« Open Thread: Do The Right Thing Edition 23rd Street Tear-down Hits Rental Market »

June 30, 2009

215 Gates Sells...For the Fifth Time in Five Years

215-Gates-Avenue-0609.jpg
The wreck of a brownstone at 215 Gates Avenue in Bed Stuy finally sold earlier this month for $440,000, bringing, perhaps, an end to a five-year roller coaster ride that's emblematic of the boom-bust cycle of the housing boom and its excesses and abuses. Here's the sales data from PropertyShark:
 June 2004: $655,000
 March 2006: $902,000
 August 2008: $776,546
 October 2008: $325,000
 June 2009: $440,000

If that $902,000 number for a wreck of a brownstone looks suspicious to you, then you'll also be interested by the fact that the buyer was able to finance 100 percent of the purchase. The only comforting thing about all this data is that it suggests that the Bed Stuy market is up 35 percent since last summer. Good to know.
House of the Day: 215 Gates Avenue [Brownstoner]
215 Gates Avenue [Historic Brooklyn] GMAP P*Shark




Posted by Brownstoner at 9:30 AM | Comments (23)
Categories: Bedford Stuyvesant, Sales

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/10384

Comments

MY GOD. That shell sold for $902,000 in 2006?????? Did the owners not ever see anything else that was completely rehabbed on far nicer blocks for $700-800,000.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at June 30, 2009 9:38 AM

fraud.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at June 30, 2009 9:50 AM

June 2004: $655,000
March 2006: $902,000
August 2008: $776,546
October 2008: $325,000
June 2009: $440,000

It's called fraud. The previous buyers split the proceeds and walked away. BTW This is your new comp guys and you say "The only comforting thing about all this data is that it suggests that the Bed Stuy market is up 35 percent since last summer." OK Keep clapping Tinkerbell is going into shock...

The What (Tick.. Tick.. Tick..)

Someday this war is gonna end..

Posted by: Return of The What at June 30, 2009 9:50 AM

This is called mortgage fraud. I would hardly use it as a baseline for valuations. I bet who ever purchased it for 902,000 is no longer in the country

Posted by: brickoven at June 30, 2009 9:51 AM

Flip Flip and Flip, Bye bye and bye.

Posted by: billyboomer at June 30, 2009 9:58 AM

It's called sarcasm, What. You're right that this is a disaster when some dopey appraiser lines it up against a house a few blocks away. Luckily this place hadn't hit the tape yet when our appraisal was done last month!

Posted by: brownstoner at June 30, 2009 9:59 AM

Look, DIBS! 325 to 440. We have recovery!

"excesses and abuses"

Whoah, 'stoner. Pretty strong words for a cheerleader (formerly?).

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at June 30, 2009 10:01 AM

What makes you say we are a cheerleader? Believing in the long-term attractiveness of the FG/CH/BS corridor is one thing but when have we said that prices are heading north anytime soon or that this is a great time to buy?

Posted by: brownstoner at June 30, 2009 10:06 AM

this sound more like example of mortgage fraud and scam than legit sales.

Posted by: Petebklyn at June 30, 2009 10:07 AM

We agree totally with all of the above explanations but decided it was wiser to let the facts speak for themselves on this one, hence our inclusion of the financing info...

Posted by: brownstoner at June 30, 2009 10:12 AM

I bid $220.

Posted by: DeadCatBounce at June 30, 2009 10:16 AM

It's Case-Killa Tuesday.

NY S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index (Excludes condos, coops, 2+ fams, new construction and includes the whole Tri-state. However, up 200% peak/trough just like brownstones. Relevant on the way up, relevant on the way down. There's only one housing market for which everything is proprotional.):

Columns: DATE, READING, CHANGE FROM PEAK, CHANGE FROM SAME MONTH LAST YEAR (YOY)

Jun-06 215.83 (PEAK)
Jul-06 215.25 -0.27% 7.70%
Aug-06 214.34 -0.69% 5.94%
Sep-06 214.08 -0.81% 4.52%
Oct-06 214.28 -0.72% 3.20%
Nov-06 214.23 -0.74% 1.87%
Dec-06 213.79 -0.95% 0.52%
Jan-07 212.78 -1.41% -0.34%
Feb-07 212.52 -1.53% -0.91%
Mar-07 212.39 -1.59% -0.91%
Apr-07 211.61 -1.96% -1.56%
May-07 210.51 -2.46% -2.35%
Jun-07 209.49 -2.94% -2.94%
Jul-07 208.36 -3.46% -3.20%
Aug-07 207.15 -4.02% -3.35%
Sep-07 206.35 -4.39% -3.61%
Oct-07 205.54 -4.77% -4.08%
Nov-07 204.58 -5.21% -4.50%
Dec-07 202.47 -6.19% -5.29%
Jan-08 200.78 -6.97% -5.64%
Feb-08 198.45 -8.05% -6.62%
Mar-08 196.53 -8.94% -7.47%
Apr-08 194.78 -9.75% -7.95%
May-08 193.88 -10.17% -7.90%
Jun-08 194.22 -10.01% -7.29%
Jul-08 193.64 -10.28% -7.06%
Aug-08 193.33 -10.42% -6.67%
Sep-08 191.32 -11.36% -7.28%
Oct-08 189.79 -12.07% -7.66%
Nov-08 186.81 -13.45% -8.69%
Dec-08 183.5 -14.98% -9.37%
Jan-09 181.00 -15.91% -9.85%
Feb-09 178.16 -16.88% -10.22%
Mar-09 173.22 -19.09% -11.86%
Apr-09 170.33 -20.51% -12.55% ***f''($) < 0***

When will YOY approach zero? Where are we today (there's a two month lag)?

