House of the Day: 241 Sackett Street

I think close. Ready to move in 1 family brownstones are fetching $2.5 to $2.7M. Remember the famous blue house on DeGraw (a former HOTD). That went for over the ask of $2.645. So this is less square footage, hence $500K less. Don't be fooled by the narrow houses, they feel just as large as the 20 footers, you just don't have the den/side rooms. The main areas are just as wide.

I believe Corcoran has 3 story one family on 2nd Place asking $2.4M and it's about the same total square footage.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 1:45 PM

totally overpriced, 13.5 ft wide? gimme a break!
18ft is manageable. 20ft is nice. 13.5ft wide!?!?

"don't be fooled by the narrow houses they feel as large as the 20footers"

and if you believe that, you'll believe anything. Just roll up your money and burn it.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 1:56 PM

Have you ever been in a narrow house?

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 1:57 PM

Talking about Size Matters. I recall a 16 footer on Union btw Smith and Hoyt that went for $1.9M last summer and it was set up as a duplex and 2 rentals and needed some work. It was a bidding war at the $1.795M list.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 2:02 PM

That'a a pretty narrow house.

Whoever buys this needs to get that stomach-stapling surgery to make sure that they don't gain any weight because you can't let out the party walls.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 2:07 PM

I see at least 5 interior shots, and says that is 4 bedroom 3 bath so don't think is that scant in details. No real kitchen shot - so probably not some new granite/stainlessSteel
cliche.
But considering sq ft(even if narrow) and location/elem. school and the detail pics show - doubt will sell for less than $2M.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 2:08 PM

Put 2 of them together and you would have a real house

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 2:15 PM

People do live, and raise families, in tiny awful spaces in New York City. But they usually do not have to pay two million dollars for the privilige.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 2:16 PM

How many people knock down a load bearing wall in a 20 footer to gain the actual 20 foot wide room. Usually it's 12 feet (large room) / 1 foot wall / 7 feet (Den).

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 2:23 PM

I agree with the earlier notion that narrow houses can be deceivingly small. I've actually been in a "narrow" brownstone and with the high ceilings which is quite normal for these houses, it doesn't feel small at all. Also I believe isn't the proper distance for a conversation is 13 feet wide.

Though I agree having the other smaller side rooms makes it easier to create bathrooms, laundry rooms and walk in closets.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 2:24 PM

Wouldn't a 13.5 footer have no load bearing walls.

This house is still almost 3000 sq ft. I wouldn't call this place small.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 2:29 PM

brownstoner you must not be familiar with the area if you think this will not get ask

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 2:55 PM

That is a beautiful brownstone in a great neighborhood and will have no problem getting 2.2 mil.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 3:09 PM

I have a 16 foot house that I love and the layout is just fine. Because the stairs are up the center, there is no space lost to hallways etc. The stairs are steep though.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 3:12 PM

3:10 you are ignorant of the prices in the neighborhood

Do some research before you spout nonsense

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 3:14 PM

If this sells at asking price, it tells me there is a huge premium for already renovated 1 families or 2 families with triplex and rental. Do you all agree? Is the cost of renovating (let alone time) simply so high that people will pay over $2 million for a house that doesn't need alot of work?

I wonder because we live in same neighborhood, and are considering turning our duplex plus 2 rentals into a 1 family. Despite our duplex being renovated already (although medium-end, not high-end), we are being told total renovation costs, including architect, could easily exceed $1 million, and doing it relatively cheaply (and cutting things out) means $700,000 - $800,000 (and we aren't demanding top of the line anything). Maybe that is why houses like this and the one on Degraw are easily selling for $2 million + -- because renovation costs have gone through the roof. (6 years ago we renovated 2 floors for barely over $120,000).

