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July 7, 2009

90 First Place Knocking Cover Off Ball

90-first-place-0709.jpgAnother one for team bull: According to an email from the developer last week, 90 First Place, the five-unit brownstone conversion reached the 80-percent-sold mark after just eight weeks on the market. (For the innumerate, that's four units in contract.) Considering that most of these units were priced at or above a million bucks, that's a pretty impressive achievement. Could it be the layouts? The finishes? Or maybe it's the ad on Brownstoner! GMAP




Posted by Brownstoner at 10:30 AM | Comments (27)
Categories: Carroll Gardens, Sales

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"Another one for team bull: According to an email from the developer last week, 90 First Place, the five-unit brownstone conversion reached the 80-percent-sold mark after just eight weeks on the market."

"According to an email from the developer"

Nice work Brownstoner. The why you verify information is fantastic!

The What (Future Foreclosures)

Someday this war is gonna end...

Posted by: Return of The What at July 7, 2009 10:36 AM

BHO will NOT be happy.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at July 7, 2009 10:55 AM

Vanilla boxes.

Posted by: IMBY at July 7, 2009 11:01 AM

the Toto toilets makes worth every penny.

Posted by: Petebklyn at July 7, 2009 11:14 AM

the Toto toilets makes worth every penny.

Posted by: Petebklyn at July 7, 2009 11:14 AM

A subdivided brownstone townhouse that is chopped up into six apartments is someone's idea of "classic living"? Classic Great Depression maybe.
But I'm sure the "state of the art" appliances distinguish these units from ordinary little flats.

Posted by: Minard Lafever at July 7, 2009 11:18 AM

People want to live in these areas at any price. Nicely done.

Posted by: sebb at July 7, 2009 11:21 AM

Medicore finishes to say the least. How they pulled off selling bland apartments with ho hum design elements at those prices is genius on their part.

Posted by: Expert Textpert at July 7, 2009 11:55 AM

In fairness, the developer did a nice job on these units. That said, while the kitchens are nice, there are aspects of the bathrooms I would re-do, and slatted doors for all the closets are a bizarre choice (and I would definitely replace them with 6-panel doors). I considered making an offer on the garden duplex, but it sold too quickly for me, and I was told there are 5 back-up offers. IMHO, based on similar apartments I've seen with comparable space, at least the garden duplex was priced right.

Posted by: CarrollGardened at July 7, 2009 11:56 AM

I haven't actually seen these places, so I could be way off, but I would imagine they would be comepeting against the Brothel and Vermeil type places. Given that the Vermeil has been around $920 a foot and the brothel is at $840, I am not sure how selling at around $680 (with lower monthlies to boot) is particularly bullish. That being said, good on them for apparently pricing an attractive product properly.

Posted by: Ledbury at July 7, 2009 11:58 AM

I haven't seen this place either but I agree with Ledbury that these prices are well below peak. And good for them for pricing their units to reflect the lower market. Developers who do this deserve to sell out quickly. Compare this to the new brownstone chop-up job on Berkeley between 6th and 7th, where the developer apparently smoked a big back of crack before coming up with his asking prices.

The market is fine and units will sell -- at the right price. This developer got the memo. Good for him.

Posted by: lechacal at July 7, 2009 12:13 PM

"BHO will NOT be happy."

I'm furious! This single brownstone development will send Case-Shiller skyrocketing!

Nice units though. The "newborns" will be happy.

"prices are well below peak"

4-6 big ones for the whole building? This far from Atlantic? You've lost me, lechacal.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at July 7, 2009 12:30 PM

BHO - I don't know this area very well but thought this was a pretty desirable part of Cobble Hill or Carroll Gardens or whatever that is. I also generally expect prices in that area to be higher than the slope, which is the market I know best. At the top of the market a developer in the slope would have been asking $1.5 for that 3 br penthouse. This developer is asking $1.15 or something. Seems pretty far off peak to me. Do you think I got that wrong?

Posted by: lechacal at July 7, 2009 12:37 PM

why is the developer emailing you it's success rates? Something is fishy. Maybe they're trying to create the illusion of an over 70% sold building, so fearful buyers won't think their loans will get declined!

