« A Couple of Sales House of the Day: 205 12th Street »

January 12, 2009

Co-op of the Day: 110 Hicks Street

This is our fourth post on 110 Hicks Street since two of the units came on the market more than a year ago. In that time, both the lower duplex and the 2nd-floor one bedroom have had their asking prices reduced numerous times. Both units got trimmed again this week, bringing the duplex down to $1,550,000 from a starting price of $2,400,000 in October 2007 and the one-bedroom to $650,000 from an original $795,000. Where does it stop?
110 Hicks Street, 1 BR [Douglas Elliman] GMAP
110 Hicks Street, Duplex [Douglas Elliman] P*Shark
Co-op of the Day: 110 Hicks Street [Brownstoner]
Co-op of the Day: 110 Hicks Street, Reduced Again [Brownstoner]
Co-op of the Day: 110 Hicks Street, Reduced [Brownstoner]
Co-op of the Day: 'Spensive on Hicks [Brownstoner]

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Comments

"Where does it stop?"

A fall into the abyss never stops.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at January 12, 2009 12:44 PM

Stop it! Somebody should just buy this house and forget the co-op business. A 2-shareholder co-op is a very, very poor idea.

Posted by: sam at January 12, 2009 12:44 PM

The one bedroom isn't going to stop there. Over 600K for something that small with no outdoor space? Ain't gonna happen.

Posted by: RaginCajun at January 12, 2009 12:49 PM

I think this must be 3 units at least. And the duplex owners would have most of the shares. That duplex is sweet -- the worst feature is the block. This block has a very blah feeling - there's no there there.

I don't know the state of the brooklyn heights market these days, but I do know this would have gone into a bidding war had they started with these prices way back when. Terrible pricing by broker? Or owner? Or both?

Posted by: Ringo at January 12, 2009 12:49 PM

Almost 1m price cut!!

The end is near.
Brooklyn Heights is Dead.
Park Slope is soooo hot!!

Posted by: bayridgegirl at January 12, 2009 12:51 PM

meanwhile, if they want to sell that duplex for 1mm, I'll buy it today.

Posted by: Ringo at January 12, 2009 12:56 PM

Even 2 years ago the 1 br would have been overpriced at 650k. Looks like its just around 700sf?

This is a nice place that is gonna bankrupt the seller because someone couldn't figure out how to price it competitively.

At this point they should take any offer over $1.2 mil for the duplex (there's your half off!) and over 550k for the 1 br. If that doesn't move them, then I'm at a loss...

Posted by: Bolder at January 12, 2009 1:09 PM

Funny how you can buy an entire house on Jefferson Ave in Bedford Stuyvesant that looks the same as this place for less than the top floor unit. I guess it is all about location... The duplex looks nice but the price seems a bit crazytown...

Posted by: Amzi Hill at January 12, 2009 1:12 PM

Overpriced to begin with but getting closer now.

Posted by: TownhouseLady at January 12, 2009 1:14 PM

It's stil 1.5M for a 2 bedroom. With windows overlooking the brick wall of the St George Towers. You have to assume that prices will drop at least half of what they've gained in the bubble years--making this still far overpriced.

Posted by: shillstoner at January 12, 2009 1:21 PM

Wouldn't it make way more sense to sell this as a whole building -- owner's duplex w/ a rental?

Posted by: cwbuecheler at January 12, 2009 1:23 PM

I agree with cwb, it would make way more sense to sell the whole building. Carving out rooms in rowhouses works better at the bottom of the market than at the top. This is a nice Brooklyn Heights location that would be very attractive as a single-family house with a separate rental or guest unit.

Posted by: sam at January 12, 2009 1:32 PM

As pointed out above, this is a 3-unit co-op. There's another duplex above. Only 2 of the units are for sale.

The problem with the lower duplex is the layout. It's 1800-1900 sf but only 2 bedrooms. Who needs a 18x12 bedroom when you have a little galley kitchen? Same with the extra bathroom.

I think the sellers must have been wowed by the prices similarly-sized apartments were fetching in the neighborhood in past years and not accounted for the fact that those were laid out as proper 3-4 bedrooms, on single floors in apartment buildings that didn't have the drawbacks that this house layout imposes.

Posted by: NorthHeights at January 12, 2009 1:32 PM

i think that this is an OK layout, but just priced wrong.

Posted by: wine lover at January 12, 2009 1:43 PM

Whoops, didn't realize it was three total units.

Over 1.5 million, no matter how much I liked the location, I'd have a hard time rationalizing buying a condo in a brownstone when I could go elsewhere and just ... buy a brownstone.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at January 12, 2009 1:52 PM

I don't get it either cwb...

