House of the Day: 272 Halsey Revisited

That is a lot of duckets to live in Due or Die. Particularly given that most buyers looking at this joint will need a JUMBO mortgage.

Hey Corcoran, how 'bout gettin' real with the prices so that they reflect what's happening in TODAY's market.

Oh, be sure to pack your nine.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 1:38 PM

You mean it should come down 10.459%

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 1:44 PM

Is this the house that has only had two owners in the past 117 years? I think the house is priced right if they are asking 3 million for S. Elliot Pl less than 2 miles away. I really wish people from Park Slope and Brooklyn hts did steal the front doors off these houses. I think doors make a house and may of the homes in Bedford Stuyvesant have the Sears special going on......

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 2:12 PM

This is a nice house!! Not sure about what kind of 'work' you think it needs, looks like they did a nice job upkeeping and updating it where needed.
Also, you can still get Jumbo morgages for 7% despite what you read in the papers.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 2:14 PM

Halsey, Thompkins and Throop is hardly pistol packing country now. This would be smack in the middle of a new Bedford Corners Historic District, when that is designated.

I agree, nice house. I also agree it needs to go down some more. Not because Bed Stuy or this house isn't worthy. But because the market is waay overinflated.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 2:24 PM

2.14 - obviously the broker screening software is down. hopefully back up soon.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 2:24 PM

brownstoner: what work? the bathroom and kitchen are kind of blah and boring, but work?

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 3:33 PM

How is this area? Does anyone know? How would it be walking from the A train from Nostrand at 9 at night if you had to work late?

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 3:40 PM

yeah I have seen homes in non prime Park Slope that need much more work than this one that sell for 2 mil. For anyone that is smart and see that in 5 years this home will be double or more what it is today. I just brought a home two blocks away in Stuyvesant Heights and if I had any extra money I would invest Bedford Heights/Bedford Corners before it turns into Ft. Greene with 3 million dollar houses.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 3:49 PM

Yes, but you can also walk around Park Slope at 4am with little to no problems.

You can't put a price on safety and lovely surroundings. Well you can I suppose. It's about a million dollars.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 3:53 PM

Police on every corner at the time of night you will be fine... This part of Bedford Stuyvesant is no different than any other area in the downtown Brooklyn

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 4:07 PM

I live one block South and one block East, so in answer to the question about the area I can answer that it is great. I lived in Williamsburg for 6 years and this feels much nicer. The neighbors are super friendly, everyone looks out for each other, and there are people around even late at night so it always feels safe walking from the train. The only drawback to the neighborhood is there are not too many places to go out but that is changing, even in the year I've been there. I think the price is about right, maybe a little high, but not much.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 4:17 PM

3:40, Halsey is a bus route x 2, as it is a 2 way street. There is always lots of foot and car traffic. If you got out of the train and walked up either Fulton to Thompson, or better, up Nostrand to Halsey, you will be just fine. I used to come home far later than that back in the 80's 90's and never felt unsafe, and I'm a single woman who lived a block away from this house. Street smart radar should always be on no matter where you are.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 4:29 PM

Some people, when spending a million dollars on a home prefer not to have to keep such a close watchful eye on walking home.

For 250K, sure. I'd take some chances, not for a million bucks. Not saying that this place should be 250k, I'm just saying that for a neighborhood like Bed Stuy which up until 10 years ago was one of the worst in the entire country, million dollar homes are ridiculous. Maybe in another 10 years, but not now.

I'ts silly.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 4:33 PM

Here's food for thought: a similar house a block away on Hancock went for $905,000 not long ago and it needed a total reno. It was comparable in terms of size and historic charm but had numerous issues, both mechanical and cosmetic. If the place on Halsey really is in move-in condition, as it appears to be from the photos, then I think this new price could fly. Simply not having to strip the woodwork saves you $50K right off the bat.

