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January 21, 2009

Last Week's Biggest Sales

top%20sales%201-20-2009.jpg

1. COBBLE HILL $5,400,000
155 Warren Street GMAP (left)
As covered last week, this 7,000-sf, 25-foot-wide Greek Revival house hit the market in October '07 with an $8.75 million asking price. The price was reduced several times, ending up at $5.9 million in late September, according to StreetEasy. Entered into contract on 11/14/08; closed on 12/16/08; deed recorded on 1/13/09.

2. HOMECREST $3,015,000
1840 East 8th Street GMAP (right)
3,330-sf, detached 1-family house, according to Property Shark. Entered into contract on 12/28/07; closed on 12/30/08; deed recorded on 1/13/09.

3. BROOKLYN HEIGHTS $1,945,000
One Brooklyn Bridge Park, Unit 940 GMAP
1,709-sf, 3-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath unit. Entered into contract on 3/24/08; closed on 12/3/08; deed recorded on 1/15/09.

4. GRAVESEND $1,800,000
1963 East 2nd Street GMAP
2,686-sf, brick two-family house, according to StreetEasy. Entered into contract on 10/31/06; closed on 1/7/09; deed recorded on 1/16/09.

5. MANHATTAN BEACH $1,500,000
215 West End Avenue GMAP
1,705-sf, 1-family house, according to Property Shark. Entered into contract on 11/1/08; closed on 12/18/08; deed recorded on 1/16/09.

Photos from Property Shark.

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Comments

Despite the many price reductions that is still a pretty stunning price on Warren street.

Posted by: wasder at January 21, 2009 11:05 AM

Homecrest?

Posted by: Santa at January 21, 2009 11:12 AM

Why repeat the Warren St house when it was extensively discussed last week? Mr. B, you have to stop repeating yourself...

Posted by: Miss Muffett at January 21, 2009 11:14 AM

whats up with the Homecrest house?

Posted by: troll at January 21, 2009 11:17 AM

He's just trying to aggravate you, Miss Muffett. I'm sure the "Last week's Biggest Sales" post is ALWAYS very aggravation to you, BHO, & cornerbodega.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at January 21, 2009 11:19 AM

lol that house is a 3 million dollar house? that's it. im selling my 40 ounced to death kidney for 500 gazillion trillion dollars. dont you tell me it's worth any less!

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at January 21, 2009 11:22 AM

Folks;

For those who don't venture past Brownstone Brooklyn: Homecrest is the area between Gravesend and Sheepshead Bay. There is a growing Sephardic population in this area,and that is most likely who purchased the house shown. They pay top dollar for these types of homes.

Posted by: benson at January 21, 2009 11:30 AM

He's repeating the Warren Street house because this is the weekly "last week's biggest sales" post and ... it was last week's biggest sale.

Same thing happened with the Jennifer Connely mansion.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at January 21, 2009 11:32 AM

I am thiiis close to giving up on trying to buy a home in NYC. How can people find such value in these houses? It's crazy. 5.4M for a townhouse? 1.8M for Gravesend?!

I guess I was foolish to think there would be some reasonable deals to be made after the credit crisis an bank collapse. *sigh*

Posted by: stoep2conquer at January 21, 2009 11:36 AM

Homecrest - WTF????

$3M??
There better be gold in the basement.

Posted by: bayridgegirl at January 21, 2009 11:40 AM

Buy a house in Sunset Park for about a million bucks. While the neighborhood's services are still lacking, its the best value in Brooklyn.

Posted by: BrianR at January 21, 2009 11:41 AM

I don't think you are foolish to believe that stoep2conquer.

But you are foolish to believe that one of the greatest cities on the planet would be inexpensive.

Keep in mind that NYC isn't even one of the most expensive cities in the world....I believe it ranks 22nd.

Posted by: 11217 at January 21, 2009 11:41 AM

Stoep2conquer,

Also, the 5.4 million dollar house is a 7,000 foot home.

This isn't a starter home.

If you bought a similar house of this size in anytown USA with the same sense of luxury and size, it would cost a million in Alabama, 2 million in Baltimore, 8 million in Greenwich, CT and 10 million in the Bel Air.

I'm not saying it's not expensive, but this is a large home meant for an extremely wealthy person.

You can, however find a lovely 2 bedroom apartment in Kensington or Ditmas for 200K.

