"[Ducking]"

DIBS, a bit of a cheap shot to us mere mortal "wack job" "slackers". 50+ words in your post and only the last one was intelligent.

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 18, 2010 1:56 PM in response to House of the Day: 43 3rd Street

Wasder/BH, very good catch. I did mean 3rd Street - a very, very big difference!!

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 18, 2010 1:44 PM in response to House of the Day: 43 3rd Street

Boerum, they say it is closed until Fall 2010 for the construction of the new building, but I'll buy you a pint of your favorite brew if the construction actually finishes on time and the re-opening actually happens anytime this year.

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 18, 2010 1:37 PM in response to House of the Day: 43 3rd Street

Wow, so many comments on the blue walls and carpeting!! When is someone going to comment on the 800 lb gorilla in the room? I agree there's too much blue in the room, but how is everyone ignoring those couches?!? Those are the real travesty!!

Per my previous post though, I still think it is a lovely, reasonably priced house notwithstanding need for interior decoration makeover.

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 18, 2010 1:33 PM in response to House of the Day: 43 3rd Street

One of the few reasonably priced houses in a prime Brooklyn neighborhood I have seen recently. I bet they get within 5% of ask as it is a lovely home (some people's - I must say legitimate - feelings about the 2nd floor rental unit notwithstanding) albeit on a somewhat loud stretch of 3rd Avenue, right by the light at Smith so there will be horns at rush hour. If buyer puts 20% down, monthly mortgage comes out to $6,100 a month or $4,100 after tax deduction. The duplex could command $3,000 a month to rent with the top floor getting at least $1,600 so not bad when looked at within that light, although it does sell for probably 20-25x annual rent roll.

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 18, 2010 1:29 PM in response to House of the Day: 43 3rd Street

Not crazy price ($780k) given that the Brownstoner community predicted the owner would get more than one bid at $870k.

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 17, 2010 1:09 PM in response to 110 Livingston 2BR Sells for Over Ask

I actually feel really bad for all property owners in the Prospect Heights north/Fort Greene south neighborhoods. What compensation do they get for a hit to their properties' values for a construction site this city neither needs nor wants? Oh, the same compensation we all get - an additional $350m hole in the city's finances through backroom subsidies and a backroom deal on the site that left at least $100m on the table.

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 16, 2010 1:31 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 535 Dean Street, #616

Pigeon, it's a great area - only one block to all of the shopping and restaurants on Court (two blocks to Frankie's, Nine-D for great Thai and only a few blocks further to Buttermilk Channel). CVS and some good fodd markets are also in that area of Court. And you are only about three blocks tot the F train stop (was only two blocks but they have closed the entrance on 2nd Place due to construction of a building - should be open by this fall though).

Big problem as others have commented about this particular building is that it faces the subway directly. At this point, the subway is basically on its way underground, so it is at street level and LOUD!!

Love the general area, but the specifics of this particular location make it undesirable.

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 12, 2010 5:53 PM in response to Open House Picks

Nomi, I am with you. One of my favorite neighborhoods in Brooklyn. While it lacks many amenities, everything is within a ten minute walk and I find it one of the most peaceful parts of the borough for that very reason.

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 8, 2010 12:31 PM in response to Spotlight on Vinegar Hill

Montrose, comments worthy of professor emeritus status as usual. I nominate you for the first honorary degree from Brownstoner U.

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 8, 2010 10:19 AM in response to A Whole Mess of Renters

Agree with thwackamole.

The area has few services, a bit of an industrial feel, no subway (thought the F is close enough), and little parking (mainly because the people who bought overpriced lofts in DUMBO have moved their gas guzzler X5s in), and the surroundings on many sides are not ideal.

But as a positive, in addition to all of things Vinegar Hill does not have that thewackamole mentions, I also have not seen a single group of self entitled parents who walk their double wide strollers with off-road tires two abreast down the entire widths of the sidewalks in neighborhoods such as Park Slope (still haven't figured out the need for the off-road tires in the city).

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 8, 2010 10:16 AM in response to Spotlight on Vinegar Hill

>And you can hear the BQE!!

But you don't have to see it!!

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 5, 2010 3:06 PM in response to Pierrepont Street Co-op Sells Close to Ask

DIBS, what's your view on the Bainbridge house in terms of value?

Have to say out of all four, I don't find the Crown Heights South house to be that blah, but I guess it's all relative. This one is my favorite of the bunch, but agree it needs an application of the $200k chainsaw.

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 5, 2010 2:15 PM in response to Open House Picks

DIBS, what's your view on the Bainbridge house in terms of value?

Have to say out of all four, I don't find the Crown Heights South house to be that blah, but I guess it's all relative. This one is my favorite of the bunch, but agree it needs an application of the $200k chainsaw.

