Ambitious Bed Stuy Flip 196 Hancock Closes $250,000 Above Ask
An 1880s Queen Anne on one of Bed Stuy’s best blocks attracted lots of media attention in March when a flipper bought it for $1,200,000 and then turned right back around and listed it for $1,850,000, “grotty kitchens and all,” as a Brownstoner commenter saw it. The house at 196 Hancock Street, originally an estate…
An 1880s Queen Anne on one of Bed Stuy’s best blocks attracted lots of media attention in March when a flipper bought it for $1,200,000 and then turned right back around and listed it for $1,850,000, “grotty kitchens and all,” as a Brownstoner commenter saw it. The house at 196 Hancock Street, originally an estate sale dripping with original detail but in need of work, closed at $2,100,000 all cash Friday, or $250,000 above ask, Halstead agent Ban Leow told us. He declined to say anything about the identity of the buyers and whether they plan to live in the house.
The location of the house played a big part in its final price, said Leow. “I think prices in Bed Stuy are going to soar over the summer,” he continued. “Not for all properties, but for trophy properties, depending on the size and location. The fact of the matter is Bed Stuy has never been expensive and now we are tagging a price worthy of the property.”
Brick Underground was the first to note that the house had spiked 54 percent, or $650,000, in price in only three days. In an article in The New York Daily News, investor-flipper Eric Mann justified the price increase by saying he paid tenants to leave, cleaned up and removed a partition wall.
The final sale price is edging close to the all-time record for a townhouse in Bed Stuy. So far, no sale has eclipsed the record holder, 254 Gates Avenue, a Parfitt Brothers-designed beauty, which sold for $2,200,000 back in January of 2013. But, crucially, that house was renovated and in perfect condition as well as dripping with details. The house at 196 Hancock is unrenovated but sold for only $100,000 less.
Would a renovated house sell for more, do you think? Given that top-of-the line townhouses sell for $4,000,000 in Park Slope and just under $2,000,000 in Crown Heights, what do you think the final sale price shows about the Brooklyn real estate market?
House of the Day: 196 Hancock Street [Brownstoner]
Samma you can read ACRIS good for you. Post some houses that are actually comparable (not just in the same neighborhood borders) to the one above that sold for less than $800k in the last year that weren’t a complete gut. Put your money where your mouth is since you know the neighborhood soooo well.
anything 17 feet wide isnt comparable to the property noted above. And the deals you mentioned were all cash, not for the regular buyer who needs a mortgage.
There are deals currently on the market, but I’m not going to help aid the real estate frenzy by handing them to you. I gave you several examples that display the spectrum of properties that have closed. It’s obvious that your probably the BKTF guy trolling around here, – if that’s the case maybe you should actually provide a balanced report on the market rather than pushing this sided view that largely displays only the high end abnormalities. Securing a loan prior to purchase is not impossible for the average buyer you speak of. Many New Yorker’s have been just waiting for the opportunity to purchase, and now that moment has arisen. Trading in their condo’s in other areas for something of a larger scale.
Now on the note of the 17 Footer by your logic, given the intact details and being a four unit building it should have traded for much higher. FOUR RENTAL UNITS – Will u really need a mortgage for that? Or just a standard loan. It kind of pays for itself …sorry to burst your bubble.
On this note I’m signing off of this spat. Can’t help if you feel you over paid or were left out in some way, but all the best coping with that.
4 unit will trade on yield not end user potential so know your real estate valuation before commenting again. Truly prime vacant SROs in bed stuy closed for over $1 million nearly 18 months ago so today you are SOL for the same type of place noted above. There are plenty of places in that price range but they wont be on the blocks that have been trading at a serious premium bc those blocks are much different in housing quality.
btw no relation to BKTF don’t want to drag him into the nonsense.
And who said there weren’t any deals still out there on trophy properties???
http://streeteasy.com/sale/1074349-townhouse-717-halsey-st-stuyvesant-heights-brooklyn
Hi Michelle,
I’m sorry if I have come off disillusioned by the changing real estate market here, but I definitely am aware of the uniqueness of this particular property. There seems to be a push of this idea floating about that properties of far lesser the caliber of this can carrying the same dollar value – This is something that has been pushed BKTF through their blog. It has been referenced many time on this site. That was the only argument I was taking up here. There are definitely some reasonably priced gems still on the market as we speak under a million that are not in Bushwick. Some are taking place without brokers, just comes down to knowing where to look. Looking at big Brokers will most likely not get the deal done for you. You have to be a bit of a sleuth sometimes.
Going to have to agree with the comment above. Samma you may know your neighborhood, I don’t think anyone is denying that, but I’m sure many of us have spent awhile going to as many open houses as possible in Bed Stuy in order to purchase a property. Everything I looked at, even if listed under $1m ended up going for more than ask and over $1m.
The property above is HUGE and very unique, the comps you provided below don’t even compare. Sure they are nice brownstones that need work but would never be a decent comp. Anything like 196 Hancock is going to sell for $1.5 plus in this market, maybe with a discount for a cash buyer.
Hi talesofulysses,
I just went through all of the rolling sales within Brooklyn, definitely worth checking out. You can run a filter within a specific price range and house size which is great. It verified exactly what I had previously mentioned, but in all fairness unlike BKTF I’ll give you the spectrum. 67 Jefferson just closed for 940K last month which might seem like a lot, but it’s a legal three family with period details, the facade seems to be in good condition. Does need interior TLC. Detail intact under drop ceilings. Just re-listed with CORCORAN with no interior work done at 1.6 million dollars…WTF
The property is in a prime B-Stuy location mind you, just as the Hancock property above. 181 MADISON ST closed for 750K last month as well. 383 Jefferson Ave, 17 footer with nice period details turn key condition – in need of some restoration – Sold for 860K, but It also included a side driveway I believe. My whole point has simply been that BKTF is making it seem as if properties that need a little work are trading at the caliber of 196 Hancock which is simply just not true, the above property is exceptionally beautiful, and a difficult find, there are still some out there at reasonable prices that need some restoration. If you go back just to the beginning of this year in the property records you’ll see there were some amazing! properties that sold for under 850K Three story with a basement level and cellar
THREE STORY HOMES:
253A MADISON STREET 825K JAN 2FAM
294 GATES AVENUE 630K FEB 3 FAM
You should have definitely been able to find yourself a “trophy home” within the 800K ballpark 2yrs ago, some even sold by the big name real estate firms 4sure. There were some beauties trading at 750K at that point.
Your here now, Enjoy the neighborhood it’s worth the time and commitment.
I’m sitting on my deck under a giant maple tree looking at my garden, DH. But you’re so right. Fourth Avenue has a certain je ne sais quoi on a humid summer night, and I’m sure it would be much more exciting to go to dinosaur BBQ than downtown silver spring. (Surprisingly, no. You have no taverns all about pirates in Brooklyn. )
Neighborhoods full of really, really rich people suck. I’m not sure why this is news. Rich people are rarely home, they tend to expect their “standards” to be maintained, and half of them (these days in brooklyn) are either developers cashing in on condos, or foreign investors who won’t be there. They don’t support their local schools. They don’t go to their local churches. They create their own shopping, their own restaurants, and their own infrastructures.
We are not poor, and I am not jealous. But this is also not news. Enjoy your 800 squares, dh 🙂