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October 8, 2008
House of the Day: 632 Third Street
Despite the fantastic location between Prospect Park West and 8th Avenue and the attractive architecture, there's something we're not feeling about this house at 632 3rd Street in Park Slope. The interior finishes make this place look like an average rental apartment, not a grand four-story house. We're also a little confused about why there are no photos of the parlor. What's up with that? As a result, we're not optimistic that the seller will be able to achieve the current asking price of $2,995,000.
623 3rd Street [Fenwick Keats] GMAP P*Shark
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Comments
when was this house built? it's very weird - I think the facade is really ugly - proportions are all off.
Posted by: gkw at October 8, 2008 1:16 PM
I've always liked these later, more craftsman inspired two-family houses, although I've never seen one come on the market. The fact that they are duplexes - and were always intended as such - strikes me as a very appealing feature, especially in these tougher economic times.
Posted by: Architerrorist at October 8, 2008 1:20 PM
"we're not optimistic that the seller will be able to achieve the current asking price of $2,995,000"
understatement of the year, brownie!
Posted by: Whoops Johnny at October 8, 2008 1:20 PM
billyboomer...lets try not to inject politics into a civilised discussion about brooklyn real estate. :)
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 8, 2008 1:29 PM
McCain wins and dies and Palin takes over: 100,000.00
Posted by: Biff Champion at October 8, 2008 1:36 PM
That front yard looks a bit projectsy
Posted by: dittoburg at October 8, 2008 1:38 PM
Nader wins: .02
Posted by: SnarkSlope at October 8, 2008 1:38 PM
McCain dies and Palin takes over: can of beans, three squirrel pelts.
Posted by: Frederick Law Homestead at October 8, 2008 1:39 PM
"projectsy" Word of The Day
dittoburg...we were talking about the pic from a few months back that you got all hot and bothered about. The one with the hot chic and the frumpy old russian woman on Brighton beach Ave.....see the Forum post about the party.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 8, 2008 1:48 PM
I can see the projects from my front window.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 8, 2008 1:48 PM
Has anyone read the Rolling Stone article on McCain???
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 8, 2008 1:51 PM
Hey, throw in a "six-pack" Frederick Law Homestead, and you gotta deal, you betcha!
I'm intrigued by the inexplicable, long hall with windows and fireplace which seems to be off one bedroom in the back of the house.
Posted by: traditionalmod at October 8, 2008 1:52 PM
Not exactly a set of photos that makes you want to see the house - no kitchen, no bathrooms, none of the Arts and Crafts details that the broker promotes, and that wide-angle facade photo is pretty distressing. And what's with the bowling-alley room (blue tiles, fireplace/bowling pins at end)?
Posted by: zeebee_in_bklyn at October 8, 2008 1:54 PM
If you think the interior looks like 'average rental apartment' - then you must have pretty distorted view how the average person lives. Perhaps average of someone of your class.
Posted by: Petebklyn at October 8, 2008 2:13 PM
Both of today's listings of the day - this HOTD and the coop of the day - are perfect examples of what I mean in the "open house" thread when I say that many sellers/brokers have their heads in the sand and are pricing as if the economy is booming. Totally ridiculous. I don't whether to laugh or cry.
Posted by: Miss Muffett at October 8, 2008 2:28 PM
Things may well turn your way, Miss Muffett. But until sellers price their wares at the level you crave, you will still be waiting on your dream house. Let us all know when you deem it time to pounce.
Posted by: Architerrorist at October 8, 2008 2:35 PM
Brownstoner:
This reminds me of several houses in my 1950's boyhood neighborhood, Crown Heights. They're called "Kinko" houses, according to Brownstoner Montrose Morris. (There are a few in Brooklyn Heights, too, designed by Mott Schmidt, if I remember correctly.)
I recall these as perfectly-sized for small families. Their charm was that they were bright and sunny compared to Victorian- and Edwardian-era brownstones filleld with dark woodwork.
