Condo of the Day: 145 Park Place, #2B

I personally dislike this building enormously. I know others feel differently. The entrance on Park Place feels cold and isolated, and I really don't like being that close to (on top of) Flatbush. The apartments feel too angular and steel. It has all of the negatives I associate with modernism without any of the openness and flow that sometimes comes with buildings of that ilk.

That being said, I know some people like the building just fine. And it does have great subway access. But regardless of your feelings on the building, this place is simply not worth a single red cent more than these people paid in 2007. Top price for this place? $695,960. Full stop. Maybe some idiot will pay more, who knows. But I would be surprised.

Posted by: lechacal at October 28, 2008 2:35 PM

ParkPlaceOwner, good for you for coming on to this site and offering your rebuttal. Bravo.

As I mentioned earlier, I happen to have a very personal dislike for this building, but obviously others have different views. For what it's worth, you do not live on a "quiet tree lined street." You live between Flatbush Avenue and a stretch of Park Place that hardly qualifies as a quiet tree lines street by virtue of its proximity to the 7th Ave/Park Place/Flatbush cluster.

I have absolutely no personal stake in your success or failure here. So good for you if you get your asking price. But my frank opinion -- as someone who is very familiar with a lot of current listings in the Slope -- is that you reached much too high with your asking price.

Most owners think their property is worth more than it is. It is the nature of ownership. A good realtor will temper those expectations with sober advice about what the market will actually bear. My humble view is that you never got that sober advice.

To be very clear, 2007 and the first half of 2008 were the top of the market. We have hit the top and are falling, and in my view will be falling for some time to come (I sold last year and started renting, so my money is right where my mouth is on this). You took the tippity-top of the market price for your apartment and then added some. When all is said and done, I think you will find yourself accepting a price at a discount to the top of the market (i.e., something in the neighborhood of what you initially paid for the apartment).

Again, I don't know you at all and have no personal stake in your success or failure, so if you can do better than I predict than good for you. But you might want to be prepared for an adjustment to your expectations.

Posted by: lechacal at October 28, 2008 8:32 PM

billyboomer, I found your post interesting because I am in active search mode and go to open houses pretty regularly. I have been to enough to see some pretty consistent and annoying behavior by the lookers. Particularly common are the people who make sneering comments about a property that are clearly meant to be heard by the realtor, as if that is going to make the price drop or convince someone to accept a lowball offer. I actually have sort of a "looker code" for myself. I am always very respectful and never make sneering comments. I recognize that realtors wants frank and open feedback from the lookers, and I always offer that when I have the chance. If I think the price is higher than market (regardless of my view of the direction of the market), I say so. If there is something in particular that takes a property out of consideration for me, I will tell the realtor very frankly what it is (and not in a haggling kind of way).

At the end of the day, my decision is binary. I either bid or I don't. And after looking quite a lot of properties in the past 6 months or so I have bid on exactly zero (though I have come close a couple of times). There is simply no point in walking around open houses and trying to make realtors and/or owners feel bad. Market prices will come down, and then I'll buy. In the meantime I have nothing but time and patience.

Posted by: lechacal at October 28, 2008 11:29 PM