Last Week's Biggest Sales

FYI: The Park Slope listing (746A Union Street) had started out at close to the mid-$2 million range. I saw it when it was way over $2 million. It sat on the market for what seemed like an eternity before being reduced various times.

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 11:26 AM

I saw Union Street a while ago too.

And it was no where near mid 2 million. It was just under 2.

You must be thinking about a different house.

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 11:29 AM

11:26 here, I just pulled up the broker info sheet I received at the open house for 746A Union Street, and the price was $2.225 million. This was after it had received a price reduction. It's the same house listed above--746A Union Street, open house hosted by A&H(by a Ms. Rashbaum).

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 11:39 AM

I don't call 2.2 million mid 2 millions.

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 11:44 AM

Yikes. A five story house right off the park on a prime fort green block for $1.55 million. Was there something wrong with this house or is the sky really falling?

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 11:50 AM

The pictures of the Union St. house look nice. Did it really look that good in person? if so, the sale price seems reasonable to me.

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 11:50 AM

6% cap rate and inflation is about 7 percent now based on this mornings PPI #s. That is what I call some bad math. The numbers dont work on Fort Greene with that price. Does anybody get it yet?

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 12:23 PM

The issue with the 5-family is that it is not an owner-occupied type of 2 or 3 family. The higher prices on 4-story rowhouses usually happens with houses that already have or can be configured to an owner duplex or triplex.

A building with 5 existing tenants may be less attractive b/c it is simply an investment, not a home. People who can afford to have a swank (ish) home will pay more for a house. The property in question on Cumberland had a different market.

Though, if the apartments are vacant, a condo/coop conversion could happen...

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 12:40 PM

cap rate is the rate of return on your investment.

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 12:53 PM

based on the rent roll on that house in Fort Greene is worth 1 million. That is based on historical norms.

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 1:07 PM

I also saw the Union Street house and passed on it, because the price was too high, then saw it again at discounted price and still passed. I think they should feel lucky they got their final price which is a significant discount from initial ask. Proof that even "prime" properties are coming down. New York magazine recently published a graph showing that Park Slope real estate was down for 2008 so far - the canary in the coal mine for the broader NYC real estate market. Look, I own now already, and am looking to trade up, so I'm no bitter renter, but I see the writing on the wall and I don't see any price gains forthcoming anytime soon - maybe prices will stabilize/stagnate, and of course, I still think that if you find your dream property, go for it (in the long run, you'll probably be fine) - but I would be in no rush to buy now. Given lending tightening and changing psychology, plus recession, there will have to be downward pressure on prices - maybe not a complete tank but a 10-15% decline does not seem unreasonable, maybe even 20% (esp given run-up of last few years).

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 1:24 PM

1:24. You know more than the facts, right?

"Overall sales in upper echelon neighborhoods like Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights remained strong in the first quarter of 2008, the report shows. Prices rose for Park Slope single- and multi-family homes, as well as for co-ops, but Park Slope condo prices fell 32 percent, dragging down the neighborhood average home price."

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 1:29 PM

1:29 - those facts sound impressive. do you have the actual volume figures behind that? i would guess that not many houses sold in 1Q in park slope and probably a lot more condos did. usually pricing trends in an illiquid asset like housing become more reliable as more data points are collected. in other words, i would put my money in the direction of the 34% decline if i had to pick sides in that discrepancy.

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 3:45 PM

Holy crap. why isn't anyone commenting on the Gravesend house? Almost $4 million? Those Syrian Jews really have cash.

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 4:14 PM

More info to those who say the market is tanking:

Re: 1st Quarter of 2008:

"Fort Greene saw a 170 percent increase in sales volume, the largest of all the neighborhoods, with 62 homes sold in the first quarter of 2008 compared to 23 for the same period last year. Overall prices also rose from $675,870 to $760,484, a 13 percent increase."

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 4:47 PM

More info to those who say the market is tanking:

Re: 1st Quarter of 2008:

"Fort Greene saw a 170 percent increase in sales volume, the largest of all the neighborhoods, with 62 homes sold in the first quarter of 2008 compared to 23 for the same period last year. Overall prices also rose from $675,870 to $760,484, a 13 percent increase."

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 4:47 PM

Union Street house did start out in mid-2 million range, then reduced to 2.25, then further reduced to 1.9+ until it sold under the last asking price.

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 4:53 PM

tulips.

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 6:00 PM

"Union Street house did start out in mid-2 million range, then reduced to 2.25, then further reduced to 1.9+ until it sold under the last asking price."

and that out of A&H which tries to price "under the market" to generate a bidding war.

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 9:30 PM

4:47 - what is your source?

Here's what NY Magazine says:

http://nymag.com/realestate/features/45567/

Are you really trying to deny that a housing slowdown is possible (some say likely, others inevitable) in NYC?

The lending restrictions alone are going to cause problems now that the days of easy credit are over. Even a broker friend of mine has admitted that the new rules limiting 10% down mortgages (and yes, even in tony Park Slope folks put down only 10%) will kick certain buyers out of the ring and thus have a negative effect on prices.

Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 10:16 PM

10% cap rate assuming no debt is NOT realistic (especially in NYC). It's much lower than that obviously. Also, as noted, that cap rate assumes no debt at all - you put some reasonable leverage on the building (granted, if you can find it) and the cap rate should go up - actually seems like a decent deal if that is in fact the rent roll.

Posted by: guest at April 16, 2008 9:20 AM