Six Months Later: Open House Picks 7/6/07

I love this feature. Shows how ridiculous prices are in Ditmas Park and Victorian Flatbush.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 12:02 PM

Please, this house is a wreck and in South Midwood, to boot. Siding is an eyesore.

Check out comps generally for 2007 in Flatbush. Houses that deserve high price tags (and they're out there), get ask or very close. Sometimes more.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 12:10 PM

Sorry, make that West Midwood.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 12:10 PM

Looks like, despite all the recent negative comments about Crown Heights from people with no intention of buying there, the housing stock is still very desirable.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 12:31 PM

The house on 11th Street in Park Slope is now For Sale By Owner. Not sure how much for though. The apartments to the right are probably an issue as they look straight into the property on all floors. Nice block though!

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 12:34 PM

Crown Heights still offers some of the best values and is undoubtedly among the most noteworthy Brooklyn brownstone nabes, architecturally speaking. It's definitely got flaws, but the folks who live and own in Crown Heights (including me) really love the place.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 12:38 PM

I think CH was set at a great price

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 12:51 PM

Yeah, CH was priced relatively "cheaply", so it went for over. It was also full of detail, and had had only two owners. Neighborhood not good, but great house.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 1:01 PM

I think the pricing had a lot to do with the CH property.CH, unlike other areas of brooklyn is the first to adjust to reality. I don't see a lot of available condos coming from the new landmark area. Anyone know what the pricing range for condos should be in this area?

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 1:11 PM

Good day to the clueless. Unemployment number are starting to suck and consumer spending has fallen off a cliff. Hey asshole! Real Estate is OVER!!!! The bad thing the market are set up for a crash. 20% correction day coming your way. Real Estate is dead. Thank GOD.

The What

Someday this war is gonna end....

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 1:18 PM

The CH house did it right. Overpricing then spending months waiting for that one special buyer is a terrible strategy. Sellers have got to price things reasonably to even get people to take their listing seriously and go see it, much less make an offer. If the property sits around too long people start to think there's something wrong with it.

My old realtor in L.A. always sold things this way: price the property just under recent comps, release the info a week or two in advance of the open house saying nobody will see it until the open house, and really follow through with that. Then on open house day it's a frenzy. In the week leading up to my open house I had people walking into my yard in the night trying to look in the windows they were so desperate to see the place. Annoying, but it got me 7 offers on the first open house day and we sold for over asking.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 1:29 PM

"Comment: Interesting to see the Crown Heights house go almost $100,000 over asking. "

It's called "cash back"! Sell over asking and get money back at closing. This one of the reasons why houses is so high. Then the house goes into foreclosure and the assholes who made the loan will be begging for a bailout.

Understand, this shit is real bad folks. This year you will not be able to get a mortgage without a full body cavity search. Wall Street is set to implode and take the American economy down with it. 2008 is going to be fun.

The What

Someday this war is gonna end....

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 1:42 PM

Since Real Estate is dead, maybe "The What" will invest in a grammer coach!

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 2:05 PM

And you will invest in a Spelling Coach! :-)

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 2:07 PM

And I will invest in psychotherapy after reading Brownstoner too much! :(

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 2:10 PM

Kicking cash back to the buyer is also known as mortgage fraud by the buyer (if there is a mortgage involved) and arguably tax fraud by the buyer in the future (if the inflated price is used as the basis when the house sells). Add the fact that you have both buyer and seller, and you can add conspiracy counts against the seller.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 3:04 PM

"It is very difficult to prevent this however; only serious prison time for offenders will make sellers think twice before making such a deal."

I agree with you, however the damage has been done. Our financial system is ruin. It will take a depression to clean things out.

BTW I think the number is higher on "Cash Back" deals. Maybe about 37%.

The What

Someday this war is going end...

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 3:51 PM

Take it from The What on the percentage back. He's done his share of cash-back deals over the last several years!

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 4:39 PM

as too speculative imagination of commentors re: CH house.
Records show was bought by a Corcoran broker and his mortgage is $634k on the prop.
So - keep dreaming up and perpetuating conspiracies, fraud, etc, etc, etc.
Don't ever do research and find real info.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 4:50 PM

"The Waht is definitely right in this instance."