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 5, 2010 2:14 PM in response to Open House Picks

8B is on sale in same building asking $649k but mtc is $1,600 not $1,300. If the layouts are the same (and I really like the layout of 8B), then it is a 960 sf apartment, so buyer of 3B paid $791/sf, just slightly higher than the $754 neighborhood comp (though again this is a great building).

8B listing below:

http://www.corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?Region=NYC&ListingID=1955076

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 5, 2010 12:07 PM in response to Pierrepont Street Co-op Sells Close to Ask

Anyone remember the square footage? That's a nice building on one of the best BH blocks, so not surprised as the seller had prime real estate. If it is a 1,000 sf two bedroom, the implied $760/sf is in line with neighborhood comps. High mtc skews the ppsf a bit but is offset by the amenities of this bldg. Think a reasonable transaction for both sides.

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 5, 2010 11:59 AM in response to Pierrepont Street Co-op Sells Close to Ask

Hmm, so the MTA and city are crying about the MTA's $400m budget shortfall this year. Meanwhile the city is giving AY $236m in subsidies and MTA agreed to sell the land for $120+m less than its appraised value.

I'm not a math genius but does anyone else think it might have made more sense to refuse the subsidies to AY and sell the land for its actual value thereby offsetting the MTA's budget shortfall? Call me crazy but that seems like a better result than destroying two or three of Brooklyn's best neighborhoods and pulling $400m out of city coffers in exchange for the worst basketball franchise and 7 acres of lined pavement.

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 5, 2010 10:45 AM in response to Atlantic Yards, How You've Changed

NorthHeights, sounds like we are in the same neighborhood. I am actually not trying to be too negative on this apartment. Yes, I think it needs to come down about 25% and yes, I do think that there is a lot of noise on this block because of the BQE (particularly as you get close to the BQE as this building is). But as I said in my original post, I actually do quite like the style of these buildings and I do like the finishes in this apartment. I think Grace Court is a lovely street, but the proximity to the BQE is a definite negative. That's all I am saying.

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 2, 2010 8:16 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 2 Grace Court, #2O

Pete, no need to get personal (but in case you are wondering, I am perfectly content with my existence).

Big difference between this block and the blocks further north. Right here, the BQE starts to rise and is almost on the same level as Grace Court. On blocks further north and where the promenade is, the BQE is a good 20-30 feet below the neighborhood and in some places the BQE is under the promenade. Makes a huge difference in terms of traffic noise etc. Our definitions of "charming" must be different - if I am standing 20 feet from a highway, it is not "charming" in my mind.

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 2, 2010 3:27 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 2 Grace Court, #2O

Pete, Minard, Grace Court is a dead-end street... that runs right up to the BQE. A chain link fence is all that separates you from the highway.

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 2, 2010 3:09 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 2 Grace Court, #2O

Recent comps for prime Brooklyn Heights at $750/sf implies at least a 25% cut.

I like the apartment and the new kitchen and actually like these buildings on Grace Court but the location is not my favorite - away from subways and the BQE noise is immediately apparent relative to further north in Brooklyn Heights because the BQE starts to rise around this area.

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 2, 2010 1:30 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 2 Grace Court, #2O

TTF looks promising DIBS. Will need to do some research.

I also like EWY here.

Posted by: bkhabitant at March 2, 2010 9:50 AM in response to Open Thread

As new properties in Williamsburg go, this one is actually one of the nicer buildings that I have seen. Like the high ceilings, bathrooms look nice and I like the exterior as well. Still high-$600s/sf seems rich.

Posted by: bkhabitant at February 26, 2010 11:08 AM in response to 66 North 1st Relaunches

I have just three letters for this one - WOW

Posted by: bkhabitant at February 25, 2010 1:22 PM in response to House of the Day: 627 3rd Street

"the seller's also trying to get a 10 percent mark-up on what he paid in 2007, something we can't really see a reason for given the current market"

Maybe the seller is a star in Hot Tub Time Machine? Maybe the hot tub time machine is actually in the apartment and took him back to the market peak? I did not see hot tub in the listing.

Posted by: bkhabitant at February 25, 2010 12:44 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 110 Livingston Street, #2D

DIBS, big selling today. How's this for a contrarian play? Everyone is selling today so they can get liquid and participate in Greece's ten-year coming next week.

I don't think so either, but trying to be an optimist given the market and this lovely slushing we are getting this morning.

Posted by: bkhabitant at February 25, 2010 10:11 AM in response to Open Thread

"This is a great apartment in a great location.
It will get its asking price.
If not, we're all in trouble!!!!"

Not all of us Minard.

