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March 6, 2009

Open House Picks

housePark Slope
169 8th Street
Brown Harris Stevens
Sunday 11:30-1:30
$1,195,000
GMAP P*Shark

houseWilliamsburg
273 Berry Street
Kline Realty
Sunday 12-2
$1,129,000
GMAP P*Shark

houseKensington
303 East 8th Street
Corcoran
Sunday 12:30-2:00
$949,000
GMAP P*Shark

houseSunset Park
337 46th Street
Craigslist
Sunday 12-2
$675,000
GMAP P*Shark




Posted by Brownstoner at 1:16 PM | Comments (47)
Categories: Open Houses

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Comments

That Park Slope house is adorable! What's the catch??

Posted by: TownhouseLady at March 6, 2009 1:20 PM

Groan, the catch is it faces a schoolyard!

Posted by: TownhouseLady at March 6, 2009 1:22 PM

The PS house is a beauty from the outside. Although it looks like they did a nice minimalist modern renovation, its too bad the architectural details are gone.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 6, 2009 1:23 PM

It kills me that a 1.2MM house is described as:

IMMACULATE AND AFFORDABLE!


(and raped of all original details)

Posted by: TownhouseLady at March 6, 2009 1:24 PM


Brown Harris Stevens should be slugged... The Park Slope house is truly beautiful. HOWEVER, beginning the description of a ONE MILLION TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND dollar house with the phrase "IMMACULATE AND AFFORDABLE!" is a bit lacking in judgment and good taste.

Just sayin'

Posted by: tybur6 at March 6, 2009 1:26 PM

Uninspiring houses for uninspiring times.
Perfect....it can only get worse.

Posted by: bayridgegirl at March 6, 2009 1:26 PM

I don't think there's a school on that 8th St block (?) but between 3rd & 4th ave looks like it has a vacant lot and a crappy looking apartment building across the street from this house.

Posted by: Bklnite at March 6, 2009 1:28 PM

Bklnite, do the street view on the GMAP link.

Posted by: TownhouseLady at March 6, 2009 1:32 PM

catch for the 8th street house is that is between 3rd and 4th avenues and faces big vacant lot. Some people might even say: "that's not Park Slope at all. Those realtors. blah blah blah" and then use that G-W--s word which is name of canal and highway.

Posted by: Petebklyn at March 6, 2009 1:41 PM

The Park Slope house is across the street from an empty lot, its been like that for 22+ years. That house was recently renovated I would say 2 or 3 years ago. Take 25% off of the asking price.

Posted by: Gowanus_Bklyn at March 6, 2009 1:42 PM

The PS house looks nice, but it's between 3/4 Aves. The block is probably OK but not very pretty and far from the heart of shopping/etc in PS. I'd rather be in WT for that price.

Posted by: wishinone at March 6, 2009 1:42 PM

The Park Slope house is between 3rd and 4th Ave, however it is closer to 3rd ave, its considered Gowanus not Park Slope.

Posted by: Gowanus_Bklyn at March 6, 2009 1:43 PM

Just wondering, I'm a little new to all this: but is a block between 4th Avenue and 3rd Avenue really considered Park Slope? I'm a little surprised as those blocks are a mix of commercial and even light industrial. Or am I not remembering correctly?

I like the tiny frame house, but wonder if it is really Park Slope. Names matter I think. I mean to a certain extent.

Posted by: mcKenzie at March 6, 2009 1:45 PM

That Sunset Park house looks like a good deal what ave is that between

Posted by: Gowanus_Bklyn at March 6, 2009 1:47 PM

i don't see a schoolyard; i see a vacant lot...

Posted by: Fjorder at March 6, 2009 1:48 PM

Everything is relative. I remember looking at houses between 5th + 6th avenue back in the early 1980s. Park Slopers back then generally did not consider 5th avenue to be in the Slope.

Posted by: Boerum Hill at March 6, 2009 1:50 PM

The catch is the school zoning, which is the reason why Park Slope is so much more expensive (and filled with kidlets.)
It's very clean, and it probably never had great details in the first place, so "rape" is teeny bit over-expressed.
I really like the house in Sunset Park, that's very affordable (675K with 4 bedrooms and a rental?)

Posted by: Maly at March 6, 2009 1:51 PM

Yeah, Where's CwBuechler....he might be into this Sunset Park home...it looks cute.

Posted by: 11217 at March 6, 2009 1:52 PM

So Park Slope boundaries have grown over the years to include some of the more commercial blocks?

Posted by: mcKenzie at March 6, 2009 1:53 PM

Boundaries are as elastic as realtors' needs.

Posted by: Maly at March 6, 2009 1:57 PM

> "is a block between 4th Avenue and 3rd Avenue really considered Park Slope?"