Posted by: 11217 at January 21, 2009 11:44 AM

but that's because of MANHATTAN 11217. fine manhattan SHOULD be mad epensive. but gravesend? as Whatevia would say... B*tch please!

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at January 21, 2009 11:45 AM

11217 - Depends on the ranking method.

http://www.citymayors.com/economics/expensive_cities2.html

Posted by: cwbuecheler at January 21, 2009 11:46 AM

All depends on how you look at it Rob.

Not everyone considers Manhattan more desirable than Brooklyn in 2009.

We've had this conversation on here before. There are people (myself included) who prefer Brooklyn over Manhattan, regardless of price.

This inherently has increased prices in Brooklyn.

Posted by: 11217 at January 21, 2009 11:49 AM

Interesting CW. Not sure how they figure these rankings...

This is the one I saw...

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080724/FREE/829303783/1050/toc

Posted by: 11217 at January 21, 2009 11:50 AM

I see where this is going....Let's just get this over with:
Park Slope is the best neighborhood in all of Brooklyn!

Posted by: bayridgegirl at January 21, 2009 11:52 AM

I've seen Most Expensive lists where New York is even higher than #5 (as it is on the one CWB just posted). And, really, London is cheaper than NY if you make euros.

Stoep2conquer, don't worry. There will be relative bargains soon enough.

Posted by: shillstoner at January 21, 2009 11:53 AM

i prefer brooklyn over manhattan as well, but i dont think brooklyn should be as expensive as it is. brooklyn is a gigantic small townish type suburb, not a city proper with sky scrapers and stuff.

*roB*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at January 21, 2009 11:53 AM

Last year NYC was ranked #22 by Forbes. Currency movements have a lot to do with the ranking and therefore they are quite volatile. New York was # 15 in their previous ranking.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at January 21, 2009 11:55 AM

Folks;

Let me clarify further. The hones shown in both eastern Gravesend and Homecrest are really a "closed" market. These particular areas are popular with the mostly well-to-do Sephardic community. They want homes in these areas, so that they can walk to their place of worship,as their faith requires.

The prices for these areas are not indicative of the real estate market in Brooklyn in general. For example, the western part of Gravesend is not home to the Sephardic community,and hence the pricing there is much more reasonable. My mother-in-law's single family home there is approximately 2200 square feet, and will go for about $500K. Needs some work, though.

Posted by: benson at January 21, 2009 11:56 AM

> "You can, however find a lovely 2 bedroom apartment in Kensington or Ditmas for 200K."

Actually, you can buy a 1 bedroom fixer-upper in Kensington or Ditmas Park for $200k.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at January 21, 2009 12:05 PM

I'm sorry I got into this because this is the same stupidity which justified prices in the bubble. "8 million for a brownstone is nothing since that would cost 80 million in Dubai" is just as pointless and as "2 million for a brownstone in Cobble Hill is nothing because that would cost 4 million in Park Slope." It is a meaningless way to justfiy unjustifiable prices and most buyers are now beginning to realize how silly and flawed that approach is.

Posted by: shillstoner at January 21, 2009 12:15 PM

"brooklyn is a gigantic small townish type suburb, not a city proper with sky scrapers and stuff."

Brooklyn is (compared with Manhattan) quieter and filled (as we all know) with great residential architecture and tree-lined streets. That said, the brownstones and beautiful blocks are finitie resources, making them more valuiable. Furthermore, Brooklyn has extensive subway links to Manhattan and is closer to that borough that the suburbs of Long Island and northern New York. Combined, these factors make Brooklyn an ideal bedroom community for people who work and have livelihoods in Manhattan, thus the competitve pricing. It's not about a strict comparison with Manhattan, it's about Brooklyn's desireability as a bedroom community for people who work in Manhattan.

Posted by: East New York at January 21, 2009 12:16 PM

"brooklyn is a gigantic small townish type suburb, not a city proper with sky scrapers and stuff."

Completely disagree.

By your definition, Paris is less of a city than Atlanta or Houston.

Posted by: 11201 at January 21, 2009 12:18 PM

As ENY said, Brooklyn is a bedroom community--which makes is a burb, not a city. Like many, I too prefer it to Manhattan--but it should always be cheaper because it is simply not at the center of things.