Full disclosure: I'm not a broker, but I do live in the area. Like 4:17, I have not found safety to be an issue. Perhaps it helps that the precinct house is several blocks north on Tompkins, so cops are often walking by on their way to Fulton to get coffee or begin their patrols. But it certainly helps that people around here tend to know their neighbors and keep an eye on what's happening, which is more than I can say for my previous NYC neighborhood.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 4:48 PM

well, if the house has only had two owners, neither of them ever repointed the back wall or dealt with the serious moisture issues in the basement. It's a lovely house upstairs, but there were puddles of water in the basement when I went to the open house 6 weeks ago, and the brick support columns were crumbling. I don't know what kind of expense that would be, but they should have spent the money they used to redo the kitchen on fixing the issues in the basement. They did have a dehumidifier on full blast, but it wasn't doing much good! As for the neighborhood, it's changing very fast, but who wants to pay a mansion tax on a place with structural issues? Corcoran is wildly overpriced across the board. 100 decatur went for 980K, I think 999k is the absolute max for this.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 4:57 PM

4:33, I'll be interested in your opinion once you've actually spent some time walking around the area.
Sure, you can argue that million dollar homes in Stuy Heights are ridiculous, just like 3 million dollar homes in Ft. Greene are ridiculous, not to mention 6 million dollar homes in Brooklyn Heights. But it all comes down to what the market will bear.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 4:58 PM

I've been to Bed Stuy many times.

It's great, but not 1 million dollar great.

Most homes in Ft. Greene do not sell for 3 million dollars. They are few and far between. Most are more like 1.5 or 2. And the neighborhood has come a long way, has services, restaurants, an improving park, etc.

Bed Stuy doesn't have much of that stuff. That's why I wouldn't pay that kindof money. If the economy takes a tumble, which they are now saying it might, Bed Stuy won't be getting any new services for quite some time.

My point is, don't pay for what you think might be down the road, because who knows if it will ever come.

Places like Park Slope, Ft. Greene, Brooklyn Heights are already there. They have become established neighborhoods that have turned the tide.

I don't believe that can be said for Bed Stuy at this point. Stuy Heights, yes, Bed Stuy, no.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 5:01 PM

guest 5:01, this house is one block outside the Stuy Heights historic district, and is in the part of the neighborhood calendared for HD expansion. Definitely would be considered Stuy Heights.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 5:10 PM

5:01 is right.

There are neighborhoods in Brooklyn where you are expected to pay for what is already there. And there are neighborhoods, like Bed Stuy, that are priced as though 5 or 10 more years of change have already happened.

Those neighborhoods will be hit hardest if the market weakens.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 9:42 PM

4:33, to make a statement of opinion that PARTS of Bed Stuy were really bad 10 years ago is one thing, and I will grant you that. However, to say uniquivocally that the entire neighborhood "was one of the worst in the entire country", was, and is still, patently untrue.

I lived there 10 years ago, I lived there almost 20 years ago, and even with the crack wars going on, my part of BS, which was around the corner from this house, was never that bad. I was never mugged, never robbed or broken into, and never had my car broken into or stolen. Neither did most of my neighbors. If I had owned my home, I'd be there still.

I'm not looking at the place like it was perfect, because it certainly wasn't, and we were not immune to the social ills around us, and shit happened, but NEVER did I feel that I lived in one of the worst neighborhoods in the country, because I didn't. That perception was from the outside world and the media, not from those of us who loved our community.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 12:00 AM

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."

Thomas Jefferson

Welcome to the end of this Mutant Real Estate Bubble

The What

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 3:43 AM

Hi fellow nasty-ass brokers. This is not my listing, so it must suck.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 7:26 AM

4:33/5:01, first of all, remember that Bed-Stuy is an extremely large neighborhood - you could fit three of the other "brownstone belt" neighborhoods within its boundaries. Different subsections of BS have radically different vibes - as different as, say, the outer reaches of Clinton Hill are from DeKalb Ave. in Ft. Greene.
Secondly, services ARE coming. Right around the corner from this place on Tompkins Ave. you'll find a nice sit-down restaurant, a brand-new coffee shop, two trendy clothing boutiques, a home design store that recently expanded to 2 storefronts (and was featured on HGTV), two antique stores, a hardware store, and a day spa. And there's even more on Lewis Ave. which is a couple of blocks East.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 9:20 AM

I live in Park Slope but looking in Bedford Stuyvesant and while looking I notice the people are much much nicer in that area.. It is almost like small town USA. The people do seem to look out for one another which I really like very un-NYC

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 10:17 AM

for a neighborhood like Bed Stuy which up until 10 years ago was one of the worst in the entire country, million dollar homes are ridiculous. Maybe in another 10 years, but not now.

I'ts silly.