Posted by: Amzi Hill at January 12, 2009 2:02 PM

so in a 3 unit co-op where 2 units are for sale... do the owners of the one remaining unit basically get to hand-pick who they want to live with (assuming somebody eventually makes an offer)?

Posted by: TD at January 12, 2009 2:19 PM

It seems very weird to me that these three units are being sold as a co-op, rather than a condo. I've never heard of this before, though I admit that I haven't looked too deeply into these types of units.

Does anybody have any idea as to why they would structure this as a co-op rather than a condo?

I agree that this should be marketed as a 3-family house. A three unit co-op or condo just doesn't seem workable.

Posted by: benson at January 12, 2009 2:30 PM

Benson,
I think that when the original owner decided to convert the brownstone into the three units, there was a mortgage on the property that he/she couldn't pay off right away. I think condo conversion is only possible when there's NO mortgage on the property. Therefore, coop was probably the only way to go.

Posted by: Gravis at January 12, 2009 3:15 PM

well no one is buying a whole brownstone in BH for 1.5 for sure. i bought a whole brownstone in CH in '97 for $650K and even then, a BH condo duplex was listed at $750K. BH is expensive.

location people.

Posted by: wine lover at January 12, 2009 3:24 PM

wine lover -

I understand 1.5 Million won't get you a full brownstone in BH ... but what I'm saying is, I don't care enough about living in Brooklyn Heights that it'd be worth it to me to spend 1.5mm on a condo, instead of going to, say, Prospect Heights and spending the 1.5mm on a full brownstone.

There is a point for me where location matters, for sure, but owning my own building a little further into Brooklyn definitely trumps only owning a duplex in BH. Honestly, I don't even like BH that much. It's kind of boring. :)

Posted by: cwbuecheler at January 12, 2009 3:49 PM

Some of you guys just don't get it. Brooklyn Heights is for rich people, It isn't for regular middle-class people looking to fulfill their American dream of home ownership.

Posted by: sam at January 12, 2009 3:56 PM

Wine lover, is that cobble or clinton? 650K for a bstone in cobble hill in 97 was a good deal. A nice one in the slope was 600K by then. Just curious.

Posted by: shillstoner at January 12, 2009 3:58 PM

First of all some people on here are clueless...

EXAMPLE:

"but owning my own building a little further into Brooklyn definitely trumps only owning a duplex in BH. Honestly, I don't even like BH that much. It's kind of boring. :)"

People buy a place to be in an area. There are a ton of brownstones in bedstuy and crown heights for 500k but who the hell would want to live there. Or buy a house on Long Island 1hr from the city then you can have youir own yard. People want convenience and a great area. I dont live in Brooklyn Heights but its by far the nicest area of Brooklyn yes it doesnt have a ton of restaurants/bars but its one stop to city and borders BH and CH and Dumbo...

Or you can go buy a house In Bensonhurst... People are so clueless sometimes. What about co-ops on Park Ave???? I guess those people should buy a house in Queens to own there own space...

I cant believe I even replied to this person but whateva...

Posted by: THAL at January 12, 2009 4:05 PM

THAL, you forgot to add that another alluring aspect of Brooklyn Heights for many of us who moved there is the "boring" peace and quiet we couldn't find elsewhere, particularly in Manhattan. It's very nice being in a peaceful neighborhood while still being so close to more "happening" areas like DUMBO, Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, Manhattan, etc.

However, I can understand why one would want to live in Crown Heights or BedStuy. There are some absolutely stunning homes in those areas and I can appreciate why people would prefer to buy an entire brownstone there vs. a 2 or 3 bedroom apt. in BH. Everyone has their own tastes and brownstones in CH and BS are worlds apart from the homes in Queens and Long Island and most anywhere else in the U.S. for that matter.

Posted by: Biff Champion at January 12, 2009 4:18 PM

there are people who are in providence, des moines, etc saying, "for 1.5 mm you could get XXX here!" everyone has a different idea of where the line is when it comes to location.

I know so many people with kids in school in the heights who aren't interested in taking the kids to school via subway. family-sized apartments will always have a market there. you just have to price it right!

Posted by: Ringo at January 12, 2009 4:22 PM

sam -

Even if I was rich, I wouldn't own a condo in BH ... if you were rich, why would you want to hear people stomping around above you?

THAL -

Thanks for your positive estimation of my intelligence. However, I don't think I recommended going and buying a brownstone in Crown Heights or a house in Queens. The Prospect Heights historic district is very nice, and all of ten more minutes of a commute to Manhattan than Brooklyn Heights. If it were me, there's no way I'd spend 1.5mm to live in Brooklyn Heights when I could get much more for the money in an area that's still really nice, and very close to Manhattan.