Posted by: shillstoner at January 21, 2009 12:24 PM

basically, what you're saying is what 99% of the population knows, BK is the second fiddle, financially driven alternative to Manhattan. Don't try to complicate things... Oh and please no responses from paupers who moved from the UES fdr drive area/hells kitchen areas.

Posted by: cornerbodega at January 21, 2009 12:32 PM

I love Brooklyn and am never moving back to Manhattan, but I still agree that it should be cheaper than Manhattan.

The prices in Brooklyn are still pretty outrageous, and I don't think it's entirely a supply/demand thing. Rampant speculation drove them way up in the past eight years, on a level much faster than the rest of the country, and it's going to take a while for them to even out.

It's insane that in 2000 you could buy something for $150k that now goes for $600k. House prices just aren't supposed to increase by 400% in eight years, no matter how "gentrified" an area gets.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at January 21, 2009 12:40 PM

cw...cornerbodega's fear of hearing from people who have lived elsewhere notwithstanding, Brooklyn prices are still much cheaper than manhattan prices and, as I've said so many times before, you can sell in Manhattan, buy in Brooklyn, improve your lifestyle & square footage and still have money left over!!!!!!

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at January 21, 2009 12:51 PM

"finite" and "valuable" My bad.

Posted by: East New York at January 21, 2009 12:57 PM

DIBS - if only I had something to sell in Manhattan. :)

Posted by: cwbuecheler at January 21, 2009 1:03 PM

Homecrest? Seriously? Is today April 1st?

Posted by: GHB at January 21, 2009 1:27 PM

"but it should always be cheaper because it is simply not at the center of things."

And it is cheaper. A townhouse like the one on Warren would be 15 million in the West Village or 20 million on the Upper East Side. Maybe 7 or 8 million on the Upper West Side?

Posted by: 11217 at January 21, 2009 1:44 PM

I'm sorry - 3 million dollars for that Homecrest place? It looks like any number of crappy houses you can get in Queens for 700k tops.

What Brownstone Brooklyn has going for its proximity to Manhattan. If you were to pick up Brooklyn as is and drop it into the middle of Montana or something, I think you might see home values drop a tad.

That said, why did it take a year for the Homecrest to close?

Posted by: dirty_hipster at January 21, 2009 2:15 PM

dirty hipster, if you were to pick up a three bedroom, 2 bath condo on the Upper East Side for $2MM and move it to the middle of Montana, the value might drop a tad then too.

Posted by: Biff Champion at January 21, 2009 2:24 PM

I'm not aggravated in the least, DIBS. Just bidin' my time...

Posted by: Miss Muffett at January 21, 2009 2:24 PM

Homecrest gotta be Syrian synagogue territory.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at January 21, 2009 2:40 PM

Damn, Cobble Hill was a slam dunk! One month close. Snatch-a-rama, gimme that! 25-footer and somewhat mirrors Brooklyn Heights (about Atlantic) in location quality. 38% below ask - any body know peak comps for this puppy?

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at January 21, 2009 2:45 PM

Regarding Homecrest--benson & others have already explained that this house was most likely sold to members of a religious community who buy in close proximity to their houses of worship. It's a "closed" market--doesn't anyone bother to read other people's comments anymore??

Posted by: bk14 at January 21, 2009 2:54 PM

People who can't discern the difference between brownstone Brooklyn and Queens should really be posting on a different blog.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at January 21, 2009 2:57 PM

i always thought religion in general was a wacked out concept. i guess paying 3 million dollars for a delapidated house just so you can walk to pray proves that.

*roB*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at January 21, 2009 3:08 PM

"People who can't discern the difference between brownstone Brooklyn and Queens should really be posting on a different blog."

Yeah, because that Homecrest place is a brownstone.

Posted by: dirty_hipster at January 21, 2009 3:10 PM

"i always thought religion in general was a wacked out concept. i guess paying 3 million dollars for a delapidated house just so you can walk to pray proves that."

Amen to that!!!!

;-)

Posted by: 11217 at January 21, 2009 3:19 PM

Those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

It would appear to many other people that living in NYC is a wacked out concept...and paying $3M to live in a shoebox of an apartment in the West Village proves it.

