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October 8, 2008

Co-op of the Day: 63 Cranberry Street, Parlor Floor

What a difference a financial crisis makes! This floor-through two-bedroom at 63 Cranberry Street in Brooklyn Heights started its listing life less than three weeks ago at an asking price of $1,250,000. Last week that number was cut to $1,150,000 and this week it got another chop down to $1,050,000. Given that it has only 900 square feet of interior space, the second bedroom is tiny and the kitchen is not dressed to impress, it had no business at its original asking price. It does have location on its side, as well as a 400-square-foot garden. Our favorite room in the house is this dining room, whose beautiful, large windows give it a nice old-school vibe; the living room could probably benefit from a little styling for the purposes of listing.
63 Cranberry Street [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark

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Comments

Adding up those rooms, there is no way that this apartment is any bigger than 700 sq feet.

Posted by: wasder at October 8, 2008 12:49 PM

Next week, it'll be under a million, in 2 weeks 900K.

Posted by: bayridgegirl at October 8, 2008 12:49 PM

Are those really 11' ceilings (as per listing)? From the pictures it's hard to believe they're more than 8, but I guess they wouldn't be so blatantly lying like that... would they? Nah...

Posted by: heck_of_a_job_brownie at October 8, 2008 12:50 PM

...and did they convert a walk-in closet into a bedroom?

Posted by: heck_of_a_job_brownie at October 8, 2008 12:51 PM

This is making me feel bad for the sellers who are of course once again being hoodwinked by idiot corcoran brokers.

Posted by: gkw at October 8, 2008 12:55 PM

those are some big cuts, but the asking price is still pretty high for an apartment of this size, even in this area.

Posted by: z at October 8, 2008 12:57 PM

wasder and brownie are right. Those ceilings aren't 11 feet, and that is a 700sf apartment at most.

Offer $600k.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at October 8, 2008 12:59 PM

Are agents from Corcoran really mouth breathing morons, 800K and some loose change if they are lucky.

Posted by: Xander Crews at October 8, 2008 1:00 PM

looks like the seller is the broker, no?

(finally logging in -- but I liked it better before brownstoner!)

I love this location, but that second bedroom is not workable.

Posted by: Ringo at October 8, 2008 1:01 PM

I am going to be able to get this at 250 k next year. Well at least I hope. Though I am ready to offer 700 k for a one family in the Heights.

Posted by: HOBOKENROCKS at October 8, 2008 1:04 PM

Ringo I agree - was so much better when it was anonymous - there has been a real drop off in quality fisticuffs.

Posted by: gkw at October 8, 2008 1:08 PM

What's she smokin?? I hope she brings some to the October 16th party.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 8, 2008 1:08 PM

I think you people especially HOBOKENROCKS suburbian boy who is bored out of his mind in New Jersey that is wishing he could move to NYC are nothing but .

CLOWNS

Posted by: sebb at October 8, 2008 1:11 PM

As most brownstones are essentially the same, my previous apartment was a parlor level exactly like this (slightly different room configuration) and can attest that it does indeed clock in at 700 sf.

but the backyard is a nice feature

Posted by: TD at October 8, 2008 1:12 PM

I am sure I will castigated for this comment, but I must say that to blame all Corcoran brokers for the exaggerations of some is not fair. I recently sold my coop with Corcoran. At the outset I made it clear to them that the asking price had to be reasonable. Having read this board for so long I had a good idea of what the "market" would bear for my apt and they priced it like that. Then they took awesome photos, helped my wife and I stage the apt to maximum effect, and marketed the hell out of it. We accepted an offer after two weeks on the market. I also like these two women very much personally so for me, its a stretch to say refer to Corcoran as a monolithic evil organization. They have the best market reach and if you find brokers you like that are responsive to your desires I suspect that they will have the most luck at selling any given property.

All that being said, this is clearly a ridiculous asking price.

