Co-op of the Day, 5.5 Months Later

Wow...a million bucks for a 2 bedroom in Park Slope! Not too shabby!!!

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 11:53 AM

that place is gorgeous. i love it. good for the new owners.

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 11:58 AM

great location too!

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 12:11 PM

almost a 200K reduction! Not too bad

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 12:37 PM

Brownstoner rather than you cherry-picking a listing that sold 6 mths later for almost 200k less than asking, why not bring back the 6 mths follow up to HOTD?

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 12:41 PM

that's not that far below asking. Guess it wasn't that overpriced.

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 12:52 PM

Who cares what the ask was, when the selling price was that much...?

It's a 2 bedroom, folks. Over a million. That's not a sign of an unhealthy market for Brooklyn.

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 12:53 PM

It is not just any two bedroom unit. It is a parlor floor, two-bath, fully renovated, move-in condition, prime 8th Avenue, unit.
Don't get your hopes up about your fourth floor walk-ups on Fringe Avenue somewhere.

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 1:01 PM

1:01...

I'm 12:53 and live around the corner from here. Same size place which I bought for 250K about 10 years ago.

I'm a happy camper!

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 1:10 PM

A price reduction of close to 200K shows a market that is softening. Sure, it's still healthy, which is why owners on the fence about selling should not panic about the uncertainty. What owners should realize is that they can still make a healthy profit over what they paid (if they bought anytime more than 3-4 years ago) but that the days of galloping price increases are over for the time being, and that properties should have more realistic asks. I agree that 1 million for a 2 bedroom is a lot of money, but 1.25 was absurd. By the same logic, 1.5-2mil for a house (that owners often paid less than half for) is very healthy, but some owners insist on pricing their homes for far above that. But then they have to have price cuts and linger - why not start pricing things more realistically and increase the overall transactions? Brokers, are you listening? I know throwing out 1.5-2mil is a bit meaningless without a specific house in mind - but for example, there's PS townhouse (3 story, 2 family) with tons of brokers now listed at 2.3 and it's NOT moving - seems to me it should be 1.8, for example, based on comps. Or let's take the HOTD on 11 St for example, priced at 1.995 when it should be 1.5-1.6. Or Corcoran's listing at 12St bet 7/8 which hit market at 1.995 and had 200K price shop to 1.795...

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 1:19 PM

1:19 - a price reduction on its own does not at all show evidence the market is softening (it could simply just show evidence that it was overpriced to begin with). A reduction in per square foot prices, on the other hand, does.

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 1:42 PM

1:19 is absolutely correct!

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 1:48 PM

I don't think comparing a closing price to the asking price is the best way to determine whether a market is "softening" as guest 1:19 PM states. I think you need to look at where comparable properties sold over some period of time. This apartment sold for $715 psf. How does that stack up to what prices were a year ago?

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 1:49 PM

The problem with price per sq ft is that it only tells part of the story since there are other issues i.e. exact location, quality of renovation, etc. - though I agree that price psf is an important overall barometer. It's just hard to judge state of the overall market on a psf measure. Rather, I would argue that, when places start having to have significant price reductions, or sell substantially under ask, that IS a sign of market softening - and further, I would argue that that is increasingly happening - just in the last few months, especially after the watershed Bear Sterns meltdown... The problem is, many owners/brokers seem not have gotten the message and are still trying to price certain properties as if NYC is totally immune from any economic woes. Well, it's not - time to price more realistically! Several friends of mine need to sell and unfortunately put their places on market too high and now are having big price cuts, but I wonder if they would not have been better off pricing lower to begin with and selling fast, since the longer you're on market, more buyers want to negotiate...

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 1:51 PM

psf is meaningless

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 1:53 PM

1:53 is meaningless

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 1:55 PM

"I think you need to look at where comparable properties sold over some period of time."

Like the Case-Shiller Home Price Index. But that bad boy's going down (yes, NYC too).

It's all about comps. Especially in this weakening market. Sellers will almost never underask. Fear not asking prices. Low ball with impunity.

