We Buy Homes, Walk-Ups & Mixed-Use From Bay Ridge to Coney Island

Housing Stock

What South & Southwest Brooklyn Is Built From

South and Southwest Brooklyn stretch from the Gowanus Expressway and Green-Wood Cemetery in the north to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, Gravesend Bay and the Coney Island boardwalk in the south. It is the largest region we cover, and its housing ranges from 19th-century brownstones to postwar brick two-families to oceanfront high-rises.

In South Slope, Greenwood Heights and the northern part of Sunset Park, the stock is brownstone and brick row houses and walk-ups, much of it built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Sunset Park also has a large waterfront industrial area, including Industry City and the Brooklyn Army Terminal.

Bay Ridge mixes limestone row houses, detached homes on the blocks near Shore Road and Colonial Road, and a large number of pre-war apartment buildings, many of them co-ops. Dyker Heights is known for detached homes, some very large. Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Gravesend are dominated by brick two-families and semi-detached houses, many built from the 1920s through the 1960s.

Borough Park, Kensington, Midwood, Homecrest and Madison combine detached and semi-detached homes on side streets, row houses, and six-story elevator buildings on wide streets like Ocean Parkway and Ocean Avenue. Coney Island has amusement-district property, older frame houses and large residential towers.

Common Condition Issues We See

• Original kitchens, baths and boilers in long-held family homes
• Basement and attic apartments without proper permits
• Landmark review requirements in Sunset Park historic districts
• Aging facades and parapets on walk-ups along the avenues
• Flood exposure near Gravesend Bay and Coney Island Creek

Zoning

Zoning in South Brooklyn

Much of South Brooklyn was rezoned in the 2000s to protect its low-rise character. The city adopted contextual rezonings covering large parts of Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights and Fort Hamilton, among other neighborhoods, which generally lowered the size of what could be built on side streets while keeping more density along major avenues. Bay Ridge has had its own Special Bay Ridge District for decades, with rules on building height and bulk.

Coney Island went through a major rezoning in 2009 that created new rules for the amusement area and allowed residential and mixed-use development in the surrounding blocks. In Sunset Park, the proposed Industry City rezoning was withdrawn in 2020, and the waterfront remains largely industrial.

The City of Yes for Housing Opportunity changes adopted in December 2024 apply citywide, adding the Universal Affordability Preference, parking reform and accessory dwelling units on many one- and two-family lots. Some local carve-outs and district rules may limit how they apply in specific South Brooklyn areas, so confirm what applies to your lot with a zoning professional.

Coastal blocks near Gravesend Bay, Coney Island Creek and the Atlantic shore are also affected by flood zone rules and the city’s 2021 Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency text, which addresses how buildings in flood zones can be raised or rebuilt.

Regulated Buildings

Rent-Stabilized Buildings in South Brooklyn

South Brooklyn has a deep stock of regulated housing. Sunset Park walk-ups along Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Avenues, Bay Ridge apartment buildings near Fourth Avenue and Ridge Boulevard, and six-story buildings along Ocean Parkway in Kensington and Midwood often contain rent-stabilized units.

Since the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, owners have had fewer ways to raise regulated rents, while costs for fuel, insurance, taxes and repairs have kept climbing. That has pushed many owners of older South Brooklyn buildings to consider selling.

We buy stabilized buildings with tenants in place and value them on what they actually earn. Read more on our rent-stabilized building page. For newer buildings that received a tax exemption, see our 421-a building page. The 421-a program closed to new projects in 2022 and was succeeded by 485-x in 2024, while existing 421-a buildings continue under their benefit schedules.

Where We Buy

South & Southwest Brooklyn Neighborhoods We Buy In

We buy in every neighborhood across the region. Here is a quick guide to each, with links to more detail.

Bay Ridge

Bay Ridge runs along the Narrows from Shore Road Park to the Gowanus Expressway, served by the R train on Fourth Avenue. It has limestone row houses, detached homes near Shore Road and Colonial Road, walk-ups and many pre-war apartment buildings, with retail on Third Avenue, Fifth Avenue and 86th Street. The Special Bay Ridge District shapes what can be built. We buy row houses, two-families, walk-ups and mixed-use.

