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October 8, 2008

A Brownstone for $272,000?

We know times are tough, but $100 a foot for a brownstone? Yessirree, Bob. This three-story, 2,400-square-foot building at 224 Lexington Avenue in Bed Stuy that sold in September obviously needs work but it's still gotta be the cheapest transaction of its kind in recent memory. Unless, that is, you include the $260,000 price the seller paid just three months earlier for the down-on-its-luck property. Of course, in the end, the lawyers and gov't were probably the only ones to make any money on the deal.

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$260K +12 K profit = $227K (huh?)

Posted by: owner12 at October 8, 2008 11:13 AM

Gonna guess it was supposed to be $272k ...

Posted by: cwbuecheler at October 8, 2008 11:20 AM

gosh, why should the lawyers make any money on the deal? it's so annoying that they won't just do their work for free!

Posted by: i disagree at October 8, 2008 11:30 AM

poor little house

Posted by: dittoburg at October 8, 2008 12:03 PM

Great - good for the buyer. This is how is should be in "transitional" neighborhoods. Buyers I think would start marching in again if they could get prices like these and it would be great for the area.

Posted by: gkw at October 8, 2008 12:35 PM

hmmm.... very large open drug trade the next two blocks over.

Posted by: 7andfive at October 8, 2008 12:47 PM

Cheap house, easy access to crack. It's a win, win for everyone.

Posted by: Xander Crews at October 8, 2008 1:15 PM

gkw--gotta agree with you here. if there were houses available at this level of affordability there would be plenty of people in the market and it would improve these blocks. This location is not bad in terms of closeness to a lot of cool neighborhoods and amenities that we discuss on this board. Even if it needs another 250G for renovations there is a brownstone for 500G. Pretty amazing.

Posted by: wasder at October 8, 2008 1:43 PM

Seller's just ahead of all others. This is where Bed Stuy prices are headed, back to 2003. The DOW's almost there. Housing lags. Wall St's on sabbatical.

Posted by: DOW8000SP800 at October 8, 2008 2:04 PM

DOW--this may be where some of Bed Stuy is headed but not all. More than most neighborhoods, Bed Stuy is variable in a block by block sense. This part of the neighborhood is not nearly as nice, safe or attractive as Stuyvesant Heights. So I might believe that some blocks of Bed Stuy could fall like that, the areas around Lewis AVe and Stuyvesant Ave are not going to plummet to levels anything like this. This house is a shell in a crappy part of the neighborhood (although within reasonable distance to Clinton Hill, which is an upside).

Posted by: wasder at October 8, 2008 2:40 PM

that's such a sweet little house. someone is going to have some fun renovating that!

Posted by: peix and marchetti at October 8, 2008 2:40 PM

Can somebody please fix the needle? Nowhere is immune, wasder. Nowhere will be spared. Bed Stuy proper, Stuy Heights, you name it, everything will go down in tandem (percentage-wise, give or take a few negligible points). They sure as hell went up in tandem. The difference between hoods was already priced in before the boom took off (of course SH will remain more expensive than BSP). We are going back to 2003 or worse (never sleep on the overshoot).

Posted by: DOW8000SP800 at October 8, 2008 3:08 PM

sorry I have to chime in about neighborhoods being immune--there's no such thing, not in NY. I had a brownstone in the 70s (bought for $30K between RSD and WEA in Manhattan), then moved to CPW--the entire upper west side was flat out dangerous, with pockets of relative safety. These were grand areas that went down in flames with the 70s era, then only gradually recovered. The boosterism is kind of sweet, but please don't kid yourself about what's going on right now.

Posted by: bridges at October 8, 2008 3:16 PM

I didn't say anything about any neighborhoods being immune, just that Bed Stuy has a more exaggerated price-range than many neighborhoods, due to its extreme variability block to block. I am anything but a wide-eyed booster. All of Bed stuy will experience drops, as will most every neighborhood in the city. But I doubt seriously that houses of this size in Stuy Heights are going to go anywhere near this low.

Posted by: wasder at October 8, 2008 3:42 PM

Wasder that's crazy talk. If places like Clinton Hill, Park Slope and even Prospect Park become more affordable do you really think people are going to consider the further out Stuy Heights?

Now Stuy Heights may not be as cheap as the crack house on Lexington but it won't be that much more expensive. Stuy Heights is far- there is nothing near that area. If given the economic choice -which soon many will have, they will chose more conventient Brooklyn neighborhoods. Or even more convenient Bed Stuy neighborhoods.

Posted by: 7andfive at October 8, 2008 3:47 PM

Wow, I am amazed that brownstones are selling for over a million in Clinton Hill just two blocks away. Is Clinton Hill ONLY the Classon and Clinton-Wash G train stops? That's one tiny neighborhood.

Also, how do we know this wasn't some kind of in-the-family deal?

Posted by: mopar at October 8, 2008 4:01 PM

"I doubt seriously that houses of this size in Stuy Heights are going to go anywhere near this low"

In absolute terms, no. This low fell from a high that was nowhere near those of Stuy Heights.

In percentage terms, yes. The average Bed Stuy peak for a brownstone this size (only 3 stories) was probably $500K. Comps like the one above would make it half off. Four-story Stuy Heights brownstones will go from about $1.5M (Clinton Hill prices) to $750K. Again, half off.

One boom, one bust. No decoupling.

