House of the Day: 13 Cranberry Street

holy mother, that is a gorgeous house.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 1:37 PM

I hate sounding like a typical Brownstoner, but it really IS insanely priced.

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

That house needs an art enema. I've never seen so much unnecessary bling on so little surface area.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 1:44 PM

i don't know, it's only 3 floors plus a basement - not much habitable space for $8 mil. the attic is a bonus, i suppose, if you have that much junk to store. beautiful, though, and in a beautiful corner of BK heights.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 1:51 PM

it's going for over asking.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 1:52 PM

152 Hicks Street sold for about $1000/sf. This place asking over $1700/sf.

The comps have spoken.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 1:55 PM

It's going for over asking because . . . . There's a redeemable coupon of 2 million involved? It comes with a free lifetime supply of parking anywhere in the tristate area? There's a celebrity attached?

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 1:57 PM

I agree, a powder room and Im writing a check

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 1:58 PM

4 floors plus a basement.
Now are you going to make an offer?

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 1:58 PM

$8 million and nowhere to park the Hummer?

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 1:59 PM

Give me a chamber pot out back and I'm payin' CASH!!!

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 2:16 PM

This block is amazing, the house is amazing and the neighborhood is amazing.

It will sell for close to asking.

The heights homes ALWAYS do.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 2:18 PM

1:58, mine's already in the mail, so THERE.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 2:18 PM

this is the most beautiful house you've featured...so elegant, wonderful light.....not a thing needs to be done. It should sell quickly, and probably close to asking...the bonuses were paid last Friday

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 2:19 PM

"bonuses were paid last Friday"

Good point, 2:19...I think that's why we're seeing a few of these super high end homes come on the market all of the sudden like the PPW one as well.

My bonus this year was a little more than last year and well into the 7 figures.

Anyone else see the same? This place is still a little rich for my blood, but I am looking for something in PS for around 2-3 million...all cash.

Anything really nice out there?

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 2:23 PM

Any idea who the current owner is? Wallstreeter, executive, celebrity, etc.?

Nice place, but price per SF seems high

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 2:23 PM

2:19 - not a thing needs to be done.

but, lower the asking price.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 2:24 PM

anyone read in the Times this weekend that Shalom Harlow lives in Brooklyn Heights? There seem to be more famous people there than I knew about.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 2:27 PM

I did know that about Shalom Harlow actually.

I also saw Park Posey out and about in Park Slope yesterday. I had heard she left the east village, but I wonder if she's moved to Brooklyn...?

Also saw Ryan Reynolds the actor on 5th Ave. yesterday as well.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 2:35 PM

for 8 million don't think i want to see radiators or a painted over fireplace.

lame.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 2:36 PM

My bonus was well into the seven figures as well, unfortunately all but one of they was to the right of the decimal point. Does anyone know if UTZ potato chips are on sale at Key Food this week?

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 2:44 PM

no, but blueberries are 2 for 4 bucks.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 2:47 PM

2:33 -- does that seven figure bonus allow you to buy your soul back?

Eh, I guess not. But I guess it'll keep you in hair gel for the next six months or so.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 2:52 PM

"2:33 -- does that seven figure bonus allow you to buy your soul back?"

There is no 2:33 on this thread.

Not so good with numbers, are we? Hmmmmm...

Keep plugging away at those math tables. You'll get it one day.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 3:05 PM

"Anyone know if there's a blog for people looking for a house and barn on five to ten acres in Ulster or Greene counties? Seriously!"

imsoboredicoulddie.com

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 3:06 PM

!!!!!!!!!

Master Bedroom with no windows for $8MM ... methinks not. Odd choice for a home that was clearly designed by an architect.

Other floor plan oddness is that massive long-ass room on the parlor floor. If you're going to make it one big room, spend the extra bucks and replace that load-bearing wall with a steel beam and a few columns.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 3:10 PM

This is a very beautiful house indeed. Its probably a little over priced, but it will sell close to asking. It has it all. If this house was on the upper east side (a lot farther away from Wall Street) it would be marketed for $25M and sell for $22M.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 3:36 PM

While I think this is overpriced, I suspect the realtor knows the comps better than I do.