Posted by: wasder at October 8, 2008 1:16 PM

I am sure they can be reasonable - but here's one story: Corcoran recommended to my friends an asking price that was way too high - my friends were innocent of the market and really had no idea what they should be asking, only that they needed it sold quickly as they had bought something else which they made clear to Corcoran. It finally sold 7 months later for about $400,000 less than asking. A price they were perfectly happy with since they still made a nice profit.

Posted by: gkw at October 8, 2008 1:25 PM

I amazed how out of touch this broker/seller is. I spent 6 months apartment searching in BH this spring so have a decent feel for the market (and if anything it's worse now). I'd expect this listing to start at $1m and probably drop from there. Anyone in the market for a $1.25m apartment in BH is going to have much better options. And people looking for the size/type of place are going to ignore it because of the price. She must not want to move any time soon.

Posted by: fawn at October 8, 2008 1:29 PM

gkw--your friends clearly did not take the situation as forcefully in hand as they should have. Nobody can make you put any particular asking price on a property. Knowing what you want to get and whether or not this is a reasonable amount in any given market is essential to the sales process. You can't just let the broker determine the ask.

Posted by: wasder at October 8, 2008 1:33 PM

Corocoran overpriced it from the get go? Tell me it isn't true.

Posted by: dittoburg at October 8, 2008 1:39 PM

Putting the pricing all on the broker is ridiculous. A seller needs to know what the market will bear and ask the broker to price it appropriately.

Posted by: wasder at October 8, 2008 1:45 PM

I dont' think it is ridiculous - part of the responsibility of the broker is inform seller of what a reasonable asking price is. They are the ones who are supposed to know what it will take to get the job done. Not everyone is obsessed with real estate and knows what the market will bear.

Posted by: gkw at October 8, 2008 1:50 PM

OK--maybe ridiculous was too strong a word, but leaving that very important decision in the hands of the broker entirely is (if not ridiculous) irresponsible. You don't have to be obsessed with real estate to spend an hour familiarizing yourself about comps in your neighborhood. But I don't mean to make too big a point of this. Clearly this apt is priced in a foolish manner and oftentimes Corcoran properties are priced unnecessarily high. Having had a very successful sales process with them (just last month--not the easiest time to sell as we know) where I told them what I wanted to list it at, I know that it is easy to just blame Corcoran without the seller taking some responsibility.

Posted by: wasder at October 8, 2008 1:55 PM

I don't think owners should have to be obsessed with real estate, but they should be expected to do a little basic research and see what similar properties are going for in their neighborhood.

Expecting the broker to do all the legwork is fine, I guess, but you should be prepared for an inflated price since obviously the more the house sells for, the more the broker makes, and they don't necessarily have that much incentive to sell a property quickly.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at October 8, 2008 2:00 PM

cwb--that is exactly my point. Thanks for backing me up.

Posted by: wasder at October 8, 2008 2:03 PM

I happen to have a friend who is a Corcoran broker and what I learned from her is that Corcoran is basically a bunch of totally separate independent contractors who mainly share a very potent website, and name on their business cards. In other words, each of those brokers basically runs their own business, and as a result there can be huge variation between Corcoran brokers. In fact, when we sold, we interviewed different Corcoran brokers (as well as brokers from other firms) and found that even with Corcoran, there were big differences between them re: pricing philosophy. That said, I agree that most of the brokers who happen to work for Corcoran tend to overprice (such as the broker who overpriced this apt), perhaps because they know they have such great marketing potential and reach. But it does not mean there aren't some good apples at Corcoran. In this market, it is important to choose a great broker given how much harder it is to sell!

Posted by: Miss Muffett at October 8, 2008 2:05 PM

The seller and the broker for this property have both their best interests at heart. Broker is the seller.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 8, 2008 2:09 PM

$800K because of the outdoor space, I think?

Also, that apartment is too small to have two bathrooms.

Posted by: Heather at October 8, 2008 2:12 PM

Here we go with the two bathrooms thing again.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 8, 2008 2:27 PM

How much does it cost to rip out a bathroom, anyways?

Posted by: Heather at October 8, 2008 2:37 PM

Miss Muffett-excellent point about the structure of Corcoran. an interview with prospective brokers will tell you alot about their philosophy and strategy for selling.