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 2:22 PM

Well, I know some brokers think that given the market, a better strategy is to underask and hope for a bidding war - after all, inventory is still a bit low (though growing) and that's probably the only thing propping up the market. But it's true that that is a risky strategy since buyers more and more seem to take it as a given that asking prices are going to be negotiable and they can lowball...

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 2:26 PM

it is a really sad state when brownstoner has to be harping one apt that sold 6 mths later at 200k below ask.

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 2:32 PM

I'm guessing the data sample of Brooklyn Townhouses included in the Case Shiller index is pretty darn close to zero.

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 2:32 PM

2:32 - why is it "sad"? Are you a broker? Maybe you're friends with the other 2:32.

What's sad are brokers/owners who overprice their properties and then have to deal with the stress of not being to sell in a timely fashion, and then finding that they are left with a lot less money than they expected. People make big financial decisions based on the estimated value of their home, and to find that those calculations are wrong - now, *that's* sad. If anything, I think Brownstoner, by showing a listing like this (and other featured properties, which increasingly are going below ask) provides a service to prospective sellers by injecting some caution in their fantasies and showing that they must be more realistic in their pricing strategies.

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 2:39 PM

I've been scouring the real estate listings in Park Slope for a while now and have never seen inventory so low. I'm talking lower than it's been in 20 years.

Btw, the comparison to the 2 million brownstone to this place is not totally accurate, since any nice brownstoner in the named street of PS close to the park have been getting 3 million or over.

It doesn't get any more prime in terms of location, if you're into Park Slope...This is steps to the park and multiple subway lines.

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 2:53 PM

to 2:39, 2:32 (1st)here, I was being sarcastic in my use of the word "sad"

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 2:53 PM

Yes, low inventory has been the engine propping up the market of late, but that is starting to change, and even prime PS is experiencing price cuts. And people still die, get divorced, need to dowsize (I know houses in PS available now due to all of these reasons) and bit by bit, that will add to the inventory... Apts too are piling up...

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 2:58 PM

The one plus is that Park Slope Prime has very little new construction or glut of glassy new condos. It's really only 4th Avenue...

Areas like Chelseam UWS and Downtown are starting to see the affects of higher inventory, but I'd venture to guess that inventory in Park Slope might be even lower than it was last year. It's REALLY scarce.

That's not to say price cuts are being had in Park Slope (I know they are) but I was just shocked at what little there is on the market.

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 3:14 PM

i saw this place at the open house and it was very unimpressive. The areas in the photos are the only areas that were renovated. The bathrooms were disgusting and outdated. The office loft area was made for a 5 foot person and the hallways of the brownstone were straight out of the 1960's. I was very disappointed when I saw it.

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 3:22 PM

3:22 - which place are you talking about?

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 3:28 PM

3:28 here, woops, got confused and thought this was open house picks thread!

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 3:40 PM

I liked the slip "need to dowside" as in follow the downward arrow.

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 4:43 PM

Yes, speaking of the Dow, it's looking pretty dismal. What about people who will need to sell their homes to have retirement money? Better to sell now when the getting's still OK - bird in the hand and all that...

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 4:54 PM

How on earth could this price be seen as a softening of the market? Over $1m for what is a large and beautiful floorthru seems like a good price for both the buyer and seller. A softening would be evident if it never sold. Or if it sold for less than a similar apartment sold for previously. I think this actually could set a new record for a 2 bedroom. But it is clearly bigger than most 2 bedrooms.

Posted by: guest at June 21, 2008 10:25 PM

I held an open house for a 1 bedroom I've owned for a few years around 3 blocks from this listing yesterday. I'm selling the place FSBO. I would say I had about 20 real, live interested parties come through and by the end of last evening, I had received 2 offers...one at asking and one a little above.

My place is around 600 square feet and I listed it at 579K.

If there is softening in this market, I am unaware of it.

Posted by: guest at June 22, 2008 12:28 PM

In 2008 PS coop apts, are still going for over 1 million dollars :-)

Nice work seller!

-Neighbor

Posted by: guest at June 22, 2008 7:07 PM