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March 4, 2009

Co-op of the Day: 415 Argyle Road, #3J

This two-bedroom co-op at 415 Argyle Road in Ditmas Park strikes us as exceedingly average, and that's why it's interesting. The 1,000-square-foot pad in the 1961 building is attractive if a bit unsexy—decent wood floors, no moldings—but it does have a kitchen and bathroom that look like they were renovated recently. The asking price? $379,000. Is this market right now?
415 Argyle Road, #3J [Brooklyn Hearth] GMAP P*Shark

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Seems like a solid space at a solid price, but I don't know the area and comps.

Posted by: wasder at March 4, 2009 12:45 PM

well, I guess I could afford that private school tuition for the kids if we lived here.

Posted by: Ringo at March 4, 2009 12:48 PM

Plenty of two-bedrooms in comparable neighborhoods for under 300k. For instance, http://realestate.nytimes.com/sales/detail/44-1470795/brooklyn-ny-usa/2-beds/0-300000-price/PRICE-HIGH-sort/20-p/44-1470795--253-NS90227353--56-766372--2156-118001--2156-819065--46-779602--46-779632--44-1513974--2156-888004--2156-888013-ls/157-t

Posted by: alsawo at March 4, 2009 12:51 PM

No private school tuition for my kids ... just working the public school system & making sure the kids in to and get the best out of the good schools. If we lived here I guess I could afford to retire some day.

Posted by: Bklnite at March 4, 2009 12:53 PM

Alsawo... not sure Caton Ave is comparable to Argyle (south of Cortelyou). But it's nice to see these units are going for more *normal* prices instead of $500k+ type figures...

Posted by: tybur6 at March 4, 2009 12:58 PM

I don't think prices, even like this, can hold up in a downturn in area with few amenities like this. Ditmas has its charm but it's a long trip to the city and a long trip to the park, shopping, restaurants, etc. There are bad neighborhoods not far away and no Fresh Direct. There's a 950 square foot apt. in a similar kind of building for sale in Windsor Terrace right now for $399. I'd never buy in Ditmas if I could afford WT.

Posted by: darkandstormy at March 4, 2009 12:59 PM

The NYT ad has comparable sales in the building for $143,500 and $220,967 (in 2007 and 2006); of course, these might have been 1 bedroom apts. Still though, it makes the listing appear expensive

Posted by: Maly at March 4, 2009 1:05 PM

Prices in this neighborhood have doubled (or more) in the past 3-4 years without a corresponding increase in amenities or desirability.

I think there is still quite a way for prices to fall.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 4, 2009 1:06 PM

I dare you to take the F-train vs Q-train challenge... long trip to the city. Pistachios!

Also... of course there's FreshDirect delivery in Ditmas, a bunch of restaurants... shopping is limited and the park is 5 blocks away.

Posted by: tybur6 at March 4, 2009 1:09 PM

Not sure what you mean, DarkandStormy. Freshdirect does go to Ditmas Park and has for some time. There are good restaurants, like Pomme de Terre on Newkirk and The Farm on Cortelyou. It's not that far from the city. The B train goes right through it and will get you into Manhattan faster than the F from Park Slope. Not that I really care, as I don't know anyone in Ditmas, but let's give credit where credit's due.

Posted by: White and Proud in Crown Heights at March 4, 2009 1:12 PM

I don't know WT and Ditmas very well... but I'd think Ditmas would be a lot nicer, actually.

Posted by: Heather at March 4, 2009 1:12 PM

There really is not very much appealing about it.
One bath, ugly facade, far from job centers.
Is the building solid financially? is it 75% or more owner-occupied? Does it have haelthy reserves? A garage? Those are the questions I would ask.

Posted by: sam at March 4, 2009 1:15 PM

I've never been to Dimas Park so I will refrain from commenting and adding anything to this thread.

Randolph, care to add something???

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 4, 2009 1:16 PM

This is for all those who say Brooklyn is unaffordable.

Nice looking place for what it is. For 250 bucks, I'd add some moldings and you've got a nice place for a family of 3.

Posted by: 11217 at March 4, 2009 1:17 PM

Ask $189,500.00

Posted by: Gowanus_Bklyn at March 4, 2009 1:19 PM

I actually like Ditmas Park quite a bit. I just don't think that the significant price jumps of the past few years are merited or sustainable.

I've looked at units in this building. It's not bad for what it is: a modest post-war apartment building. Floorplans are typically well-laid out and room sizes are fairly generous.

If you are looking for Victorian foofery, then this is not your type of building.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 4, 2009 1:31 PM

It's an additional 2 train stops on the Q from 7th Avenue (yes?) and is half the cost of most comparable 2 bedrooms in Park Slope.

Seems to me like the price isn't SO bad. I'd try for 300K or 325K.

Posted by: 11217 at March 4, 2009 1:35 PM

darkandstormy, your comments don't make sense.

(White and Proud in Crown Heights covered most of my points already before I finished my post... but here's my .02)

It's 3/4 of a mile to the parade ground, then the equivalant of one long block thru the parade ground to the park. (I jog a lap in the park from near here frequently)
It's within a couple of short blocks of several good restaurants (the farm on adderly, pomme de terre & others); anything in Park Slope is a 10 minute drive or bike ride away (or a short Q train ride).
"bad neighborhoods not far away" - not really worth a response, but live and go wherever you're comfortable. No need to incite fear.
Fresh direct *does* deliver
http://www.freshdirect.com/site_access/site_access.jsp
(I don't use FD - mostly shop at PS food coop, or costco, and there's the flatbush coop, and another store within a couple of short blocks)

That said, prices may well head down here along with pretty much everything anywhere else.

