The neighborhood of Wallabout doesn’t have the same name recognition as nearby Brooklyn ‘hoods like Fort Greene, DUMBO or Park Slope, but it has plenty of history — thanks to its location near the 200-year-old Brooklyn Navy Yard — and now, a fledgling real estate boom of its own. That’s according to the New York Times, which highlighted the developing neighborhood and its charms over the weekend. One property featured by the Times is 141 Clermont Avenue (above), on the Fort Greene/Wallabout border, which is a pre-Civil War house that unbelievably still has its original wide plank wood floors in place. It’s listed by CORE’s Doug Bowen, who lives in the neighborhood. Have a peek inside below.

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A sampling of last week’s press coverage of CORE and CORE properties.

“Where History Meets Industry”
New York Times
The Times‘ “Living In” column took a trip to Brooklyn over the weekend, to the historic neighborhood of Wallabout. CORE’s Doug Bowen, who lives in the neighborhood, gave the paper a primer on what real estate sells for in the area. We’ll have more on this story on the CORE Blog later today.

Listing of the Week
MSNBC
The press can’t get enough of Parul Brahmbhatt’s Steampunk-inspired loft listing at 120 West 29th Street (right), and neither can we. The latest outlet to cover the quirky pad is MSNBC’s The Bottom Line blog, which calls it a “dramatically-inspired space straight out of a Jules Verne novel.”

“Three Developments Change the Stigma of Upper Fifth”
New York Condo Blog
CORE founder and CEO Shaun Osher was interviewed about the changes along Upper Fifth Avenue, where there’s been a boom in construction, including the new CORE project at 1280 Fifth Avenue. Here’s our take on the piece and the neighborhood’s transformation.

“On the Market in New York City”
New York Times (12/4)
This past weekend’s On the Market slideshow included a visit to a two-bedroom CORE listing at 247 West 46th Street (above), a stunning glass tower named the Platinum. Here’s what the Times said about the apartments “pros:” Floor-to-ceiling windows offer stunning southern and western views of the city and the Hudson. Designer finishes and high-end appliances are virtually brand-new.

“2012 residential market predictions: As clear as eggnog”
The Real Deal (12/1)
The real estate magazine asked a number of top real estate minds to review the state of the market and make some predictions for where the market is headed in the new year. What’s holding back the current market? According to CORE Senior Vice President Doug Bowen, a lack of new product and a tricky mortgage landscape.

“Core takes over for BHS at 1280 Fifth”
The Real Deal (11/28)
The Real Deal’s website broke the news of CORE taking over the sales and marketing of 1280 Fifth Avenue, a new 116-unit tower designed by Robert A.M. Stern that faces Central Park. Word quickly spread to other sites, like Citybiz and Harlem Condo Life.

Michael Garr has sold over 300 million dollars of real estate from Central Park South to Tribeca. He is also the Broker Specialist for the Chelsea Mercantile, having completed 59 transactions in the prized building. Here, he writes about going above and beyond simple staging to sell apartments at top dollar.

Freshened floors, a new coat of paint and a revamped terrace got the job done on West 22nd Street.

Last Sunday’s article in the New York Times about sellers renovating their homes to appeal to buyers only scratched the surface of the work that goes into preparing my exclusive listings for the market. My team of contractors, tilers and painters have renovated several apartments and guided owners to make spot-on choices that will yield fantastic results at the closing table. For example:

After six months on the market with another company, the owner hired Michael Rubin and I to market a top-floor duplex on West 22nd Street. We chose a walnut stain for the floors after they were sanded. We removed the floor in the kitchen and put in a cream tile, which pulled everything together for a fresh buyer-ready look. The vanity in the bathroom was replaced, and updated light fixtures and new hardware were added and then painted Benjamin Moore White Dove — a color many art galleries use. For the terrace, the wood planks were painted a brighter color and plants and flowers were placed on the sides. The outdoor space felt larger (feelings are facts in real estate) and inviting. For the staging, we added the little extras needed for dramatic photogenic touch: bright pillows, hip table lamps and understated art work … all from my staging storage unit. An offer was accepted in four weeks.

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“Steampunk fandom heats up”
CBS News “Sunday Morning” (10/30)
Comedian Mo Rocca got an inside look at “Steampunk” culture on the long-running TV news show, including a tour of the fantastically decorated loft at 120 West 29th Street (right), listed by CORE’s Parul Brahmbhatt.