Just a guess, but a true "high-end" gut reno of a house of this size could easily top $2 million. Figure that an unrenovated but livable single-family BH house of this size would be at least $4 million...and I still come up with $6 million, maybe $7 million tops. I guess the fact that it's already done might account for the difference.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 3:45 PM

This house is $1700/sq. foot and the Hannah Montana made $42,000 per theater. Are these signs that the end of the world is nigh?

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 4:27 PM

to the "7 figure bonus" man/woman - what a cheesebag you are. you claim to make good $ but i guess you aren't smart enough to figure out this isn't a good deal at anything close to asking.

"bonuses were paid last friday" ??? everyone gets theirs at different times holmes.... but glad to see you are in touch with the world.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 4:31 PM

The Moonstruck house is 2 houses down, on the corner. Similar doorways, though. The Moonstruck house has parking in the back.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 4:33 PM

THIS IS PURE BROWNSTONER DRAMA. NOT ENOUGH NEWS TODAY. NOONE HERE IS CAPABLE OF THIS PURCHASE.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 4:38 PM

4:31 wrote: "everyone gets theirs at different times, holmes...."

It's "homes" (as in "homie") not, as you said, "holmes."

Maybe you were going for a Baker Street reference?

In any event, please consult experts before peppering your prose with street slang.

AND I’M OUT, YO!

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 4:59 PM

Time for a cupcake. And a jagermeister shot.

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

Maybe no one who reads Brownstoner is capable (don't think 2:23 was Lloyd Blankfein) but that doesn't mean this house won't be bought at ask.

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

4:59: consult experts or holmes, the consulting detective?

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

4:59: consult experts or holmes, the consulting detective?

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

This house is bland. Certainly NO surfeit of original details. Looks very standard. The only reason it has that $8 million price tag is because it's in the Heights.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 5:20 PM

prime heights kills prime slope.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 5:22 PM

prime heights kills itself through ennui.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 5:29 PM

duh, 5:22.

anybody ever question that?

never seen so troll.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 5:29 PM

5:22...

luckily for park slope, only .01% of the population can afford the heights.

not exactly a diverse crowd up there.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 5:29 PM

**waiting for someone to say they would never live in the Heights because it's "boring"***

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 5:38 PM

you missed it, check out 5:29 (in the heights, we use fancier words than "boring")

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 5:46 PM

the heights is lovely looking. homes are probably some of the best in the city.

the people...eh....not so much.

unless old ladies with furs are your thing.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 5:49 PM

My bonus came in at 8 figures this year (which is why I'm trolling this website at all hours of my not so busy day). As this house gets "special light" al day long, the basement is described as clean, I put my overasking bid in without even seeing the place. What are these UTZ potato wedges of which you speak?

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 6:05 PM

Give me old ladies and fur over the stroller mafia anyday.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 6:07 PM

5:20 masters the obvious. And it would be $100k in Gary, Indiana.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 6:08 PM

To the person who posted: "That house needs an art enema. I've never seen so much unnecessary bling on so little surface area."

You must be kidding? First of all, the artwork is not mind-blowing stuff. It's okay...some of it trendy...no exciting.

Also, the place looks rather simply done, not overloaded with artwork. Live with an avid collector and this place would look like a monk's cell in comparison!

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 6:10 PM

This house would cost $8 bazillion dollars if it were on the moon.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 6:20 PM

to 459pm

i didn't know "homes" or "holmes" were actually as defined as you make it seem... but i prefer to use "holmes" and will continue to do so.

and i should consult experts with regards to... ? plz help me there.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 6:23 PM

The houses might be more cheaper in Park Slope than in Brooklyn Heights, but the co-ops and rentals are actually more expesnive. Stop perpetuating the myth that Park Slope is anything other than a wealthy enclave for the privileged (food co-op notwithstanding). Park Slope has no lock on the "creative" types that its boosters love to tout, and no lack of "boring" bankers and lawyers.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 6:40 PM

It's still over priced by 3 million. What a joke! A pretentious one at that too.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 6:43 PM

Parker Posey bought on lower 5th Ave (manhattan, not brooklyn).

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 6:45 PM

"Parker Posey bought on lower 5th Ave (manhattan, not brooklyn)."

Whew, that's a relief.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 6:49 PM

i might bite at 6.5 million.

