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June 6, 2005

New Old Listing Alert: Ditmas Park Queen Anne

ditmasAddress: 463 East 19th Street
Nabe: Ditmas Park
Broker: Brooklyn Properties
Floors: 3
Family: 1     GMAP
Sq. Ft: 4,800
Price: $1,750,000
Status: Active




Posted by Brownstoner at 11:44 AM | Comments (12)

Comments

This one has been on the market for a couple of months, through Mary Kay Gallagher and Kestyn. Now, Brooklyn Properties has it as well. It started at something like $2.3 million, then dropped to just under 2, and now at 1.75. It looks like a nice house but it's hardly landscaped on the outside, which is a bit underwhelming in comparison to the look of the other mansions in Victorian Flatbush. The number still seems high unless it's magnificent on the inside.

Posted by: Jimmy at June 6, 2005 1:35 PM

hey brownstoner - did you notice that on corcoran
the pfizer mansion is back - now at $4.5
And to think you could have had it saved yourself
a million if you grabbed it in January.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2005 2:39 PM

Wow. Hadn't noticed. C'est incroyable.

Posted by: Brownstoner at June 6, 2005 3:55 PM

Once again. Great houses, but a limited pool of buyers willing to buy in the area to support the askings

Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2005 4:44 PM

The asking prices are too high ... the houses in this area in this range are just sitting and getting flipped from broker to broker. For 1.75M, one can buy a VERY nice brownstone in Clinton Hill or even something nice in Park Slope or Fort Greene.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 6, 2005 8:38 PM

I've walked away from two potential purchases in Bed-Stuy for the same reasons (in one case, after paying for appraisal and inspection).

This housing market is priced to perfection, and unless you feel this house is perfect for you and yours, you're going to despise it as you shell out more than you expected to renovate it(and, even more so if housing prices ease).

Sleeping at night is more important to me than getting caught up in the hype. So, if uncertainty (as opposed to exhiliaration) is keeping me up at night, then I walk. You may consider doing this also. (BTW, I did buy an investor property in Bed-Stuy last year, so I'm not completely averse to purchasing, but I'm still looking for my HOME and, so, I'm being very selective.)

I suspect that more and more potential purchasers will begin to have these experiences (realizing that they could be paying top dollar for properties of questionable value) and, when they do, prices will ease. Unfortunately, I do not know when the market psychology will change.

Good luck!

Posted by: Jungle at June 6, 2005 10:41 PM

My last posting was in the wrong spot.
Sorry, guys.

Posted by: Jungle at June 6, 2005 10:46 PM

Looking at the photos, there is nothing particularly special about the inside. The kitchen and bathroom look to be in need of updating. 1.75 sounds high, indeed.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 7, 2005 8:01 AM

Can you get something nice in Park Slope for 1.75 these days? Not according to the listings I've seen. I'd expect to shell out at least 2.35 in the Slope for something of real quality.

The kitchen and bathroom don't look bad to me in the Pfizer Mansion. The blue beams need to be refinished, but I love the kinetic use of Victorian wall papers on the ceiling. Very aesthetic movement.

Having said that, I still think it should be in the 1.395 range. The lot is sorry to look at without a flower or tree in sight. Also, it's a ways from the Park and Cortelyou Road. That's the problem with Midwood Park, deep into Ditmas Park, and Fiske Terrace - gorgeous overall, but you really do have to depend on you car. Prospect Park South and Beverley Squares East and West have it over the southern side of Victorian Flatbush when it comes to location.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 7, 2005 9:05 AM

"Can you get something nice in Park Slope for 1.75 these days?"

What's "nice"? A gracious mansion with well-preserved detail on a Park block? No. A modest-sized brownstone in good mechanical condition with some detail in a fairly central location (say, Center Slope between 5th and 7th Avenues)? Sure.

Posted by: linusvanpelt at June 7, 2005 9:56 AM

I guess I do mean something as gracious as the best of the Ditmas Park houses.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 7, 2005 11:07 AM

This house is not gracious and is double what it should be. The cosmetics are acceptable, but anybody paying even in the 1.3m range in prospect south should expect mint condition. These houses were all under a million 6 months ago and cost a fortune to maintain compared to a brownstone. Ever see a keyspan bill on one of these? These a just the type of thing to get crushed in a downturn. I'm sorry but 30% price increases in a 6 month period can easily mean 30% drops next year. You're not only going to lose your equity, but be owing the bank when you try and sell it. Don't say you weren't warned when it happens and wine that the appraisers, brokers, and mortgage bankers lied to you. Be smart and responsible. Do you really need a house with 7 bedrooms right NOW? if you do, you'd better expect to live there for the next 15 years.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 9, 2005 8:28 PM

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