Fort Hamilton

Fort Hamilton is the southern tip of Bay Ridge, around the Fort Hamilton Army Garrison at the base of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. The housing is mostly brick two-families, row houses and small apartment buildings on blocks in the 90s and around Fourth Avenue near the end of the R train at Bay Ridge-95th Street. It was included in the mid-2000s Dyker Heights and Fort Hamilton rezoning. We buy homes and small multifamily buildings here.

Dyker Heights

Dyker Heights, between Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst, is best known for detached homes, including the large houses on the blocks around 11th through 13th Avenues in the 80s famous for holiday lights. It also has many brick two-families and semi-detached houses closer to Bensonhurst, and Dyker Beach Park and golf course on its southern edge. We buy detached homes, two-families and estate properties.

Bensonhurst

Bensonhurst is a large neighborhood of brick two-families, semi-detached homes and walk-ups, with retail on 18th Avenue, 86th Street under the D train, and Bay Parkway. It includes New Utrecht, the area around New Utrecht Avenue and the historic New Utrecht Reformed Church. The neighborhood is home to long-established Italian American and growing Chinese communities. We buy two-families, mixed-use and walk-ups.

Bath Beach

Bath Beach sits along Gravesend Bay south of Bensonhurst, near Bensonhurst Park and the Shore Parkway promenade. Its housing is mostly brick two-families and semi-detached homes, with walk-ups and mixed-use along Bath Avenue, 86th Street and Cropsey Avenue. Blocks closest to the water can carry flood zone considerations. We buy family homes, small multifamily and development sites.

Borough Park

Borough Park is one of Brooklyn’s busiest and most densely built residential areas, centered on 13th Avenue and served by the D train along New Utrecht Avenue and the F along McDonald Avenue. Detached and semi-detached homes are often expanded, and walk-ups and mixed-use line the avenues. It includes Mapleton, the quieter southern section toward Bensonhurst. We buy homes, buildings and sites here.

Gravesend

Gravesend is one of the original towns of Kings County, dating to the 1640s, and still has an old town square near Gravesend Neck Road and McDonald Avenue. Today it is mostly two-families, semi-detached homes and walk-ups, with retail on Avenue U, Kings Highway and McDonald Avenue under the F train. We buy two-families, walk-ups and development sites.

Homecrest

Homecrest sits roughly between Kings Highway and Avenue X, from Ocean Parkway toward Coney Island Avenue, along the B and Q trains. It mixes detached and semi-detached homes, two-families and apartment buildings, with busy retail on Avenue U. The city rezoned parts of Homecrest in the 2000s to protect its low-rise blocks. We buy homes, small multifamily and mixed-use.

Madison

Madison is a quiet residential area east of Ocean Avenue, tucked between Midwood, Sheepshead Bay and Marine Park, with James Madison High School as a local landmark. It is mostly detached and semi-detached homes, many with driveways, plus some row houses and small apartment buildings. Many homes have had one owner for decades. We buy detached homes, two-families and estates.

Midwood

Midwood is centered on Kings Highway and Avenue J, with Brooklyn College at its northern edge and the B and Q trains running through. It includes the landmarked Fiske Terrace-Midwood Park Historic District and Manhattan Terrace, an early 20th-century enclave of detached homes within Midwood. Detached homes, two-families and six-story buildings along Ocean Avenue are all common. We buy across Midwood.

Kensington

Kensington lies south of Prospect Park and Green-Wood Cemetery along the F train on McDonald Avenue. It includes Ocean Parkway, lined with six-story apartment buildings and the landmarked parkway itself, and Parkville, the area around Parkville Avenue to the south. The Albemarle-Kenmore Terraces Historic District sits at its northern edge. We buy walk-ups, elevator buildings, two-families and mixed-use on Church Avenue and Coney Island Avenue.

Sunset Park

Sunset Park runs from the Upper Bay waterfront up to the park on the hill, served by the D, N and R trains along Fourth Avenue. It includes Industry City, the waterfront industrial complex, and Brooklyn Chinatown along Eighth Avenue, with Latin American retail on Fifth Avenue. Four historic districts were designated in 2019. We buy row houses, walk-ups, mixed-use and industrial property.

