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November 5, 2008

House of the Day: 291 State Street

291-State-Street-1108.jpg
This four-story brownstone at 291 State Street in Boerum Hill looks like a time capsule! That should not come as a big surprise, as the house has been in the same hands for over three decades. While that's good news in terms of architectural detail, it'll leave buyers who want modernized kitchen and baths a little disappointed. (It's close to modern though: It's the first old brownstone next to the new batch of 14 Townhouses.) Given that some work will likely be required, the asking price of $2,250,000 is probably a little high, but not by much, we'd guess.
291 State Street [Jim Kerge/NYT] GMAP P*Shark




Posted by Brownstoner at 1:12 PM | Comments (16)
Categories: Boerum Hill, HOTD

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Comments

A juicy house today and I can't stick around...darn you, Mr. B.

ooh, I can't see the crown moulding in 3/4 of the pics.

I want floor plans and that oh, so nice looking persian carpet.

Posted by: bayridgegirl at November 5, 2008 1:28 PM

i dont see this place getting over 2 million. The interior looks super duper old! Besides this State st. location isnt exactly in the most quaint brownstone nabe in bklyn.

Posted by: bktycoon at November 5, 2008 1:39 PM

BRG, where you off to? This could bode well for my work productivity this afternoon given DIBS is also nowhere to be found.

Posted by: Biff Champion at November 5, 2008 1:47 PM

I'm here Biff. Just got back from lunch. Still have a bit of a wine hangover and going out to dinner tonight in Boerum Hill for my birthday. More wine.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 5, 2008 2:00 PM

I don't think this place will sell for that amount on that block north of Atlantic. The location though is certainly convenient to the A, Atlantc Ave & Smith St shops

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 5, 2008 2:04 PM

It certainly is a beauty. I agree that it's probably priced too high.

Posted by: TownhouseLady at November 5, 2008 2:14 PM

Mr B - it's properties like these that we need to come back and look at in April '09 - If by then this (and others) have sold for $2m+ then I think we can regard that the Brownstone Brooklyn nabes of Bklyn Hhts, BoCoCa, and Park Slope as being pretty recession proof (give or take 10%)

Posted by: 99luftballons at November 5, 2008 2:18 PM

DIBS, happy birthday! There are many reasons for you to celebrate this week (and we've hardly spoken about the Phillies win last week).

I agree that this home's location is not great, despite being next to those 14 townhouses. The immediate vicinity is not nice and I'd much rather spend that money in a better area, of which there are many.

Posted by: Biff Champion at November 5, 2008 2:18 PM

Happy B-Day Dave. Have a great time celebrating!

Posted by: TownhouseLady at November 5, 2008 2:23 PM

Just for ha ha's, I compared one of the 14townhouse properties to this one. I picked one at random and didn't consider FAR since I don't have premium Property Shark.

269 State St - $2,625,000 - 3836 sqft - $684.31/sqft
291 State St - $2,250,000 - 3024 sqft - $744.05/sqft

Whether modern is your preferred aesthetic or not, 269 has exceptional finishes and amenities. It is a superlative property if it matches personal aesthetic. It also sold at the heyday of the market (June 2007).

If our HOTD sells at the same price per square foot, it should go for $2,069,343.07

Knock of 15% for market timing you get $1,758,941.61

Knock of $150,000 per floor to bring the finishes and systems up to date and you get $1,158,941.61

That's my estimate of its real value. Don't think the owner is going to sell for that. Do you really think that your personal aesthetic for historical detail is really worth over a million dollars. I say no!!

Posted by: Ozymandius at November 5, 2008 2:38 PM

I don't know anything about prices in this area but I love a time-warp house! It's lovely. The first house I owned back in CA had been owned by the same family since 1928, the year it was built. I was only the 2nd owner in its history. Nothing had been changed. Not a doorknob, not a window frame, not a door, nothing. Whereas many of the other similar houses in the neighborhood had undergone icky 70's and 80's renovations. Mine was like stepping into a time machine. Of course that applied to the mechanicals too, but most people prefer to update mechanicals themselves and do it right.

Posted by: traditionalmod at November 5, 2008 2:38 PM

So the hideous "modern" townhouses that flank this house are part of a successful development??? In my opinion, they bring down the value of this property. They are truly ugly and ruin this block. Unfortunate.

Posted by: nyc87 at November 5, 2008 9:22 PM

Ozymandius,

You can go through all the mental gymnastics. The house will sell for significantly more than the "real value" you assign it.

Posted by: Boerum Hill at November 5, 2008 10:17 PM

This place will get a huge price cut. Exhibit A in the undeniability of price cuts: 586 4th Street, on Corcoran web site - just received a 400K price cut this week. And this (4th St) is undeniably a very prime house in a very price area of Brooklyn. So, suddenly, much less prime places, like this HOTD, seem to have absurd price tags.

Posted by: Miss Muffett at November 5, 2008 11:46 PM

Boerum Hill --

I agree that HOTD will sell for a lot more than my assessment of its value. Too many people have gotten used to the high price tags lately and psychologically are primed to pounce on this once the price comes down. They'll think that it's a bargain and that the prices will recover once the economy straightens up.

And they will be right about that. Prices will come back to levels of a year ago. It may take 5 years but they will. I just prefer not to make emotional purchases.

Posted by: Ozymandius at November 6, 2008 10:50 AM

Prices will come back to levels of five years ago. It may take a year but they will.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at November 7, 2008 10:21 AM

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