When I tried to show apartments in Ft. Greene less than 10 years ago nobody wanted to live there, now my cousin is asking $3,100.00 rent for an upper dplx utilities not included. He has had the house about 15 years and paid <200k for it.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 11:39 AM

You can't put a price on safety and lovely surroundings. Well you can I suppose. It's about a million dollars.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 3:53 PM

I think you mean 2.6 million dollars. I have told the story about the empty buildings on So. Elliot where wild dogs lived when I went to school on that block in 1977, the same block where a house just sold for 3.7 million. Nobody wanted to live on that block and most of the buildings were empty and many of the others were whore houses. The one wise resident was Dennis and he has reaped the rewards.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 11:46 AM

Bed Stuy and Ft. Greene are not the same entity.

People associate Bed Stuy with Harlem and South Central LA because at one time those were three of the worst neighborhoods in the U.S.

This is New York. Sure, some will look for deals, but the majority of people don't want to go around telling people they live in Bed Stuy.

Not to mention Ft. Greene has MUCH better train access than Bed Stuy.

If you think Bed Stuy will have 3 million dollar brownstones in 10 years, you are sadly mistaken.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 11:57 AM

Corcoran is wildly overpriced across the board. 100 decatur went for 980K, I think 999k is the absolute max for this.

I am a Bed Stuy guy and I would be happy if it went for 940k

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 12:07 PM

Bed Stuy and Ft. Greene are not the same entity.

People associate Bed Stuy with Harlem and South Central LA because at one time those were three of the worst neighborhoods in the U.S.

You know not of what you speak, Ft Greene had one of the worst reputations in the city, it even had the only murder in the blackout of 1977. Ft Greene and Clinton Hill were always in the same boat as Bed Stuy, and Bed Stuy even retained more quality blocks during the lean years than its now more matured sisters.
The brownstones of Park slope and Brooklyn Heights are adorned with many stolen artifacts from their neighbors to the east.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 12:15 PM

I am the Bed Stuy guy and after looking at the pics I could live with 999k; perhaps the naysayers should come to the upcoming house tour and the 10k race or the street fair on Lewis ave in Stuyvesant Heights this weekend so they can make more informed comments. Restoration is also having a Rock Concert this Sat. Sept. 15th starting at noon with 7 bands.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 12:20 PM

When is the Bed-Stuy house tour?

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 12:25 PM

If you think Bed Stuy will have 3 million dollar brownstones in 10 years, you are sadly mistaken.

I personally know someone who paid 30k and still owns a house on So. Elliot where a house sold for 3.7 million. You are new to Fort Greene. The 16 unit building next to Tech was on the market a few years ago for 1.2 million and nobody got it, lucky for the owner - he still has it.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 12:27 PM

There is no other neighborhood that elicits such boosting and defensive comments than those in Bed Stuy.

For that reason alone, I think it says a ton.

I don't need to tell everyone how great Park Slope is, because everyone already knows.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 12:46 PM

I went to the Bedford Stuyvesant house tour 4 years ago and I hated it the homes did not impress me the tour guide was giving out wrong information, I just thought it was horrible. Well two years later I went back and it did a complete 180 and to date it is the best Brownstone House tour I have been to. As a architect so hard to impress like most architects. I went to the Park Slope tour a few months later and was not impressed at all. One or two nice homes but very boring nothing that had the wow factor.
What I notice about the Bedford Stuyvesant tour was it was young home owners that had many fresh ideas and could afford to put these ideas in there home because the mortgage was not crazy. I am really looking forward to the next Bedford Stuyvesant house tour. I missed last year but God welling I will be there this year.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 12:57 PM

I don't need to tell everyone how great Park Slope is, because everyone already knows.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 12:46 PM

How great was it 15 years ago? or 7 years ago when people didn't want south of 9th or west of 4th? Stay tuned 12:46 and lets see how smart you look in 2020 a lifetime from now for you. I am glad I was able to get houses for my family in Bed Stuy for 100k a piece and under in the past ten years and regret not getting one on my block for 550k 1.5 years ago since 371 Hancock on the same block sold for 935k 11 months ago according to this blog; I also regret advising my mother against buying a house on Decatur between Lewis and Stuyvesant for 500k 5 years ago and now they are got 1.2million around the corner on Bainbridge for a lesser house. Don't come to the house tour this year come to our 30th annual next year when we unveil shit like you've never seen, or do you have saunas in your basement and hot tubs on your roof decks. Get out more!

