even at this rate where one seems to open every few weeks, it goes to show that things are changing fast.

Anyhow, I just find it funny that people spend so much time hating on LIC - half of those are clearly people that come to look at the area and were interested but are hesitant about making an investment and need to justify their hesitation by posting on message boards. If they were so sure of themselves then there would be no reason to post.

-Insanely dumb article followed by an even dumber comment section.

-People in Real Estate have entirely way too much time on their hands to bicker about neighborhoods.

LIC - Hunters Point or not - is certainly a nice place to live and has huge growth potential moving forward.  However it is a fair observation that the prices on new construction there have grown out of wack - they have definitely begun pricing in future expectation instead of present state.  This is starting to correct now and will continue that path over the next few years until all the new supply gets eaten up.  Anyway, this is all an insiginificant blip for anyone with a 10+ year horizon.  And anyone who claims the ability (or facility) to time RE market tops and bottoms is full of s**t.