Greenwood Heights

Greenwood Heights sits between Green-Wood Cemetery and the Gowanus Expressway, roughly between South Slope and Sunset Park, with the R train on Fourth Avenue. Its blocks hold brick and frame row houses, walk-ups and some newer residential buildings, along with light industrial property near the expressway. Battle Hill in Green-Wood is a well-known landmark nearby. We buy row houses, walk-ups and small development sites.

South Slope

South Slope is the southern end of Park Slope, roughly south of 15th Street toward the Prospect Expressway and Green-Wood Cemetery, between Fourth Avenue and Prospect Park. It has brownstone and brick row houses, frame houses and walk-ups, with mixed-use along Fifth and Seventh Avenues and newer buildings on Fourth Avenue. We buy row houses, multifamily and mixed-use buildings here.

Coney Island

Coney Island is home to the boardwalk, Luna Park, the Cyclone and Maimonides Park, and is served by four subway lines at Stillwell Avenue. It includes West Brighton, the central area near the amusements. The 2009 rezoning reshaped the amusement district and surrounding blocks. We buy older homes, mixed-use on Mermaid and Surf Avenues, and development sites.

Why Owners Sell

Why South Brooklyn Owners Sell to Us

South Brooklyn has some of the longest-held properties in the borough. Families who bought two-families in Bensonhurst or Dyker Heights in the 1960s and 1970s, or row houses in Sunset Park even earlier, are now passing them to children who may live elsewhere.

• An inherited two-family with several heirs who need a clean, fair sale
• A Sunset Park walk-up with rent-stabilized tenants and rising costs
• A detached Midwood or Madison home that needs a full update
• Unpermitted basement or attic apartments that complicate a retail sale
• A mixed-use building on 18th Avenue or 86th Street with a vacant storefront
• Flood damage or insurance pressure near Gravesend Bay or Coney Island
• Owners retiring to Staten Island, New Jersey, Florida or elsewhere

Whatever the reason, the goal is usually the same: a fair price, a predictable closing and no months of repairs and showings.

Potential

Where South Brooklyn’s Value Is Hiding

Because much of South Brooklyn was rezoned to protect low-rise blocks, development value here is often more subtle than in places like East New York or Downtown Brooklyn. It tends to come from avenue corners where commercial zoning allows more floor area, detached homes on wide lots, unused rear yards and air rights, and older buildings that can be renovated and properly legalized.

In Sunset Park, the value may come from landmarked row houses that can be restored, or industrial property near the waterfront. In Coney Island, it may come from parcels within the 2009 rezoning area. In Bensonhurst and Bath Beach, it is often a two-family that can be modernized into well-run rental units.

We look at each property for what it is today and what it could become. See what we buy for the types of property we purchase across Brooklyn.

Your Options

Your Options for Selling in South Brooklyn

Listing With a Broker

Listing can work well for a vacant, updated house with legal units and clean paperwork. Many South Brooklyn properties have tenants, unpermitted basement apartments or dated systems that make financing harder for buyers. Expect commissions, inspection negotiations and a timeline driven by the buyer’s lender.

Developing or Renovating Yourself

Some owners choose to renovate, add units or develop. In landmarked parts of Sunset Park, that includes Landmarks Preservation Commission review. In coastal areas, flood rules matter. It can work for owners with time, capital and experience, but it is a long project.

Selling Directly to Us

Selling to Red Hook Development means a single cash offer, no repairs, no showings and a closing on your schedule. We buy with tenants, violations, estates and landmark constraints. You trade some of the possible upside of a renovated retail sale for speed and certainty. Start on our sell your property page.

How It Works

How Selling to Us Works

• Send us the address and a few details by form, phone or email
• We research zoning, records, tenants and comparable buildings
• We visit once, at a time that works for you and any tenants
• You receive a written cash offer with no obligation
• You choose the closing date and we work with your attorney

Your sale stays private. We do not post your property online or put a sign on it.

Market Context

The South Brooklyn Market Today

South Brooklyn has a broad, steady buyer pool, from families looking for two-families with rental income to investors looking for walk-ups and mixed-use. At the same time, higher interest rates, insurance costs and the 2019 rent law changes have made some properties harder to sell through the usual channels, especially occupied buildings and homes that need major work.

A direct buyer does not depend on bank appraisals or a buyer’s mortgage approval. We make an offer based on the property and its potential, and we explain how we arrived at it. If you want to compare our offer with a listing, we encourage it.