You are in deep, deep trouble if you take ANYTHING this person has to say seriously. Just a warning.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 5:03 PM

"Records show was bought by a Corcoran broker and his mortgage is $634k on the prop."

And that disproves the kickback theory how, exactly?

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 5:04 PM

The What is a crack whore.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 7:33 PM

"Wall Street is set to implode and take the American economy down with it."

Wow, I read these blogs every day and the WAA (sounds like a baby crying, stands for What An Asshole) never ceases to amaze with his in-your-face use of propaganda headlines and manipulation of statistics.

I happen to be privy to the CH transaction specifics, and this was neither mortgage fraud nor a kickback. It was simply a case of a well-priced house on a very nice block.

Oh, and by the way, WAA, conduct some actual research before you scream that the sky is falling for the upteenth time. Yes, it is true that i-banks are writing down billions on their CDO portfolios, and I'm sure you will go running to factiva to grab ten more links to throw in my face in your disgruntled retort. But here are a few facts you cant argue:
1) Last year, the five major brokerages (i.e., Goldman, Lehman, Morgan, Bear & Merrill) earned between 4-11% of their total net revenues from MBS including prime, subprime, and Alt-A. Since I know you cant do simple math because you cannot even write a sentence with proper grammar, let me explain that this leaves ~89-96% of their net revenues largely in tact
2) Bonus checks (which are the single largest driver of the NY real estate market) havent gone off a cliff. The FT reported yesterday that "...average bonuses at the top Wall Street banks look set to match 2006 levels, as management seeks to retain top talent despite the huge subprime write-offs."
3) Corcoran reported this week that overall, the high-ticket areas stretching from Park Slope to Brooklyn Heights saw average prices shoot up 8 percent in the final quarter of last year - from $613,000 to $661,000 - compared to the same stretch in 2006

So you can continue spitting your bile conspiracy theories, but it will probably be another 12-18 months before sellers begin to price in line with buyer expectations and the bubble begins to gradually deflate.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 11:44 PM

"Oh, puh-lease. I'm sure CH house was simply priced right (for a couple of buyers) and had a little war--and bear in mind, 100K is only a little over 10% on this deal.

On these alleged cash-back deals, do you simply make a handshake deal (for $100K?), or do you have your lawyer draw up an (illegal) side contract or rider guaranteeing payment, thus making your lawyer--an officer of the court--a party to the conspiracy and a candidate for disbarment? And afterwards, do you pay the buyer with a wheelbarrow full of cash? Because otherwise, he's going to need to deposit that check in a bank, which keeps records, which are problematic when attempting tax fraud. And this behavior is common?"

No you dumb mother fucker!! After the closing when the money clears the seller goes to the bank and give the buyer the kickback.
It's happen ALL THE FUCKING TIME YOU STUPID MOTHER FUCKER. Please rehab go away.

The What

Someday this war is gonna end...

Posted by: guest at January 5, 2008 3:46 AM

Hey 11:44 Do you like the market today!!! 2008 the fuck you year!!!2008 the fuck you year!!!2008 the fuck you year!!!2008 the fuck you year!!!2008 the fuck you year!!!2008 the fuck you year!!!2008 the fuck you year!!!2008 the fuck you year!!!2008 the fuck you year!!!2008 the fuck you year!!!2008 the fuck you year!!!2008 the fuck you year!!!2008 the fuck you year!!!2008 the fuck you year!!!2008 the fuck you year!!!

You know Who

Someday this war is gonna end...

Posted by: guest at January 5, 2008 3:48 AM

WAA WAA WAA WAA WAA WAAWAA WAA WAAWAA WAA WAAWAA WAA WAAWAA WAA WAAWAA WAA WAAWAA WAA WAAWAA WAA WAAWAA WAA WAAWAA WAA WAA

Posted by: guest at January 5, 2008 9:35 AM

WAA is a crack whore

Posted by: guest at January 5, 2008 11:37 AM

A smart financial institution, especially in a stable to slow market, will base the loan on the MLS asking price. So the CH house was listed for $700,000, "sold" for $793,000, and was probably appraised for $800,000 (appraisers can work magic).

If the buyer qualifies for 90% financing, the value of the house would be reduced to $700,000, thus limiting the financing to $630,000. Meaning NO FRAUD.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of dumbass financial institutions out there.

Posted by: guest at January 5, 2008 3:10 PM