8 million could almost get me one of the 4 bedrooms remaining at 40 Bond.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 6:56 PM

Overpriced. Come down about $5 million.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 7:07 PM

Damn, the dude was right--2 for 4 bucks on the bleubs over at Key! At first, I was just going to buy 2, but they I realized what a buying opportunity this is. So I took my bonus (received, of course, last Friday. And, if you're curious, well into the 12 figures), helicoptered up to Foxwoods, put the whole shootin' match on black, lost, got drunk, picked up a hooker, couldn't pay, got the shit kicked out of me by her pimp Lazlo, managed to jump out of his car on I-95 and roll into a ditch, where I was picked up by a kindly local alfalfa farmer, who brought me back to Brooklyn. Now, of course, the damn blueberries are sold out!

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 7:19 PM

6:23pm wrote: "and i should consult experts with regards to... ? plz help me there"

4:59pm here.

First, please consult an expert at removing heads from asses, you will derive great benefit.

Second, consult expert therapist to learn techniques to identify sarcasm/humor in written form.

Third, buy expert self-help book on methods for overcoming self-defensiveness.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 7:34 PM

to 734pm

ohhh now i get it - you are an expert !!

thanks - now i understand why you make the big $$!

one day i wish to be just like you.
ill keep trying.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 7:53 PM

Hey Seven Figure Sam--please pass on this house and buy Utz Snack Foods, Ltd. and lower the prices.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 7:56 PM

I think the seven figure earner will buy both and give away the snacks to the needy for the tax deduction.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 8:00 PM

Then he should also supply the riblets and ginger ale to keep this party cookin'!

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 8:29 PM

This house was a complete wreck eight or nine years ago. The story I heard was that it had been inherited years earlier by a pair of brothers who didn't talk to each other and it just sat. It hadn't been lived in for many years and was basically abandoned. (Anybody know the real story?) There were holes in the roof and serious water damage and the family that bought it invested a great deal of time renovating it. Cranberry Street is a very pretty street - a lot like the village. This price seems very high unless you compare to the upper east side (or the village for that matter) - in which case it seems reasonable. And it is literally five minutes from Wall Street. The Moonstruck house is two doors down and that was for sale a while back - I don't think that it sold. But it appeared to need a lot of work.

Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 9:36 PM

Why not price it at 10 million or 12 even.

These prices are insane! I think they just pick out a number off the top of their heads.

It will not sell at 8 million. No way.

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 7:24 AM

7:24 = Crazy Eddie

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 9:24 AM

I think people are realizing that the overall quality of life is just better in the city. Brooklyn is a wonderful place. And they're not making any more Brooklyn (maybe a little - but not the real deal.) So if you're in the zone where you can even think about spending 20 million dollars for an apartment - or a townhouse on the upper east side - then you at $8 million and think, well, I get a lot of value for that. It's not that these prices are insane as much as other prices are more insane - and why not split the difference? (You could go to North Salem and spend two million, get a couple acres and commute two hours or more each day. It just depends what you can afford and what you want, no?)

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 9:47 AM

Rich people do want value for their money. 8 million for this house is just WAY too much. Maybe 6 at best.

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 9:59 AM

Haha, holy jeebus!

There's a 5K sq ft house near me on 31st and 2nd in MANHATTAN asking that much... and it has a garage!

Do they seriously just throw a dart at a number and multiply it by a million to figure out the price these days?

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 10:00 AM

31st and 2nd is a crappy neighborhood though.

As far as Manhattan goes, one of the worst.

I think most people would rather be in Brooklyn Heights over 31st and 2nd.

I sure would.

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 10:17 AM

There are many houses on the UWS in this price range--is that a crappy neighborhood too?

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 10:46 AM

All depends on who you're trying to appeal to.
A lot of wall streeters who can afford this price tag are going to value a 5 min commute to work (whether by subway, cab or black car, take your pick) a lot more than living on the UWS.
And agreed, no one who can afford $8M is going to pick 31st and 2nd. A recently graduated, frat-loving twentysomething - yes; multi-millionaire, no.

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 10:54 AM

well, there have been 10-12mm asking prices and sales in last couple of years in BH. For single family houses. I can think of two on Columbia Heights (that hedge fund guy who hosted the Obama fundraiser -- he bought his place for 10mm), the one on Montague Terrace and one on Remsen.

