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October 23, 2008

Checking in on The Vermeil

133-sterling-1008.jpg
In July, the 22-unit Vermeil building, at 133 Sterling Place in Park Slope, changed broker's hands after a year-plus of sluggish sales. Since Corcoran took over, three of the seven remaining units have gone into contract, leaving four active, and, predictably, three of those have gotten price chops. Unit 4G, at three-bed, two-bath originally listed at $1.9 million in January of '07, and was no longer listed as of July of that year. In July of this year, it was re-listed at $1.5 million, and got a $5,000 price cut in September. Unit 2B, also a three-bed, two-bath, got a $40,000 cut three weeks ago, to $1.3 million, and the one-bedroom unit 1A got a $46,000 chop to $849,000, four weeks ago. Data from Streeteasy.
Changing of the Guard at The Vermeil [Brownstoner] GMAP
First Closing at The Vermeil [Brownstoner]
Condo of the Day: Price Cut at The Vermeil [Brownstoner]
Update on the Vermeil [Brownstoner]




Posted by lisa at 10:40 AM | Comments (18)
Categories: Condos, Park Slope

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All I have to say is:


Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is preparing to cut about 10% of its 32,500 employees, according to people familiar with the matter, a sign of deepening job losses on Wall Street.

Posted by: Dora Chica at October 23, 2008 10:50 AM

I walk past this place a lot. Nice location, annoying web site, and, well, I won't pay that much but I don't get excited by nifty bathroom fixtures.

Posted by: northsloperenter at October 23, 2008 10:56 AM

finally GS gets hit, they have been slipping through the cracks for awhile...

Posted by: bktycoon at October 23, 2008 10:59 AM

This place has been overpriced and stubborn the whole time.

Posted by: Paluka at October 23, 2008 11:28 AM

Isn't this place supposed to have an underground parking garage? I walk by this place often on Seventh Avenue but haven't noticed an entrance -- is it on Sterling? or did they dispense with the parking?

Posted by: Park Sloper at October 23, 2008 11:59 AM

Park Sloper,

The garage entrance is on Sterling, yes.

I'm glad they've managed to sell a few. They really could stand to put a few more finishing touches on the outside though. The area on the 7th Avenue side looks really bad...they need to replace the sidewalk, fix the broken light fixture, fix the street level windows...a couple of which are shattered, and add a big potted tree or something. The curb appeal (when you're paying that kind of money) should be up to par.

Pay a little attention to detail, Corcoran. It looks really shabby around there.

Posted by: 11217 at October 23, 2008 12:12 PM

The Vermeil is the perfect example of the kind of places that will take a huge hit in the next couple of years. Browntones and the like will be affected to a lesser extent. New construction condos with this kind of pricing are a huge risk for buyers in this kind of market. I have looked at the Vermeil a couple of times and like what they have, but asking prices would have to come down AT LEAST 20% for me to bite. I feel sorry for anyone who has bought at the Vermeil anywhere near asking prices.

Posted by: lechacal at October 23, 2008 12:16 PM

These guys need to clean up the sidewalk out front of their building. Also, I'm not sure I'd want to live in the condos that face 7th ave. I live on 7th right now, and the street noise is pretty crazy even super-late at night. For a rental, it's ok, but I wouldn't buy there.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at October 23, 2008 12:19 PM

850k for a 1-bed?

Posted by: dittoburg at October 23, 2008 12:21 PM

Lechacal,

I'm just curious if you've tried to bid 20% lower on any of the units?? Seems like they would bite.

I'm more a fan of the former brothel around the corner on Lincoln myself, but those prices are pretty huge also.

And if you're reading this Corcoran (which I'm sure you are) clean up the front as cwbuecheler says. You can't sell 1.5 million dollar apartments in Brooklyn in this economy when you take such poor care of the place!!! The fixes are simple and inexpensive. Have some respect for what is a really beautiful neighborhood.

Posted by: 11217 at October 23, 2008 12:26 PM

I agree, the brothel is better. Those two blocks make a real difference in my mind. Sterling and 7th just feels cold to me. Lincoln and 7th is a lot nicer.