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 1:00 PM

You could get off at Kingston on the A line or C instead of Nostrand and walk down Throop Ave.And it is Tompkins not Thompson. There is crime in Bklyn Hgts, Carroll Garden and Park Slope as well.This day and age, crime is rampant everywhere,from the prime neighborhoods, suburbs and not so prime neighborhoods.So making a statement like, bring your nine or whatever applies to anywhere you live .The dad who went for a carton of milk in BayRidge one night and was senselessly robbed and killed is a good example.Crime is everywhere.Occurs at anytime.Dont think that living in a toney neighborhood makes a difference. Can't get an idea of crime statistics from the pct. They are controlled by NYPD to make it appear like they are doing their job. Wake up and smell the crime.It is all over.Moving to Bedstuy is no different than moving to Park Slope in this day and age as far as crime is concerned. Scan the neighborhood news and you will see.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 1:03 PM

Don't forget to check out the first ever Crown Heights North house tour. October 6th, starts at noon from St. Gregory's RC Church on St. Johns Place and Brookyn Avenue. It's going to really rock. We've got 8 houses and two churches on the tour. Don't miss out!

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 1:20 PM

"There is no other neighborhood that elicits such boosting and defensive comments than those in Bed Stuy.
For that reason alone, I think it says a ton.
I don't need to tell everyone how great Park Slope is, because everyone already knows."

Give me just a small break. People make a point out of defending Bed Stuy to counteract all the needless fearmongering and veiled racism. But fortunately, misguided souls like you are helping to keep the property values just low enough to allow us to retain some healthy economic diversity... and if we want to see how the other half lives, we can always hop over to Park Slope and watch your overentitled preschooler express himself by demolishing the display counter at the corner bakery.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 2:24 PM

The Bed Stuy Tour is October 20th.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 2:39 PM

Hahaha.

Like I said....

NO other neighborhood elicits such defensive comments.

You are all a bunch of children. I wish you could hear how ridiculous you sound trying to make everyone believe Bed Stuy is so great.

God willing I'll be there!

LOLOLOLOLOLOL

Can't we just call it like it is?

Bed Stuy is fine. Some great homes, a feeling of unease about living in a place where a lot of the young generation of people don't want you around and above average crime. Sounds like Philly. I love Philly.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 2:58 PM

"The majority of the people don't want to run around and tell people they live in Bed Stuy."

Why not?

I'm certainly not ashamed to tell anyone that I live in one of the most architecturally beautiful sections of Bklyn, or that I live in a neighborhood where most of us speak to each other, and keep an eye out for each other. Nor am I ashamed to admit that I live in a neighborhood where middle class people can still make a home for themselves in an historic brownstone, or that I live in a community with strong cultural and historic roots.

Is my neighborhood perfect, and does it have everything I need? No. But ashamed to say I live here? Never.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 2:59 PM

It's easy not to be ashamed when you are leaving anonymous comments on a real estate blog.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 3:03 PM

"I wish you could hear how ridiculous you sound trying to make everyone believe Bed Stuy is so great."

And I wish you could see how jealous you sound continuously trying to put down those who are perfectly happy living here.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 3:05 PM

Yeah, 3:03? Pot. Kettle. Black.

I don't see your photo, name and address either.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 3:07 PM

Why is it ok to bash Park Slope for everything under the sun from breast feeding, to strollers, to hipsters, to milf's to whatever the hell it is, but the first time someone says that Bed Stuy isn't Sesame Street, everyone FREAKS OUT?

It's more the truth than any of the previous about PS, but I guess talking about Park Slope is just so much more fun?

Crime and racial tension are definitely less fun than a MILF.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 3:11 PM

Deriding other posters as "children" while remarking "LOLOLOLOLOLOL" speaks for itself.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 3:31 PM

It's easy not to be ashamed when you are leaving anonymous comments on a real estate blog.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 3:03 PM

Good point Mrs. Guest

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 3:32 PM

never said i was ashamed of anything. that's the difference.

you need a course on functional reading.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 5:40 PM

The meaning of DIVERSE is that which most closely resembles our society as a whole with many different backgrounds.

Last I checked the U.S. was not 85% black.

Park Slope more closely resembles the 65% white, 15% black, 15% hispanic, 5% asian or therabouts that represents our country...

A neighborhood that is nearly all african american is not diverse.