“Buying up domain names in order to turn a profit”
The Real Deal (11/1)
CORE CEO Shaun Osher commented on the practice of real estate companies buying up Internet domains to direct more web traffic their way.

Dream Homes
New York Post (11/3)
The Post did a little bit of salivating over CORE broker Stuart Sussman’s four-bedroom, 4 1/2-bathroom, 3,579-square-foot penthouse listing in Chelsea’s Yves building, which is asking $10.4 million.

“Chelsea Housing Gets Google Lift”
Wall Street Journal (11/4)
CORE’s 305W16 development was highlighted as one of the new residential buildings contributing to a post-Google housing boom in Chelsea. Read more: The Real Deal, Betabeat

“Psst, Seller: Your Stove Is Showing Its Age”
New York Times (11/6)
In the weekend’s Real Estate section cover story, veteran CORE broker Michael Garr talked about the benefits of sellers renovating their homes when putting them on the market.

New developments are always hot topic of conversation, and the past few days have been no different. Both the Wall Street Journal and New York Times ran stories about new residential developments in New York City, and the uniting theme is that smaller, boutique buildings — not the big guys — have a leg up right now. That’s mostly out of necessity. Like I told the New York Times, the hurdles that developers are facing include finding a development-ready site affordable enough to purchase, then financing a project’s acquisition and construction. Lenders are out there, but they are being significantly more picky about the margins they expect, and the developer who’s building the project.

But then again, this is New York City, and there will always be opportunities for projects to come along and change one of the world’s most famous skylines — and challenge pricing records. Even though there are more boutique projects being built, there are some larger projects in the pipeline.

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One positive thing the P.L.C.B.B. (Pre-Lehman Collapse Building Boom) gave us was a superior stock of well-conceived shiny new condos. Is it any wonder why these new condos are now selling for a premium, even now? A lengthy New York Times article this past Sunday explored this phenomenon, and I’d like to elaborate on my comments in the story – that product in new developments fares best even when the markets are in decline.

If you think about it, the way in which we live our lives today has changed about as dramatically as the way we communicate. (Remember the beeper and pay phone?) Buildings today are designed differently – because we live differently. To most, the layout of the un-renovated classic six on Park Avenue is not as desirable as the new loft apartment on lower Fifth Avenue. Does anyone (with a budget) in Manhattan still use a formal dining room? Certainly not as much as a playroom, home office, guest room or open kitchen.

And now that these newer buildings have amenities to match our lifestyles, their appeal is that much greater. The interesting observation to me of real estate relative to history is how it reflects our current culture. And it is changing more now than ever before. Our pipeline of new developments we will be bringing to the market in the next wave of housing reflects this. Not only as a representation of our lifestyle, but an evolution of our culture.

Shaun Osher is the founder and CEO of CORE.

Yesterday’s article in The New York Times was a reaffirmation of something people have been saying for years. It is truly perplexing to me that this measure of quantifying property value is still quoted and misquoted on a daily basis and has become the benchmark amongst “professionals” in the appraisal industry. Some “professionals” have actually made a profession out of doing this.

When the first report of this type came out 15 years ago, I contended that the measurement of a home is one of the most misleading ways to quantify the value of it. I say this as a broker who has walked through thousands of homes with buyers after seeing the things that make a difference to them (not as an appraiser). Clearly everyone wants a larger apartment, but there are things more important in a Buyer’s mind:

The view
The location
The bedroom count
The amenities
The condition
The volume of the space
And yes…the “feeling” of the space!

This hasn’t stopped some appraisers (turned analysts, turned investors) from continuing to use size as the determining factor in value.

Absurd!

(This is why the CORE Realtime Report doesn’t include square feet as a barometer of value).

Perhaps it is our need as an industry (or the desire of the media) to assimilate Real Estate to Wall Street.

But the two are fundamentally different.

The New York Times “Appraisal” column is the most widely-read column in the newspaper’s real estate section. In this week’s “Appraisal”, John B. Gomes and Shaun Osher are quoted stating that the staging of an apartment has become increasingly important in order to sell homes and referenced the successful rebranding of The Cammeyer as an example. Buyers are more likely to purchase a property if they are able to envision the space as their home. You can read more about their insights and expertise on this matter here.

So I sign up for Twitter. I figure I will be able to read the newspaper, buy an apartment and hang out with 50 Cent in my spare time. Just when I thought things were going well, I get a message that says, “Too many tweets!“.

I guess when everyone absolutely must know what you are doing at that very moment things get a little hectic. Now you know what I am doing and maybe I will try again tomorrow!