Residential Sales in Brooklyn

Calling the haters that trashed the South Portland place a couple of months ago. . . where are you now?
Too expensive? no one's going to pay THAT MUCH? Brownstoner is a shameless shill?
Someone paid more than asking.
I can't wait to hear the rants about how they overpaid, got ripped off, they'll be sorry.
Then you'll move on to the next place, and pretend that too is overpriced because you don't like the paint job or kitchen cabinets.
What a joke.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 10:51 AM

thank you, 10:51.

it happens EVERY time.

i bet the park slope pad highlighted yesterday will be gone within the week too.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 10:58 AM

#1 and #2 - Yes, they got a good price. Lots of I-told-you-sos.

It's worth noting that this closed on 8/23/07, which almost definitely means it went into contract before the credit crunch which started in mid-July. I wouldn't be so fast to rely on it as an indicator of the current market.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 11:21 AM

To the new owner of the 21 So. Portland coop: please ask your coop board to remove the billion+ unsightly and yellowed pigeon spikes that line every single one of your building's ledges and cornices. It really detracts from the beauty of the building, and it's an outdated mechanism for pigeon control. It makes the facade look old, dingy, and just plain scary, not to mention cheap. There are lots of more effective ways to deter the birds--google it or look it up in the archives on brownstoner.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 11:25 AM

problem is, 11:21 that it isn't just this property. 2 weeks ago (most definitely after the credit crisis) there was a berkeley place townhouse discussed here for 3.4 million. it too sold in less than 2 weeks. same with that 3 million plus s. elliot townhouse.

the list goes on.

if you were out at open houses or talked to real estate brokers in prime brownstone brooklyn areas you would see for yourself that there has yet to be much, if any affect so far from the credit stuff. i'm sure it will happen, but go check out some open houses in park slope or ft. greene this weekend. you will see that there are A LOT of people out looking. People still need homes...

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 11:30 AM

The only properties that will continue to sell during the softening of the market will be those that are in excellent shape and in desirable "prime" neighborhoods. All other properties will languish on the market.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 11:34 AM

11:30 - Oh, I have been to brownstone open houses in the past few weeks and I can tell you UNEQUIVOCALLY that they have NOT been crowded. Park Slope and Fort Greene. Park Slope has been less crowded than Fort Greene, amazingly, but even the nicest one in Fort Greene had only about 10 sign-ins (and we arrived late in the OH).

A new development condo in Brooklyn, however, was very well-attended and did accept an offer. The price point there was less than $1M.

My thinking is that more people are hesitating to fork over $1.5M+ at $800+/sqft given the current environment.

I do talk to brokers, but prefer to see for myself for obvious reasons.

Just my two cents.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 11:37 AM

what's your idea of a prime, desirable neighborhood?

isn't that different for every person?

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 11:39 AM

I have two friends who are brokers in Brooklyn. Both have said that Park Slope and Ft. Greene are very strong...still.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 11:41 AM

11:41 - jesus, the day I hear a broker say the market isn't strong is the day I'll eat Barbara Corcoran's parking garage

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 11:45 AM

Didnt everyone rip the Dumbo studio to shreds also at some point also? Or one similar?

Looks like it sold for full asking in a week.

Yeah...the market sucks.

500K for a studio in Brooklyn. What is the world coming to!?

And to think last year, I could have gotten 600K for it. Life goes on.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 11:45 AM

um...these were friends talking to me out of friendship. not trying to sell anything. and they did not say the same for other neighborhoods...in fact said that places like bed stuy and windsor terrace were definitely seeing less activity.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 11:46 AM

To suggest that the current credit crunch will not have some effect on pricing in the near term is ludicrous. The cost of home ownership has risen 8 to 10% in the span of about 3 months, this is for people with good credit AND can put 20% down... The idea that this is "just going to blow over" doesn't seem to be playing out either. I work in debt capital markets in the energy sector, and everyone is spooked. I suspect there will be some layoffs on wall street beginning soon. Starting in the mortgage arena, but there will be ripple effects into other sectors. Hopefully, it is just short-lived, but there is the possibility of a recession...