It might be great, but it's anything but diverse. It's probably one of the most segregated communities in all 5 boroughs actually.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 7:17 PM

Let's not forget this will be worthless once Atlantic Yards is built.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 7:30 PM

It might be great, but it's anything but diverse. It's probably one of the most segregated communities in all 5 boroughs actually.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 7:17 PM

Don't go there, you are already defeating yourself. Try Howard beach, Mill Basin, Most of Richmond County, Breezy Pt. White people put up signs for segregation, c'mon.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 7:36 PM

Bay Ridge is certainly not segregated. Segregation is not only racial, but financial. Bay Ridge and Mill Basin have a very distinct blue collar, middle class and upper class.

Bed Stuy has no such thing. There are the rich white new crowd, a handful of wealthy african americans and a huge portion of very poor/lower class.

I'd say you'd be hard pressed to find a neighborhood in New York with such a lack of a middle class.

Even in Manhattan there is moreso with all of the rent control and rent stabilized apartments among projects among million dollar lofts among older walk up co-ops among...

Don't fool yourself into thinking you live in the picture of diversity just because you need to recoup a large sum of money you put into your housing.

It's excactly why we're in this mess. And I'm not talking just the mortgage meltown mess. I'm talk mess of a country.

Ignoring all the people among you who are less fortunate do not make them invisible.

Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 9:06 PM

Wrong, 7:17. There is a huge amount of difference between a predominantly black (or any other kind) of neighborhood, and a segregated neighborhood. Segregated implicitly means that there are legal or societal rules and laws that prevent communities or schools or whatever from integrating. No one is preventing white and other peoples from moving into Bed Stuy. In fact, most of these newcomers are the first to say in forums such as this, that they are welcomed and befriended by the majority of their new neighbors, something they have never experienced anywhere else. Contrast that with communities such as Mill Basin, Howard Beach, and other communities where blacks have been made to feel VERY unwelcome, to the point of deadly encounters. If you want to call any communities segregated, it is those, and places like it.

Extremely ironic how a community like BS goes from being economically and socially segregated by outside forces, see redlining, continuous negative media attention, etc - to being accused of self segregation when land and housing is running scarce. Welcome to the reservation, kimosabe.

Posted by: guest at September 14, 2007 12:13 AM

9:06, you obviously know nothing about Bed Stuy other than vague rumors, hearsay,

First of all, all white people moving into BS are certainly not rich. They are mostly young renters in search of a bargain, or middle class buyers in search of an affordable home. Read any thread about BS, according to popular wisdom, the white rich would never come here to live. Just as all white people are not rich, neither are all black people poor.

Secondly, it has not been the "handful" of wealthy black homeowners who have kept this neighborhood together for the last 50 years, it's the very large community of middleclass folks - the teachers, city and state workers, post office, health care workers and secretaries who have invisibly and quietly raised generations here who make up the majority of residents here. They are the majority of Bed Stuyers, more than the new rich or the very poor.

It would be much more comfortable to keep thinking that black Bed Stuyers are only a couple of really wealthy people and an enormous amount of the desperate poor, because you know very little about the community, or black society in general. Next time, do some research before making an absurd and insulting generalization like that.

But then your entire post had so little actual fact in it anyway.

Posted by: guest at September 14, 2007 12:30 AM

Hate to break it to you, 12:30, but people buying 750K and up brownstones in Bed Stuy are not middle class.

That might be your version of middle class, but it ain't mine.

You are severely out of touch with reality.

Bed Stuy is what it is. A place with great architecture and major social problems. You can ignore it all you'd like, but the community needs a lot of help. That help will not be in the form of those coming in and pushing old residents out for their own greed.

At least in Park Slope, when it was being gentrified, ACTUAL middle class people were the ones who did so, and has now reaped the benefit of a truly stable, economically viable community with services, shops, restaurants and people that really care about their community.

Last time I was in Bed Stuy there was someone yelling to someone else "at least i didn't kill my girlfriend"

Posted by: guest at September 14, 2007 1:00 AM

Funny this morning in PS when I was wallking to the train there was two men "talking" about killing each other...

Posted by: guest at September 14, 2007 9:32 AM

well someone was shot in clinton hill in broad daylight yesterday and he's still on the loose.

i believe that trumps the last two posts.

Posted by: guest at September 14, 2007 10:38 AM

This really proves a point most people are killed my people they already know... Most of the time stranger do no kill one another. A lot of times it is someone that the person lives with.

Oh no the killer is sleeping next to me LOL...

Posted by: guest at September 14, 2007 11:15 AM

Still on the market at $999,000

Posted by: guest at November 20, 2007 2:22 PM