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at June 30, 2009 10:20 AM

"What makes you say we are a cheerleader?"

Your HOTD opinions about asks. Subtle but relatively cheery and rosy. You might say things are overpriced but never by much. At least not in the so-called prime areas which I believe will take a bath like everywhere else.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at June 30, 2009 10:25 AM

Guys,

The whole damn housing bubble was fraud. This case represents the whole enchilada.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at June 30, 2009 10:27 AM

Our comments about HOTD's are based on the current market--and they are usually skeptical of the seller's ability to achieve the asking price.

Posted by: brownstoner at June 30, 2009 10:49 AM

"There's only one housing market for which everything is proprotional."

This is where you will be proven wrong.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at June 30, 2009 10:53 AM

I understand it's the current market, 'stoner, but that is shortsighted because comps are still laden with risidual fraud from "excesses and abuses". The long term trend is down and it needs to be. That's the big picture. Manning throws the ball where Toomer will be, not where he is now.

Not that newborns are not buying near peak but that pool is dwindling.

How wrong, DIBS? A manhattan employee chooses between the burbs or the city and that is based on math. The two are valuated in proportion to eachother (maybe not directly but ultimately). The buyer is a participant in the whole Tri-State market. Many on this blog have either come from LI/Jersey/Westchester or are going there. Why everything up +200% peak/trough? Coincidence?

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at June 30, 2009 11:14 AM

I can't decide if I should live in a 19th C. brownstone or a McMansion in the burbs. They are exactly the same housing stock, property taxes and commute. My need for multiple cars and the cost of gas are exactly the same too. I just can't decide?!

If I actually practiced what I preached, would I own a home by now or would I still be on Brownstoner using football metaphors?

Posted by: ghettoazzpnkbtch at June 30, 2009 12:36 PM

I agree with BHO regarding the fact that the entire Tri-State market is interdependent.

Several months ago, I backed out of a new-construction condo in Greenpoint (I couldn't afford a brownstone), and made the decision to move to Nyack, NY -- as a very happy renter (for the time being).

The commute to midtown is 70 minutes door-to-door, which is not great, but it's tolerable. I save a ton on NYC income taxes. I have more space than I know what to do with. The town is charming and peaceful, but the best part is that it has a thriving restaurant / bar scene, all within walking distance.

I might end up buying something up here. Although I still check this site once in a while to keep up to date. Anyway, the point is that many people in NYC area move to/from the City and back, as their desires, resources, and prices dictate. That is: prices in the "burbs" affect the prices in the city, and vice versa.

Posted by: Paul C at June 30, 2009 1:42 PM

"A manhattan employee chooses between the burbs or the city and that is based on math."

This is exceedingly reductive and over simplistic. It doesn't apply to me (manhattan employee) or most other people i know. There are major lifestyle issues that weigh in to these decisions as well.

Posted by: squaredrive at June 30, 2009 1:50 PM

"This is exceedingly reductive and over simplistic."

How? Your paragraph falls short of an explanation. Interdependence, as he calls it, applies to Paul C and millions of others who have undoubtably considered the boroughs. Yes, there are "lifestyle issues" but exactly how does that decouple the choice between NYC proper and NY Metro at large? In fact, the weighing of "lifestyle issues" is exactly WHY they choose. My assertion is real. People come far and wide to work in Manhattan. This affects demand in either direction, high (ooh, I like the City!) or low (ooh, I can get more space/$ within 70 minutes elsewhere!).

One New York metropolitan market. Premiums for period detail or chic SoHo-like locations were already priced in before cheap/EZ credit. All up +200%. I still haven't read an alternative explanation for this phenomenon other than interdependance (thanks Paul C!).

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at June 30, 2009 3:34 PM

I guess what I'm saying, squaredrive, is that "lifestyle issues" is an array of items (location, space, public schools, the corresponding taxes you pay, need for a car or two, etc.) that you SHOP and PAY for. That's math.

I'll take it a step further and say that, in the end, your housing cost remains more or less the same per neighborhood class. Higher taxes and a car or two but lower prices. Or, higher prices but no car and lower taxes.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at June 30, 2009 3:46 PM

Perhaps i read your statement too narrowly based on personal experience - when we bought, we didn't weigh moving to the suburbs, we didn't price it, didn't consider it, didn't think about it. Didn't consider hoboken, jersey city, newark, westchester. Didn't run the numbers and wouldn't care if it was cheaper - we wanted to be in brooklyn, and specifically wanted to be in the neighborhood we're in.

I'm sure 'cost factor' is relevant to some people (maybe many people) like Paul C, but there are others like us who would be willing to pay a premium, even when all lifestyle issues are considered, to be in specific city hoods.

Posted by: squaredrive at June 30, 2009 5:20 PM

Post a comment

Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.

Latest Restaurant Additions