Posted by: Bklnite at March 4, 2009 1:44 PM

> "I'd try for 300K or 325K."

Sounds reasonable to me.

My main concern about this building is that I believe the sponsor sold off about 75% of the units in the past five years.

That many "10% down and no board approval" sales - during the "you got a pulse you get a mortgage" days - gives me pause.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 4, 2009 2:18 PM

Just an interesting note I just read:

***
Foreclosures in all five boroughs of New York City decreased by 3 percent between January and February of this year, to 269 from 278 new foreclosures, according to the February foreclosure report from Propertyshark.com. Compared to February 2008, foreclosures have dropped 10 percent. Single- and two-family homes saw the highest number of foreclosure auctions, while condos and co-ops saw the lowest in February 2009.

Foreclosure statistics in the boroughs varied widely year-over-year. Brooklyn foreclosures dropped by 77 percent between February 2008 and February 2009, to 12 foreclosures from 53

Posted by: 11217 at March 4, 2009 2:38 PM

i got friends who live in this building. it's pretty okay, pretty chill. thoroughly gentrified now. maintenance is a little high. i like the 'hood. park slope has more going on. prospect heights is grungy and cooler. but ditmas park is good for families who ain't making banker or lawyer dough. more resto's are opening. but it still ain't no park slope. but then again, nothing is.

Posted by: coolbrooklynguy at March 4, 2009 2:38 PM

Nope. It's not the market. There are going to be failed condo projects in the financial district that will be selling for $400 or $500 per square foot very soon. $400 per square foot for a co-op in Ditmas Park is still way too high.

Posted by: Polemicist at March 4, 2009 2:53 PM

I have been renting a 5 bedroom coop in the bldg next door for the last 7 months. There have been 2 sales in my bldg this month at 400K plus. This is a great block, Courtelyou has some really fine merchants including the best Hummus at Mimi's Hummos on Courtelyou. Why would you say negatives things about this area when you don't know it. In my bldg, there are 18 tenants that have been there for over 25 years. There are lots of families moving to the area, first time real estate buyers who are forced out of the slope in the need of more space. You can't compare this to new cheap condo developments. And I get to 14th St. faster on the Q, than I did for 20 years on the F from Bergen St in Cobble Hill.

Posted by: Jebby at March 4, 2009 3:35 PM

This apartment is actually not a bad deal for a 2br in the immediate area of Cortelyou Road amenities--you can stumble literally around the corner to a decent cafe, a decent bar, a couple of good restaurants, one excellent restaurant, and a fairly good subway line. The problem is that this building only allows dishwashers in their duplex apartments because of some engineering report from the 1960s. Also, as others have commented upon, this is small for a 2br apartment in this part of Brooklyn--most 2br/1 bath co-ops in Ditmas Park or Kensington are over 1000 square feet.

Posted by: outerboroughs at March 4, 2009 4:47 PM

Ditmas Park is a great neighborhood. I've lived around here for, well, six+ years, longer than the recent gentrification wave but not nearly as long as most of the people here. It has a nice small-town feeling - I run into people I know on Cortelyou all the time. There's Sycamore Bar & Flower Shop, a wine shop, the Farm, Picket Fence, Pomme de Terre, San Remo Pizza (and Lo Duca's on Newkirk, along with a great Caribbean place), a quirky camera shop, Top Cafe Tibet, Mimi's Hummus, Madina, Cinco de Mayo, Vox Pop and Connecticut Muffin for coffee, the Flatbush Food Coop and Natural Frontier Market, and much more. Basically, a little of everything, and very convenient transportation (Q and B trains, B68 bus) if it's too small for you. A new bar just opened this past week, too, and there's a Filipino restaurant scheduled to open in the spring.

Posted by: sixyearsandcounting at March 4, 2009 4:58 PM

Plus, you don't have to drive around for 45 minutes looking for a parking space. If you're of the automobile persuasion.

Posted by: Back40 at March 4, 2009 5:40 PM

I've lived in the Ditmas Park area for 30 years. I'd never live anywhere else. Great place to raise a family. Two wonderful elementary schools (PS 217, where my boys went, and PS 139). A short walk to Midwood or Murrow High Schools, two of the city's best. Less than 30 minutes to Union Square on the Q. No, it's not Park Slope, and most of us are glad.

Posted by: evfred at March 5, 2009 3:17 AM

A 5th floor apartment similar to this was sold renovated by the Sponsor last year for I think 354k. This is very overpriced. I do not understand why it is bad that the Sponsor has sold their units as a previous post mentioned - would it not be worse if the Sponsor held on to those units! Also I understand for people who live in the building there is a 80% carpet requirement - this apartment I think is showing a little too much hardwood that the next owner will not be able to get away with.

Posted by: ronb at March 5, 2009 11:23 PM

« Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up House of the Day: 216 17th Street »

March 4, 2009

Co-op of the Day: 415 Argyle Road, #3J

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