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 11:06 AM

Me too! I think anybody would rather live in BH than 31st/2nd Ave. Lets face it. Brooklyn Heights/Cobble Hill is one of the most beautiful areas in all New York. The houses are beautiful. Its quiet. Its green. BTW- I have was in this house when it was on the market ten years ago or so. Its enormous and the proportions are very generous. This house is really a grand dame, one of the most special houses in Brooklyn-my bet is that it will sell close to asking-and good luck to them!

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 11:08 AM

There was a house on Columbia Heights that sold for 12.9M. Granted, it is a bigger house. But not that much bigger. And this house is much more interesting. This house is an grand old Federal gem. 7.5M-8M sounds about right.

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 11:15 AM

Bland house.

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 11:26 AM

I heard that a penthouse apartment in Park Slope on PPW just sold for 6.5 million or something close.

Anyone know?

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 11:29 AM

"Bland House"??? Wow. "Bland" it is not. Why so negative? What a lot of jealous naysayers on this blog. I'm going back to work. I feel like I just wasted precious time writing on this blog. We should all be out voting today and actually doing something useful, instead of judging others and their houses from the safety of our office/homes computers.

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 11:32 AM

Yep, definitely a bland house for the $8 million pricetag. For that dough, I'd expect either a ton of remaining detail or a garage--something that merits that kind of money. I thought I'd be blown away when I clicked on the listing, considering the asking price.

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 12:01 PM

You seem to be in the vast minority, 12:01.

This home is gorgeous and I'd say 99% of the population would think so.

You probably think everything sucks.

Go vote for Romney and leave us alone.

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 12:10 PM

Shalom Harlow was a model/actress that had some degree of publicity in the 90s. And no, you should definitely not care.

ps - Welcome to Brooklyn, Shammie!

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 12:14 PM

Well said 12:10. This home is a stunner.

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 12:15 PM

Hey, just wondering how much everyone got for their bonus this year?

Take care!

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 12:26 PM

The only thing stunning about this house is the price.

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 12:59 PM

Well, you know, taste is a very personal thing. In some ways, value is too. It depends on what you want. This house strikes me as very attractive. Like most of the neighborhood, it was probably built in the 1840s. And it was renovated with love and care and the family has lived there for seven or eight years - so it's not a question of splashing the paint on and turning it quickly. I assume the broker reco's a price that is optimistic but attainable. It seems to me from a cursory following of selling prices here and in the Times that people still get asking price or above pretty regularly in Brooklyn. Also, I wonder why having a garage is such a big deal - you can get a space in a garage down the street for $300 a month. Hardly worth an extra million or two. A lot of garages/coach houses were turned into living space in the Heights.

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 1:18 PM

152 Hicks Street sold for about $1000/sf. This place asking over $1700/sf.

The comps have spoken.

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 1:54 PM

The Columbia Heights place sold for over $2000 psf.

Comps have spoken, indeed.

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 2:35 PM

The comps are in a catfight!

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 2:45 PM

Square footage isn't really a great way to evaluate...especially in The Heights. Every house is different. Every lot is different. There are rickety cramped places and places and soaring dramatic spaces. Hicks Street is the only straight shot from the BQE to the North Heights and Dumbo - so it's very busy. (I worry that some kid is going to get run over some day because it's like a freeway at times - lots of cars and trucks and fast drivers.) Columbia Heights has the most amazing Manhattan views you can have. Cranberry Street is quiet and charming (as are all the fruit streets.)

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 2:48 PM

4 floors of habitable space (3 floors plus the basement - cellar and attic don't count) just doesn't seem to merit the pricetag.

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 3:07 PM

What garage down the street? They all have waiting lists.

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 3:38 PM

There's a garage on Henry. Like at Pineapple. I just went and rented a space.

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 3:51 PM

This place will be worthless once BBP is built

Posted by: guest at February 5, 2008 9:01 PM

"Worthless once BBP is built?"

Yes, replacing empty concrete parking lots and derelict warehouses and vacant lots with a large green park on the river overlooking lower Manhattan will turn all of Brooklyn Heights into a strip mall. Imagine if there were good public schools, libraries and nice restaurants...

Posted by: guest at February 6, 2008 11:47 AM