Brooklyn Heights is arguably the best neighborhood in Brooklyn. I understand that. There are some amazing historic houses there, the promenade is awesome, and it's one of the few places where you can let your kids wander unsupervised. Many people really like Brooklyn Heights, and for good reason.

But 1.5mm to live in a 2BR condo there? Not interested, no matter how much money I have.

That's all I was saying.

For what it's worth, I lived on the UES for three years also, and I'd never buy on Park Ave either. There's nothing there except cabs and old people.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at January 12, 2009 4:23 PM

cwbuecheler, it seems we're all agreeing to each his/her own, including the hundreds of thousands of rich people in Manhattan living in noisy apartments who could answer your question "if you were rich, why would you want to hear people stomping around above you?".

(by the way, I hope Nostalgic on Park isn't offended by your last paragraph!)

Posted by: Biff Champion at January 12, 2009 4:37 PM

Biff - Yeh, certainly everyone has a different idea of X features are worth Y dollars. There are several Brooklyn neighborhoods I like more than the Heights because I want lots of restaurants and bars around, don't care about children/schools in the slightest, and would STRONGLY prefer to have no one living above me.

I don't think I ever said that other people should feel like me. I just said I don't get the people who don't. ;)

Posted by: cwbuecheler at January 12, 2009 4:45 PM

CWB, I hear you (so to speak). Having lived in Manhattan above, below and next to noisy neighbors, I was so thankful when I moved to my place in BH and no longer had to deal with it any more. I don't think I could go back at this point. I too would move to another neighborhood if I had to deal with noisy neighbors, but I'm very fortunate that I don't. By the way, is Mrs. CWB still lurking here?

Posted by: Biff Champion at January 12, 2009 4:53 PM

What rich people care about is a good address, and to be near other rich people. They don't give a rat's ass about footsteps above them or below them. Trust me, they have their weekend retreats for peace and solitude.

Posted by: sam at January 12, 2009 5:13 PM

Biff - She peeks in on occasional threads but is not as regular a reader as I am. :)

Sam - Well, I am not rich, and do not know the rich (not in this city anyway), so I'll have to take your word for it!

Posted by: cwbuecheler at January 12, 2009 5:24 PM

@Biff -- of course! I don't speak as much as the hubby, but I'm pretty obsessed with Brownstoner (I tried to abbreviate that as BSer, bad idea) myself.

Posted by: MrsCWB at January 12, 2009 5:34 PM

I think right Sam people in that live in affluent area neighborhood drop all the time. When I was looking to buy I was only looking in Park Slope , Prospect Heights and Ft Greene but everything I lived was way out of my range or just too small. I wanted space and nice architecture so Stuy-Heights became the place for me... I got a whole brownstone for the same price as a condo and very happy with that and my commute is the same as when I lived in PS thanks to the A.

Posted by: Amzi Hill at January 12, 2009 5:36 PM

"What rich people care about is a good address, and to be near other rich people. They don't give a rat's ass about footsteps above them or below them. Trust me, they have their weekend retreats for peace and solitude."

sam, I agree with you for the most part, which is why I pointed out above that there are tons of rich people, especially in Manhattan, who are willing to put up with noise to live in a building they deem desirable. But there are certainly rich folks in BH who prefer quiet surroundings, even during the week, which is why (amongst other reasons) they would rather pay millions for a brownstone than millions for a penthouse at One BB Park or 1 Pierrepont Street.

Posted by: Biff Champion at January 12, 2009 5:55 PM

Bottom line, neither of these is a good deal. 1.5m could buy any number of 3brs throughout BH, on much quieter streets. This location isn't good at all, right across from the St. George. It's a taxi-chute half the day.

Posted by: buttermilk channel at January 12, 2009 8:17 PM

Rich people do not engrave their name on their stationary, only their address.
This is a Miss Manners moment brought to you by Sam.

Posted by: sam at January 12, 2009 8:23 PM

The teeny tiny one bedroom is simply adorable, even with no entry, and I would gladly pay $125,000 or $150,000 for it, if it were in a quieter neighborhood with better parking and restaurants.

Posted by: mopar at January 12, 2009 10:44 PM

I stand corrected, this is a 4-unit building: the lower duplex and 3 floor-throughs.

Posted by: NorthHeights at January 12, 2009 11:31 PM

« A Couple of Sales House of the Day: 205 12th Street »

January 12, 2009

Co-op of the Day: 110 Hicks Street

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