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 3:34 PM

"The majority of wide townhouses do not have load bearing walls" -- RUBBISH

That's simply not true. Yes one can open up a wall ans resupport it with a header beam, But you can't randomly take down the walls that run along the length of your house, the walls that run across (l to r) are not load bearing.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 3:35 PM

Love the house, hate the neighb, but I can see why it's 2.2 and I can see it getting 2m.

It's so funny how people take some of these prices so personally (while blatantly disregarding the fact that they often sell for asking+). No one is judging you by your bank account. Just cause a bunch of people are earning a lot more than you are, doesn't mean you're poor or that they're better. Relax.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 5:01 PM

Love the house, hate the neighb, but I can see why it's 2.2 and I can see it getting 2m.

It's so funny how people take some of these prices so personally (while blatantly disregarding the fact that they often sell for asking+). No one is judging you by your bank account. Just cause a bunch of people are earning a lot more than you are, doesn't mean you're poor or that they're better. Relax.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 5:01 PM

Oops, I stuttered.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 5:03 PM

anon 5:01, just curious, why do you hate the neighb? seems pretty nice to me, tho certainly has changed in the past 5 years.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 5:50 PM

I've been looking at brownstones for my family in this area for 1 year+. I'm patient, qualified and know the nabes and market well. I recently saw the place with Harbor View on Warren Street. Nice area and couldn't believe they were asking 2.1 or 2.2. It was about 16 feet wide or so and felt really narrow inside. I believe it's in contract! What the hell!? This place...13.5 feet wide? That's insane. I don't care what about square footage, floors, details, neighborhood, etc. Measure out 13.5 feet...please. What have we become if a human being pays 2 million for this?

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 6:05 PM

How wide is the largest room you have now?

I don't understand what people want. Even suburban homes only have rooms that maybe go 15 feet (when you consider the shortest side, since they usually have the advantage of being detached). Also if you don't count GREAT rooms. Normal bedroom, family room sizes are 12 to 15 feet by 15 to 20 feet. And even these small homes can have that.

People need to really see some of these homes. 6:05, your 16 footer probably seemed smaller than the 13 footer becuase of the load bearing wall. Once you get wider than 15 feet you have to have a load bearing wall which divides the space into smaller rooms, unless you support as suggested earlier with a header beam.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 6:44 PM

I'm in a 20footer and my widest rooms are all 20 foot. (ok, 19 ft if you take out the walls). There are 2 of them on the garden level (it has an extension), two of them on the middle level, and so on. Even brownstones without "center stairs" do not all subtract the stair from all the room widths!

People pumping this narrow house full of helium here, are doing it for personal gain. Thats the only conclusion I can come to. Over $2m to live in half of a 25 footer, clinton st or not? nuts!

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 6:59 PM

6:59 I guess you have no hallways and a lot of beams and posts supporting your house or else your house will come crumbling down.

I live in a 22 footer and the only room I have wider than 14 feet is the kitchen which is in a 2 story extension.

Why can't we all get along.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 7:10 PM

anon 6:15 you are out of touch with reality in this real estate cycle

Maybe you should buy something in michigan

get a clue

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 7:44 PM

There is no anon 6:15 post.

You get a clue.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 7:58 PM

Serious question - can someone please answer?

Ok, first just want to say I am happy for anyone who can afford this. Jealous? Sure, but I believe if someone can earn that kind of money, more power to them.

But how are all these people affording $2m+ homes? It seems to me in this price range, it is above normal working people - even people with a good salary of say $200k.

Are there really that many earning $500k+ or that many making huge bonuses on Wall St? I guess the answer is yes, but I am seriously in the wrong business then.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 8:52 PM

You might still be happier than those people on wall street working 70-90 hour weeks.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 9:00 PM

5:52 i hate to break it to you but 500 is pretty small change. That's a a lowly vp level. You have no idea.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 9:22 PM

9:22, ok, I guess I must not have any idea and you must be right going by the prices around here. So what do these guys do?

I know many people (i.e. executives, etc) make very good money, but again, are there *that* many though? For all these $2m condos in Manhattan and Brooklyn?