By realtors, sure. Everyone else, not so much.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 6, 2009 1:59 PM

The Sunset Park house looks like it is close to the elevated highway, which is pretty loud and awful.
I was in that neighborhood recently. It looked like it was mostly Latino, judging from the store signs and pedestrians on fifth AVnue. This block is probably a mix of residential and light industrial.

Posted by: mcKenzie at March 6, 2009 2:00 PM

Yes, Sunset Park is heavily Mexican, thus all the terrific Mexican Restaurants there. It also has a very thriving Chinatown and a significant and growing artist population.

Great area.

Posted by: 11217 at March 6, 2009 2:05 PM

Sunset Park house is between 3rd and 4th Avenues.
We looked at a house not too far away from this one about a year ago and passed because it was on a block with heavy drug activity.

Posted by: bayridgegirl at March 6, 2009 2:05 PM

Saw the "Kensington" house last week. Needs a bundle of TLC and a major price cut. The PS house looks like a flip job and likewise needs a MAJOR cut. It doesn't matter what you call it, that industrial zone, outside the PS321 area, and stuck among vacant lots and two highways, ain't gonna grab 1.2.

Posted by: househunt at March 6, 2009 2:19 PM

11217
it wasn't just Mexican, I saw Cuban restaurants and Ecuadorian shops and many other nationalities. In fact, I didn't see any Mexican businesses, but i guess it is a block by block thing.
It is a perfectly nice neighborhood but a little depressed I'ld say. I would hate to be the big show-off gringa on the block. But the highway there is pretty bad. I mean on that block.

Posted by: mcKenzie at March 6, 2009 2:25 PM

Anywhere above 4th Ave and I'd be into that 8th St. house - sorry to say, below 4th Ave. is a deal-breaker (not to mention NOT Park Slope).

Posted by: Park_loper at March 6, 2009 2:30 PM

Rebirth "Brooklyn's Little Mexico"

Sunset Park's second age began with a wave of immigration from Puerto Rico, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, as well as other Latin American countries. By 1990, Hispanics comprised 50% of Sunset Park's population, rehabilitating property values and developing a thriving community. Along 5th Avenue there is an abundance of Mexican restaurants and businesses. Sunset Park, unlike other Hispanic neighborhoods in NYC has a very strong Mexican population.

Roughly 42.6% of residents are Hispanic or Latino, 36.2% were "white", Caucasian/Arab, 29% were Asian (mostly Chinese), 3.2% were "black" or African American, and 24.7% were "some other race".

Posted by: 11217 at March 6, 2009 2:38 PM

re the stats above, it comes out to ~134%. does the census form allow selecting multiple options, i.e. im white and hispanic, or is something askew? (i've never filled one)

either way, sunset is a pretty cool neighborhood, just not below 4th ave.

Posted by: goldie at March 6, 2009 2:53 PM

Re PS/Gowanus house:

Based on the ACRIS records, it looks like this house sold for $655K in Sept. 2006, underwent the remodel (which probably cost $300-400K?), and was then resold in Oct. 2007 for $1.25 million. Seller is clearly being sensible in not looking for the Oct. 2007 price; question is whether it is still worth more than the Sept. 2006 price plus cost of remodel.

Posted by: aishling at March 6, 2009 2:54 PM

wait, buy in '06 at 655, add $100k per floor for 955 total, and jack up the price to 1.25 (31%) is reasonable right now...in gowanus?

pass(out)

Posted by: goldie at March 6, 2009 3:05 PM

Plus side of 8th Street house is, that's one of the nicest blocks of Gowanus. Minus side: you still have to cross 4th Avenue, a divided highway, to get anywhere in Park Slope. For a buyer who doesn't care about that, could be a nice house.

Posted by: basementalist at March 6, 2009 3:19 PM

Re Sunset. I live on that block. While the houses aren't brownstones, b/c of the school across the street, the block is quieter and less crowded than most in Sunset, and parking at night is a breeze. The yellow house has been on the market for a while. The owner did some nice cosmetic work to the facade - of the vinyl clad houses on the block (which is most of them), this is easily the nicest looking.

Posted by: LilBitOfLuck at March 6, 2009 3:25 PM

Sorry but I must chime in about that 8th Street house - it's been on the market a LONG time. We saw it easily over a year ago. I can't remember the exact price they were asking before but it was not far from this price and for them they can get that now is beyond laughable. And no way in h*ll is this Park Slope. They would be very lucky to approach 1million and I bet you it sells for much less than 1 million. Folks, our economy is in shambles, stock market at record lows, and while I want to be optimistic, these are unsettling times to say the least. For all my luck at having sold at the peak and having cash, our entire financial circumstances have radically changed due to other giant financial losses within my extended family that will now impact me. I, like pretty much everyone else, have tightened my belt in a major way and ratcheted down my budget and these prices are all ridiculous. I used to think cuts of 40-50% in NYC were optimistic (for potential buyers, that is) but now I think they are almost a foregone conclusion and the only question is when they will hit.