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 11:50 AM

so what? recessions are a normal part of any economy.

it still doesn't mean that prime areas in one of the world's greatest cities will ever be a bargain.

the point is...the apocolypse now theories out there are absurd. what's happening now is normal and should have happened. it does not change the fact that park slope and ft. greene are amazing neighborhoods where people want to live.

this entire thing has been spun by the media to sell more copy.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 11:57 AM

Not trying to spin the apocolypse now thesis... Just saying that there is definitely a downward pressure on pricing... Great properties in old brownstones will hold up well even in the most dire of situations... The 39 active sales listings that overlook 4th avenue in the NOVO - not so much

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 12:07 PM

somebody please explain to 11:57 that because somebody WANTS something doesn't mean the price will continue to go up forever. There is a difference between (1) wanting something and (2) being willing to pay a certain asking price for that something.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 12:07 PM

i don't need that explained to me but thanks, 12:07.

i do not want prices to go up forever, nor do i think they should.

i do, however think that property in brooklyn was severely undervalued until a couple years ago.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 12:17 PM

Where is the listing for the Berkeley Place townhouse that sold for 3.4 million? I keep reading references to it, but I can't find it in the Brownstoner archives? What company was offering it?

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 12:36 PM

it wasn't highlighted...just talked about.

never heard of housebywe brokerage.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 12:44 PM

I'm the original poster.
I wasn't trying to say prices will go up forever or every place listed on Stoner is a bargain waiting to be snapped up.
My only point was that if you are going to yell and scream that every place listed on Stoner is an overpriced joke -- you know who you are! -- then step up to the plate and admit it when you are wrong.
It doesn't mean the buyers are right to plunk down whatever they paid.
It just means you don't know the market the way you think you do -- so think twice before putting in your bogus two cents next time.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 12:45 PM

I know, brokers keep bringing up the Berkeley and South Elliott townhouses but there's no source data for either transaction.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 1:00 PM

maybe they were purchased too recently to show anything yet. they sometimes like to have back-up offers before posting that it's sold. not sure.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 1:09 PM

I live in a downtown Brooklyn coop. Prices are not down (yet) but apartments are not flying off the shelf either. $500-650K one bedrooms are sitting. And those who think it is their god-given right to triple/quadruple their investment in 3-5 years are all complaining. It will only be worse once all the new buildings are finished (Smith, be@schermerhorn etc.)

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 4:04 PM

i'm the original seller on S. Portland. We had two offers, one was even all cash. I think the real lesson to walk away with here (aside from tamping down the vitriol in the blogosphere) is that small boutique brokerage houses can do you at least as much good as the giant ones, and charge you less along the way. Ours was fantastic. HouseByWe provided us with loads of effort and detailed knowledge of the market, and they sold our place above asking.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 5:26 PM

Mary Kay's listing was in contract last week. I guess the deal fell through.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 9:24 PM

Uh me again. I misread the header and thought that the Mary Kay listing was being offered for sale again. Please ignore the previous comment. Its time for me to log off of Brownstoner and go to bed.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 9:39 PM

Here is a listing for the place on Berkeley:

http://www.corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?Region=NYC&ListingID=1070981

Doesn't appear to be in contract, so I'm not sure where that rumor started. It does look sweet though, so I wouldn't be shocked if it went quickly.

Posted by: guest at September 26, 2007 11:09 PM

Yeah, that's the one I thought people were talking about, but I was confused, because I knew it was still on the market. Oh, but maybe there's another Berkeley Place townhouse going for $3 million+ that just sold in two weeks, as 11:30 am insists.

Posted by: guest at September 27, 2007 12:01 AM

no, but a berkeley place townhouse in need of a gut went for 2.7 million in august. it was a fsbo.

maybe that's the one someone was referring to.

Posted by: guest at September 27, 2007 11:36 AM