Posted by: DOW8000SP800 at October 8, 2008 4:38 PM

"Wow, I am amazed that brownstones are selling for over a million in Clinton Hill just two blocks away."

That was during the dream. BEEP...BEEP...BEEP...!!! (stop pressing snooze, buyers)

Posted by: DOW8000SP800 at October 8, 2008 4:41 PM

I have to completely agree with wasder. Granted, the economy is circling the rim, and granted, neighborhoods like Bed Stuy will feel the pinch, but so will most other neighborhoods, and everyone is going to see some degree of lowered selling prices.

But let's look at a couple of things. Old time Bed Stuy homeowners, who make up a large majority of BS owners, own, or almost own, their homes outright. Unless they refied up the wazoo, they are paying very small monthly mortgage payments. They are not going to go belly up, and even if they decide to cash out and move to warmer climes, they will certainly be able to make a tidy profit, even at a lower price than a couple of years ago.

I disagree with 7andfive about Stuy Hts. First of all, it is much more expensive than crack houses on Lexington, and will stay that way. It is also not that far out, and that makes little difference in this case. Ditmas Park is farther out than Stuy Hts, for that matter, Windsor Park and much of the South Slope is farther out, and less convenient to fast transportation. That has not made them bargain neighborhoods, especially Ditmas. That argument has no bearing.

Stuy Hts has superior quality architecture and homes, and access to a very reliable subway line, and a growing commercial strip. It also has a solid enclave of commited homeowners, old and new, who are not going anywhere, and are not going to let the area go downhill. There is more to making a neighborhood than just the price of real estate.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at October 8, 2008 5:03 PM

DOW8000--I am going to try again to give you the benefit of the doubt. You can't possibly be as repugnant a person as you appear on the internet can you?

7and5--Montrose nails it. You are barking up the wrong tree with the Stuy Heights is too far out argument.

Mopar--two things. Yes, Clinton Hill is a very small neighborhood geographically. There are only 10 or so blocks between Vanderbilt on its west side and Classon on its east side. And it is very much co-integrated with Fort Greene, in terms of commercial interactions (most of the restaurants that I frequent are in Fort Greene for instance). There is a weird no-man's land between the nicer parts of Bed Stuy (Stuy Heights) and Clinton Hill in which this house is located. So even though it is closer to Clinton Hill, this house is in a less desirable area, at least in terms of street life. Hence the super low price of this house.

Posted by: wasder at October 8, 2008 5:19 PM

Montrose, Let's start a blog based aroud the concept you just presented --"There is more to making a neighborhood than just the price of real estate". It would be the anti-thesis of what this blog has become.

I would also like to add that a home is (thankfully) valued by more than the opinions of the haters who so often post here.

Posted by: HomeSweetstuy at October 8, 2008 6:28 PM

I would also like to add that a home is (thankfully) valued by more than the opinions of the haters who so often post here.

Posted by: HomeSweetstuy at October 8, 2008 6:29 PM

Sounds like we have some real BedBugs (Bed-Stuy haters)on this thread. One even manages to sound vaguely like the local assclown that was annoying us all for some time.
Anyhows, this brownstone will sell to someone who realizes the simple fact that it has stood there for about one hundred and eight years now. It has weathered the dawn of the Industrial age ,World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, 60's white flight, 70's blight, Vietnam, about 8 recessions, 9/11 and of course it will see it's way through this current economic downturn, with it's dignity intact because it was built to last.
despite the myopic twits who think that the sky has fallen.
Take a pill kids, it's times like this that mold men and wither the lesser.

Posted by: Legion at October 8, 2008 7:49 PM

I happen to live on Lexington between Bedford and Nostrand and contrary to popular belief (by the bed-bugs:) we do not have any “Crack Houses" on our block. The house in question has been neglected by an owner who owns several houses throughout bed stuy and couldn't afford the upkeep. Our block is comprised of all races, occupations, Pratt, NYU students and retired civil servants. Open drug trade?.....welcome to NYC where every two blocks has an open drug trade; smart guy. The amenities and services that surround our block are endless and the people are some of the friendliest in the Stuy! Neglected by Brownstoner, our immediate Nabe has opened bars, restaurants; cafes etc. and they're surviving during this economic down fall even though they are surrounded by so called "Crack Houses". An abandoned house in bed stuy is a crack house (or a haunted house depending on the site) while in other neighborhoods it's a house in distress, in need of a renovation or TLC! Get Real! Who even sells crack anymore! Get your drugs straight. Beautiful Federal Bricks, Brownstones, architectural detail, marble fireplaces, window boxes, gardens, dog walkers, hardworking people, beautiful people-That is Lexington between Bedford and Nostrand.

Posted by: stopthepress at October 9, 2008 12:48 AM

I meant Windsor Terrace, and I should not have used the "crack house" appellation. Stopthepress and Legion, you are quite right, and as someone who has to constantly defend my hood, I should have been more circumspect with my phrasing.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at October 9, 2008 1:01 AM

stopthepress---nicely said. sorry if my "no man's land" comment rubbed you the wrong way. I am very familiar with your neck of the woods. i used that phrase as a way to distinguish your neck of the woods from Stuy Heights but obviously from your description this is an unnecessarily negative phrase. There are some nice looking houses on that block. I wish you guys the best in keeping your neighborhood growing in these challenging times.

Posted by: wasder at October 9, 2008 9:01 AM

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October 8, 2008

A Brownstone for $272,000?

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