Posted by: Miss Muffett at March 6, 2009 3:44 PM

"That Park Slope house is adorable! What's the catch??"

A falling knife on 3rd Ave [slice, drip drop!].

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at March 6, 2009 3:56 PM

How about 400k for the park slope house... I think that would be a great deal for the sellers.

Posted by: HOBOKENROCKS at March 6, 2009 4:09 PM

What's up with the Park SLope house , it has a 1.2 million dollar price tag yet it has a 8 k kitchen..

Posted by: HOBOKENROCKS at March 6, 2009 4:14 PM

UGH, I MEANT to say the SUNSET PARK house is a adorable what's the catch?

No wonder the across the street from the school comment didn't make sense to bklnite.

Duh, duh, and duh again.

Posted by: TownhouseLady at March 6, 2009 4:16 PM

Watch that PSLOPE house will be purchased for about 400 -500 k next year... The BIG discount has just started...

Posted by: HOBOKENROCKS at March 6, 2009 4:17 PM

i hang out in SP from time to time 11217.from my experience,there are way more Puerto Ricans than Mexicans there

Posted by: buckfast at March 6, 2009 4:22 PM

Regarding 46th Street. I recently learned that the proprty cannot be sold as is because the reno work done was not approved. There's no final signoff from the city. No buyer is gonna get a mortgage on that.

We went to an open house and while it's pretty on the surface you can see that there are some quality issues. The floors are cheap, don't match and are uneven in some spots. Squeaky too.

The entire house it tilted and not level. There's actually one room where the floor and baseboard are separating from each other. I wouldn't like to see anything crawl out of that space.

The kitchen is old, never updated. The seller claimed it was a homage to 50s kitsch. That's a new one LOL. Appliances are beyond old and the "island" is ready to fall.

Perhaps most annoying of all is the fact that the Gowanus Expressway can be heard from every room. It simply ruins the backyward which is already an overgrown mess and unusable as it is.

We couldn't imagine sitting out there in the heat of the summer watching the cars speed by while emmitting that lovely aroma of diesel. No privacy in the yard either. (one of the neighbors has a junkyard vibe going on. Seriously, we saw a rat)

It would be a steal at $500K. Anything more for that area and those defects is not worth it. No restaurants, takeout, or any anmenities of any kinds. Seriously, there's not even a decent coffee shop. It's a dead zone.

It's been on the market for almost a year already and if there's no updated CO, which the seller never mentioned to us, I can't see it moving anytime soon.

Posted by: jonesyjones at March 6, 2009 4:42 PM

Okeedokes,
maybe this weekend we'll check out Lodi.
Bye all.

Posted by: mcKenzie at March 6, 2009 4:49 PM

1. Miss Muffet. I thought you said you were done with posting.

2. If you're gonna start posting again, WE ALL KNOW YOU "sold at the peak and have cash in your pocket"

You may as well add that to your signature.

Posted by: jasetheace at March 6, 2009 9:35 PM

Miss Muffet, nothing is a foregone conclusion and that is the problem with your posts.

Agree 8th St. house nowhere near Park Slope, it's Gowanus, no way they are getting ask for that house, but if they don't all it tells us is the ask was absurd to begin with.

How come nobody is commenting on the Williamsburg house? It's a sweet, sweet place and that price is a bit lower than asking prices have maybe been in the past. Maybe someone could get it for $950,000 and avoid the mansion tax. Not us, however, as we couldn't afford more than half that. Plus it sounds like they're using the parlor rooms as bedrooms -- hate that. There are two families in Ocean Hill and Bushwick where each apartment has parlors and bedrooms.

Posted by: mopar at March 6, 2009 10:50 PM

Jonesy,

I'm with you on the Gowanus and the condition/price, but that area is not a desert regarding food. Even 4th Avenue has some decent eating options, at least for Latin food. There's lots of take-out, and places tend to deliver farther than they do in areas with more restaurants. 5th and 8th have lot of options.

Posted by: bestviewinbrooklyn at March 7, 2009 7:21 AM

Any other thoughts on the Kensington house, besides househunt (thanks, househunt!). What is it like west of Ocean Parkway re: quality of housing stock and amenities? And I am never sure about the difference between "TLC" and "major renovations"... if there even is one.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at March 7, 2009 10:20 AM


Mopar,

I agree that "nothing is a foregone conclusion".

But if anything were damn close to one, it's that real estate prices across NYC will plummet like a rock over the next couple years.

Without Wall Street jobs and the big bonuses that went along with them, who in the world do you expect to pay such high prices?

Currently the local real estate market is pretty much frozen. It won't take much more bad news for a panic to ensue and prices to come down big time.

Previously, I thought prices would decline slowly over the next couple years, but things seem so horrible to me right now, I expect prices to start dropping faster and faster.

If you can get a mortgage, and have the balls to buy in the midst of a possible Great Depression II, go for it, dude.


Posted by: IronBalls at March 8, 2009 10:02 AM

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