Posted by: wasder at October 8, 2008 2:37 PM

Heather, please try to attend our October 16th End of the World Party (refer to my Forum post today). Hopefully you'll make it up that big hill in Park Slope to Union Hall.

Posted by: Biff Champion at October 8, 2008 2:43 PM

Heather...it depends upon whether you use illegal or legal workers. :) But the demolition shouldn't be much..not more than $2,000 for a small one if you can find someone to do a small job.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 8, 2008 2:49 PM

As daveinbedstuy commented earlier, the seller is the broker. She actually put this on the market in June for $995K for a few weeks and quickly took it back off. It magically reappeared last week for $1.25M. Obviously, she has an unrealistic view of the marketplace to think conditions have actually faired better since she originally put on the market in June.

http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/2763

Posted by: bklynluver at October 8, 2008 4:00 PM

a year and a half ago, this thing would have had a bidding war at original ask. people on here would be telling you how stupid you were if you said it was overpriced. they would call you a bitter renter and something else about what a loser you were. what a difference a financial crisis makes indeed.

Posted by: jingle mail at October 8, 2008 4:05 PM

A little help for the spatially challenged - where is the dining room on the floorplan? Is it the second/rear bedroom, off the garden?

Posted by: zeebee_in_bklyn at October 8, 2008 4:24 PM

Wow, I'm amazed that the broker has the gall to *increase* the ask from 995 to June to over 1 mil now. Talk about having your head in the sand! What is wrong with some of these brokers?

Posted by: Miss Muffett at October 8, 2008 4:33 PM

I would say the broker is just biased because it is her own place and she wants as much as she can get, but typically this is her style when it comes to RE sales. Look at how much this one has flucuated since she listed it.

http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/196882-coop-2-grace-court-brooklyn-heights-brooklyn

Posted by: bklynluver at October 8, 2008 5:12 PM

The broker/seller is a desperate hack. I have experience with her and all I can say is, the square footage is definitely waaay under what she says, the fireplace likely does not work (I would demand she back it up with an inspection), the ceiling heights are not as stated, and of course, she's overpriced this apartment exhorborantly.

Posted by: marcela at October 8, 2008 5:24 PM

This is definitely NOT the apt that when on the mkt in June for $995K. That apt was actually far nicer than this one, a total gut renovation with a much larger and nicer backyard. Albeit similarly sized (i'd say closer to 900 sq ft than 700) and on the garden level, it was very nicely renovated throughout by a couple that intended to stay and then got transferred out of the country. I saw that place when it was on the mkt, went to two packed open houses (thought it was back in June), and found out it actually sold very quickly for right under asking price.

Posted by: BklynBetty at October 8, 2008 6:25 PM

by the way, this is the listing for the apt that was on the mkt back in June, and the pictures:

http://www.corcoran.com/property/PhotoTour.aspx?Region=NYC&ListingID=1298466

http://www.corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?Region=NYC&listingid=1298466

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

If you take the current asking price of the apartment by the more realistic square footage of 700sf, this seller/broker is asking $1500 per square foot. That's almost double what they should probably be asking right now.

Posted by: marcela at October 8, 2008 8:23 PM

So is the "private" garden shared by the building? Both listings can't be right. I guess the broker is exaggerating more than the square footage. By the way, the building footprint is only 20x40, so even before excluding the common hallway stair, it only starts at 800 sf per floor, and goes down from there when you subtract the hall - 750 sf sounds about right.

Posted by: NorthHeights at October 8, 2008 9:46 PM

FYI - on the private garden, it is actually private. the way the brownstone is set up, the apt i saw in june has a backyard right out its backdoor that is quite large and fenced in. the apt on the mkt now has a backyard that is behind the fenced in backyard for the other apt, you get there by a small path along the side of the building i think.

Posted by: BklynBetty at October 9, 2008 9:25 AM

« Brownstoner Food & Drink Round-Up House of the Day: 632 Third Street »

October 8, 2008

Co-op of the Day: 63 Cranberry Street, Parlor Floor

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