I have not bid 20% below asking. I guess I meant drop asking prices by 20% and then I'll bid somewhere south of that. At current prices it's just clear to me that I have a fundamental disagreement with them over price, so no sense in pursuing it. I almost bid on a place on 8th Ave a few weeks ago, but then decided not to. I now have my eye on a place on PPW. I doubt I will pull the trigger on any of these places though. There is just zero incentive to move. Prices are going down. At this point it's almost an absolute that I can buy cheaper a year from now, and probably even cheaper a year after that. Why would I make a huge leveraged purchase in this falling market, even if I think I might be getting a deal?

Posted by: lechacal at October 23, 2008 2:22 PM

"Why would I make a huge leveraged purchase in this falling market, even if I think I might be getting a deal?"

I'm sure sebb will chime in with an eloquent and persuasive argument.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at October 23, 2008 2:42 PM

"Why would I make a huge leveraged purchase in this falling market, even if I think I might be getting a deal?"

This is a question I keep asking myself. Maybe the economy will start to stabilize after the new year or something, but it sure looks scary right now.

For a bunch of non-financial reason I'd like to own rather than rent, but it's hard to get serious about looking for a place when the economy looks so scary and real estate prices in the city are staying so high.

Posted by: northsloperenter at October 23, 2008 2:56 PM

hear hear, NSR.

Posted by: infinitejester at October 23, 2008 3:41 PM

I think New York prices are always going to be high. It's all relative. Even if prices drop 30%, they are still really high. As has been said a million times, New York is not even close to being one of the most expensive cities in the world (#22, I believe) and I'd say most people would rank New York City as one of the top cities in the world...maybe top 3 or 5 for most, no?

So it's not a shock that it's expensive or will continue to stay expensive. Financial crisis or not, New York is the it place for the ultra liberal, creative, gay, etc people in this country to flock to. I still know tons of people who would move here in a heartbeat, if they could. As we see the country become even more polarized, I think the cities on the coasts will continue to be those kind of tolerant havens.

It's all about what you feel comfortable with, but I certainly do understand the hesitation. I bought in 2006, and don't feel in the least bit worried. I love my place, love Park Slope, love New York and as long as my mortgage still works out to less than I'd pay in rent, I feel fine about it, no matter what my place is "worth."

Posted by: 11217 at October 23, 2008 3:59 PM

11217,

You may be right, and if I owned a place I was happy with, I certainly wouldn't lose sleep over the current market.

But, when you are thinking about buying for the first time, it is a little scarier to see the economy on the brink of a potentially long and ugly recession.

I mean, I know what I can afford assuming neither I nor my wife has an unexpected change in employment, but if the recession gets bad enough, one of us could lose our job. Would I rather be renting or have just purchased a place if that happens? Renting for damn sure.

Even if neither of us loses a job, right now we would be looking at a place a little smaller or more run down than we would like in one of our top choice neighborhoods or a nicer place in one of our second choice neighborhoods.

If I thought the market was going to be stable, I would just shop around and look for a place I could afford that seemed to be the best compromise between living space and location.

But, if I think the market is likely to go down (which I do -- the fallout from the lost jobs in finance will take 12-18 months to really hit home), why not wait to see if we can get a nice place in one our preferred neighborhoods?

So, it's a combination of fear (will I lose my job??) and greed (will the type of place I really want get cheaper??) that is keeping me on the sidelines for now.

Posted by: northsloperenter at October 23, 2008 4:16 PM

All makes sense, northsloperenter.

Posted by: 11217 at October 23, 2008 5:22 PM

11217 - when you say that prices will always be high here, even if they drop 30%, I couldn't agree more. But for many potential buyers, like myself or NSR, that 30% makes a huge difference. Maybe things won't go down that much, or maybe they'll go down even more - but the bigger context for this is that prices have risen more than 100% in some areas, in just 5-6 years! So a 30% drop could bring us back to levels of just a few short years ago.

Posted by: Miss Muffett at October 23, 2008 11:13 PM

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