And the "sun room" at the rear of this particular number is a deal-maker, as far as I'm concerned. Great play room or family room, even if it compromises the adjoining "bedroom." (Heck, make both rooms the family room; or better yet, make the bedroom a library or media room.)
The sun room also provides a roof that can be turned into a deck, although Kinko houses often used their roofs as the "garden" for the upper duplex.
A great house and great block -- for the right family. (Generations of my family have lived in the Slope since the 1880s, and whenever I drop by, I take a walk on Third Street, one of the best-looking streets in all New York.)
Nostalgic on Park Avenue
Posted by: NOP at October 8, 2008 2:36 PM
I'll take inspiration from broker Will Rogers ['I never met a qualified buyer I didn't like'] & say that this place looks pretty good to me... great location, good layouts, and a 2nd floor bowling alley! Seriously, it's asking price needs to be a bit below $2 million, but for that you are getting 2 big duplex apartments, which on that block would probably sell for a bit more if sold separately.
Posted by: parkedslope at October 8, 2008 2:41 PM
gkw, the facade looks much better in person. They're actually quite nice on the outside--I walk by them frequently. The listing does say 'with some updating'. That means major reno in broker-speak. Nothing about mechanicals or roof.
Posted by: denton at October 8, 2008 2:43 PM
Architerrorist - again, I'm not waiting for market to bottom. Our criteria for a house are based on features we want to live with (i.e. sunlight, detail, etc.) and a realistic, albeit conservative budget. We are lucky to have the means to buy something even if the market does not crash and the main reason we have not is that inventory has indeed been low. That will likely change. So, my "pouncing" is not a matter of aiming to time the market perfectly, but rather of waiting for the right property. I'm simply saying we are more patient now since it seems clear that prices are definitely not going up anytime soon and the overwhelming consensus is that they will indeed go down but by how much and for how long, no one knows.
Posted by: Miss Muffett at October 8, 2008 2:43 PM
This is 1930s Tudor. It originally had dark wood paneling in some of the rooms, such as the dining room pictured. It's probably more pleasant in person and will look better with color, rugs, softness, furniture, and something on the walls other than white paint. Though I'm not in love with this half-modern, half-traditional style, and the waste of space with separate entrances and stairs doesn't appeal to me either. It also robs the ground floor living room -- a sad fact they probably tried to counter by adding the sunroom and its incongruous fireplace -- and implies that that this was a very expensive 1930s remodel of an existing brownstone.
Posted by: mopar at October 8, 2008 3:09 PM
DIBS -
Yes, a good McCain article.
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/23316912/makebelieve_maverick
The silver lining of the current crisis is that it went from a close race a month ago to looking like Obama's to lose. Could be a landslide.
Posted by: Bklnite at October 8, 2008 3:12 PM
No mopar - there's a whole row of these houses, identical - built as a two family originally, in the British "Maisonette" tradition.
Posted by: Architerrorist at October 8, 2008 3:23 PM
According to today's Wall Street Journal, prices in New York need to fall 18.2% in order to restore "historic affordability." That puts this house in the $2.3 Million range, which seems closer to reality.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122341352084512611.html
Posted by: HellsBelles at October 8, 2008 3:56 PM
Here's a weird coincidence: Curbed has a photo today, on a totally different subject, that includes the exact same house!
http://curbed.com/archives/2008/10/08/signs_of_gentrification_lust_old_car_hits_on_slope_smart_car.php#reader_comments
Posted by: johnife at October 8, 2008 4:01 PM
NOP is correct on all accounts, regarding the layout and purposing of these two family houses. I like them, too, although I wish more of those Craftsman details had made their way to the photos.
Last week I ragged on Brown Harris Stevens photos looking like computer enhanced mock ups. These are even worse. They have absolutely no life whatsoever. They are so clinical, I can't even get interested in them. Weird.
Posted by: Montrose Morris at October 9, 2008 12:55 AM
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