Posted by: sufisurfer at July 7, 2009 12:40 PM

Here's an example of a developer that hasn't gotten the memo. Until a week ago the asking price for this place was over $1.5 million. Do not be fooled by the square footage - it feels much smaller than the raw square footage would suggest. http://corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?Region=NYC&ListingID=1532135 Compared to

Posted by: lechacal at July 7, 2009 12:44 PM

"Cobble Hill or Carroll Gardens or whatever that is"

This is what I'm talking about, lechacal. It's Cobble fringe. Cobble prime is close to Atlantic, near the Heights. And financial/economic details cannot blind me. Whole move-in brownstones in even Brooklyn heights were had for the price of just one of these puppies during the late 90's. So prices don't go back there, fine. But how can they avoid a "correction" to 2003 levels which would have to put this building at 2.5 tops? That's 0.625/unit. Yes, I think you have it wrong (am I missing a synogogue?).

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at July 7, 2009 1:04 PM

"Cobble fringe"? What?


It's Carroll Gardens. No fringe about it. And while it may not be desirable to you it is a long standing quality neighborhood that has always generated interest.


Posted by: christopher at July 7, 2009 1:34 PM

Oh stop it, chris! All I'm saying is that it's a Carroll listing at a Cobble price (an overprice even there). Wasn't trying to shit on the nabe.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at July 7, 2009 1:42 PM

This house is prime Carroll Gardens, between Clinton and Court, 1-2 blocks from the F and G trains, and about 8-10 blocks south of Atlantic Avenue. And 1st Place is one of the four blocks with deep gardens in both the front and back of the house.

Posted by: CarrollGardened at July 7, 2009 1:46 PM

there is something fishy about a developer that emails blogs every time he puts a unit in contract! I'd bet the farm he has no "real contracts," it's a pure bluff to muster up some interest. Everyone wants to buy the last unit, no-one wants to buy the first!

Posted by: sufisurfer at July 7, 2009 1:57 PM

BHO, my point is Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens are quite similar. There was a time when Carroll Gardens was more desirable, and harder to buy in, than Cobble Hill.

Just because you think Cobble Hill is worth more doesn't make it so.

Posted by: christopher at July 7, 2009 2:13 PM

Had to laugh at Minard's comment. So true!

Posted by: mopar at July 7, 2009 2:22 PM

The map is pretty funny. See what they think is most important to include:

http://www.90firstplace.com/neighborhood.html

Posted by: Carol Gardens at July 7, 2009 2:25 PM

I agree that there is something fishy here. Five units and two have already sold at those prices? I doubt that the transactions are true "arm's length" buyers. The units look like very tight apartments. Not a lot of luxe or space for your million dollars. Never go by square footage numbers they are often used more to mislead than anything else. and even legitimate square foot numbers would inlcude the public stair and hall, not exactly living space.
Lastly, I always think that renderings, especially arty renderings, are suspicious. Why not show an actual photo of the building? Buyer beware.



Posted by: sam at July 7, 2009 2:41 PM

"Just because you think Cobble Hill is worth more doesn't make it so."

True, chris. Is Caroll Gardens worth more?

Yeah, sufisurfer and sam. Sold = Close. brownstoner is an accomplice. You wouldn't wipe your ass with a contract these days.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at July 7, 2009 3:36 PM

Brownstoner shouldn't be posting what developers email them as factual unless they become Brownstoner Realty, at which point we would expect it.

Posted by: sufisurfer at July 7, 2009 8:38 PM

Wow, lots of people posting here who really don't know Carroll Gardens at all. BHO thinks "Cobble prime" is close to Atlantic, but that's just not true. The blocks near Atlantic are NOT zoned for PS 29, which makes them far less desirable than other parts of Cobble Hill, just as the blocks zoned for PS 321 used to be significantly more valuable real estate in Park Slope. First Place is about as prime Carroll Gardens as you can get, and Carroll Gardens has seen a similar rise in real estate values now that PS 58 has become a coveted school to attend. I also don't understand sam's doubting of the square footage numbers. This is clearly a 25 foot wide brownstone, as anyone who walks by it can see. There are quite a few similar sized ones on First Place. So the footprint is pretty obvious in terms of square feet, barring the stairwells, and I'd wager these are probably larger than apartments in big buildings that list similar square footage.

Finally, the property website links to the Halstead Realty listings, which show 3 apartments in contract. It seems pretty silly for a realtor to show that an apartment isn't available unless that was the case (and if so, why not do this for all kinds of new developments?)

I think all real estate is still overpriced, but given what buyers are paying for apartments in far less desirable parts of Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens, these are probably priced better than most. If you want to live in Carroll Gardens, which believe it or not, some families prefer over Park Slope and Cobble Hill, this is about the best possible location. And frankly, housing bubble aside, the value of real estate is mostly about location.

Posted by: CGfan at July 7, 2009 9:48 PM

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