Obviously there is, I guess I am just out of touch and need to get myself into one of those positions!

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 9:53 PM

7:14 How do you like living in Mill Basin.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 9:54 PM

9:53 you're kidding, right? They work on wall street, the biggest job creator in the city. Bankers, traders, salespeople, infrastructure. 200.0 is not even an associate's salary. You call that a good salary. 21 year old analysts make 150.0

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 10:23 PM

people who are very much in touch with reality are often scorned by those who have vested interests in the status quo.
Don't believe any of the crap perpetuated by realtors or others who think you are a sucker. Fight back. Fight back. tell the assholes this is a thirteen foot wode house built for the lower middle class and one that welfare recipients would probaly reject.
Just because you are young and middle class does not mean these old farts should push you around and make you feel like you are a piece of shit. Fight back. Bullies collapse when they are confronted. Don't take it. Tell your real estate broker to go fuck themselves. You will feel do much better.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 10:54 PM

"I know many people (i.e. executives, etc) make very good money, but again, are there *that* many though? For all these $2m condos in Manhattan and Brooklyn?"

I am a mortgage broker and basically a lot of people in these mainly-upper middle class brooklyn suburbs, can afford very expensive homes now because - guess what - real estate market has boomed and payed out for anyone upgrading over the last 10 years, boosting their paper wealth up to a level their income could not support if they had to finance it all from scratch. They were leveraged with mortgages, and made out like bandits in the run-up. So basically house asset rich, (relatively) income poor.

Some fancy co-ops shy away from these buyers, which drives equivalent condos up in value.

I don't see many salary men who go from zero to plunking down 50% equity on a $2m home. That kind of stuff is reserved to a sprinkling of newly minted super-star hedge fundies, and those new rich who encountered an "equity event" (their startup went public, or got bought for squillions).

Posted by: Anonymous at June 12, 2007 11:27 PM

10:23, no I wasn't kidding, I just did not realize a 21 year old out of school starting as an analyst starts out at $150k. I am not familiar with Wall St jobs. Apparently I chose the wrong career!

Posted by: Anonymous at June 13, 2007 9:23 AM

Don't believe 12:47, NYPD is one block away and these so called vagrants are people from the neighborhood who don't have $2M for a house and have lived in the area for a number of years before the gentrification. Just because you hang out on the street doesn't make you a drug addict.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 13, 2007 2:46 PM

We sold this house about five years ago for around 584K , check the records. It was the month I sold three houses in distress on the block. Times must be much better. How much? People always come to me to buy, not so much to sell. Doesn't quite equal out. I sell things for cash in a
few days, for real prices, to real people. I

Posted by: Anonymous at June 14, 2007 9:54 AM

Anyone over twenty writing their thoughts? Yes, many people make lots of money in NY, not many of them are ill informed jerks. The house is too narrow.
The block is homey, but not beautiful.
Who would be that foolish to buy that thing for that price. The broker has priced this thing too high. Less latch
key kids with silly stories.

Posted by: Anonymous at June 14, 2007 10:01 AM

First of all, a million condos won't make townhouses (esp. one like this one) any cheaper. Charm is rare. Authenticity super rare.

"Concerend Resident": You're one of those people that a cop friend of mine told me about. Apparently in Dowtown Brooklyn, FG, CH area there are a lot of these phonecalls, increasing exponentially in the last year, about people "loitering" or "congregating" on the street. Usually white people bitching about the black people walking around on their block.

Now I don't want to start some stupid racial thread again, but this is a funny story: Someone (ostensibly) new to the nieghborhood calls the police because there's a bunch of black people on the corner. "Ma'am," says my cop friend, "Is this the corner with the church on it?" "Yes". "You do realize it's sunday morning? Is it possible that the peope congregating are a congregation?" "But they're making all this noise!"

Posted by: Anonymous at June 14, 2007 10:36 AM