;-)

Posted by: benson at January 21, 2009 3:25 PM

The house in homecrast is sitting on a land parcel thats less then 30 feet wide! I understand the serian factor and I live in homecrest as well....but 3 mill for a house on land thats only 29x120 does not make sense. there are many homes in the area with very large parcels (50x100) that sell for less then 3 million.

Posted by: troll at January 21, 2009 3:30 PM

I don't live in a glass house for that very reason, Benson.

All brownstone for me. I like being able to throw whatever I want.

Posted by: 11217 at January 21, 2009 3:35 PM

I payed top tick in Bed Stuy in 2007 so I could walk to Solomon's Porch. I certainly don't throw stones. :)

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at January 21, 2009 3:50 PM

Oh Rob.

Posted by: mopar at January 21, 2009 5:02 PM

i disagree about the bedroom community thing for my part of brooklyn at least - ie williamsburg to bushwick. the artists and musicians and assorted related creative business community is pretty entrenched here. there is not a better version lurking in manhattan. in my world, no one wants to go elsewhere. there is no better place.

manhattan is becoming taboo for a certain type of creative person as it has too many chain stores, too many tourists, too many banks and too many frat boys and wall streeters and wasps and japs and lawyers and etc...

soho is all of the aforementioned, tribeca is full of 50 somethings and the east village and lower east side, well, go there on a saturday night and see if you want to live there. it's the home of the wanna-be's.

meanwhile, dumbo has been getting a creative commercial rental business that is seriously impressive, and i think that creative commercial renters will continue to grow in brooklyn.

Posted by: wine lover at January 21, 2009 5:31 PM

The Syrians have a bubble of their own. A sub-bubble. A subble.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at January 21, 2009 6:13 PM

wine lover is right.

Many a creative business has given up and left Manhattan. You will continue to see more and more businesses as well as people living AND working in Brooklyn.

It pains me to say that Manhattan is left to the super rich, the wannabees, and the tourists.

Ohh and those with rent regulated apartments that can't move.

In the next 25 years just watch as the entire NYC area including Queens, Gold Coast Jersey, Brooklyn fill in.

Posted by: Adam Dahill at January 21, 2009 7:43 PM

2008 will be remembered as the last hurrah for NYC real estate for a long, long time.

Posted by: Miss Muffett at January 21, 2009 10:17 PM

quote:

there is ALL kinds of truth to that and ALL kinds of untruth to that.
YES the les and ev are horrible HORRIBLE places on weekend nights. i lived there from 2001-2005 and i couldnt even walk my dog anymore on a friday or saturday night. it was fun tho cuz id invite friends over and we'd go on my roof and throw blood balloons at all the sex in the city and frat boys who invaded ludlow street like it was mardigras night. in case you want to know what a blood balloon is, it's NOT real blood, it's just a water balloon with ink in it to burst and ruin people clothes. terrible HORRIBLE I KNOW! oh well.

however, to claim williamsburg and bushwick is not full of wannabes is beyond laughable. both of those neighborhoods ARE the laughing stock of nyc. do you seriously think yuppie freelancers with babies and hipster (hate that word btw but whatever it fits) transplants from springfield anytown USA just after college ARENT posers? b*tch please.

the real art and creative center of nyc is Jartfeld. yeah i made that neighborhood name up. you dont know where it is and we cannot tell you. it's a secret. youll just ruin it and make us all bitter again. derf.

sometimes i think nyc is the lamest place on earth. do people in other cities really get all bent out of shape about different neighborhoods than we do?!?

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at January 21, 2009 10:44 PM

"sometimes i think nyc is the lamest place on earth. do people in other cities really get all bent out of shape about different neighborhoods than we do?!?"

I don't think so. That's what makes NYC so special. People here get excited about stuff like no other city in the country. That's the "energy" people talk about. The constant buzz of curiousity, change and excitement. Real or perceived.

In this case, it's excitement over neighborhoods, over architecture, over capitalism, over creativity...over a hundred different things big and small. Everything is at hyper speed, but the incredible amount of interaction with other human beings we experience here creates many opportunities to "get bent out of shape" as it were.

Posted by: 11217 at January 21, 2009 11:14 PM

dude you really need to ask your doctor to reduce your Prozac milligrams.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at January 22, 2009 9:26 AM

I think both of you made some excellent points in the last two posts.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at January 22, 2009 10:03 AM

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January 21, 2009

Last Week's Biggest Sales

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