Posted by: bkhabitant at February 24, 2010 3:57 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 76 Remsen Street, #4C

M4L, fair play to you and I second your nomination for the STRAW role.

Posted by: bkhabitant at February 24, 2010 2:31 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 76 Remsen Street, #4C

>Remsen is super sweet.

come on people. no complaining allowed on maintenance or price on BK Heights. It's a rich folks hood so if you're eyeing the hood and complaining then you cant afford it and should eye another hood. Beorum Hill is nice alternative

Posted by: more4less at February 24, 2010 1:22 PM<

M4L, agreed that Remsen is "super sweet". But asking whether $900/sf is market is not a complaint about the price but merely a reasonable question for one to ask if they are looking at the neighborhood. I feel it is even more reasonable after I just did a comps search on propertyshark and come up with $756/sf. No matter how sweet the neighborhood is or whether one can afford it or not, any buyer is going to scratch their head at paying a 20% premium to recent comps though I realize this is only an ask and it is a Corcoran listing.

Posted by: bkhabitant at February 24, 2010 1:49 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 76 Remsen Street, #4C

DIBS, completely agree with you. Never saw what the problem was with a three story house - unless the fourth story is a rental, it just drives up the price point.

At $600/sf, this actually looks pretty reasonably priced to me - one of the few instances where that is the case.

Posted by: bkhabitant at February 24, 2010 1:24 PM in response to House of the Day: 545 9th Street

It is prime Brooklyn Heights, a great building and a great apartment. I would love to live here. However, is the market for prime Brooklyn Heights really still $900/sf? I am not going to try to pretend that I know one way or the other but without doing any homework, my gut says this is probably at least $100/sf too high?

Posted by: bkhabitant at February 24, 2010 1:00 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 76 Remsen Street, #4C

FEBRUARY 24, 2010, 10:05 A.M. ET

U.S. New-Home Sales Drop

WASHINGTON—U.S. new-home sales unexpectedly fell in January, setting a record low and erasing all gains made in the market during the past year as the economy recovers from recession.

Demand for single-family homes fell 11.2% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 309,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had estimated sales would rise 3.8%, to 355,000.
------------------------------------------

Posted by: bkhabitant at February 24, 2010 10:14 AM in response to Case-Shiller: Recovery Waning, Double Dip Possible

Maly, well said. I agree - both the Fort Greene house and Park Slope houses are beautiful and on great blocks.

Posted by: bkhabitant at February 23, 2010 12:16 PM in response to Last Week's Biggest Sales

Could we please stop with this foolishness of comparing the average widget appraisal to the actual selling price of a property? It is an apples to oranges comparison. It is only valid if a seller's method of selecting a buyer is to take all of the bids and then award the sale to the person who bid closest to the average price. Sellers don't sell on this basis - they take the highest bid. With regards to the Fort Greene and Park Slope houses, I count at least three appraisals that were at, if not above, the actual sale price. The widget correctly guessed the actual selling price and in some cases predicted a final sale price above where the house actually sold. I would not be shocked if the average bid these sellers received was 10% below the highest bidder. Would that shock anyone else?

Posted by: bkhabitant at February 23, 2010 11:57 AM in response to Last Week's Biggest Sales

How much do you think the garden rental can fetch a month? I am inclined to say $2,000-2,200. Is that crazy? The garden is obviously a pro, though I agree with others that the funky layout is a con.

Posted by: bkhabitant at February 16, 2010 2:57 PM in response to House of the Day: 29 South Elliott Place

Tiny bedroom. Small apartment. Big roofdeck. Bigger price. Typical 20-25% discount to ask gets this done.

Posted by: bkhabitant at February 16, 2010 12:51 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 262 Bergen Street, #4R

"so what is better? high interest rate / low house price or low interest rate / high house price? is that a dumb question?"

Whether you're a cash buyer or putting 20% down and wish to take out a mortgage, high interest rate/low house price is always the preferred state of play. It's always about the lowest basis. If you're a cash buyer in a high interest rate environment, and rates move lower, this will increase the price of your house because more buyers can afford the lower interest payments at a higher basis. If you're taking out a mortgage at a high rate and get in at a lower basis and interest rates go down, you can refinance and reduce your costs. With high prices/low interest rates, the exact opposite is true - as interest rates go up, the prices people afford come down, so the cash buyer finds their investment is worth less. For the guy taking out a mortgage, hopefully he fixed and so his costs remain fixed, but there is no upside to refinancing. Still, if he wants to sell, he can't because the price of the house has gone down because people can't afford that price in a higher interest rate environment.

Posted by: bkhabitant at February 16, 2010 12:10 PM in response to Removal of Band-Aids to Reveal Deeper Housing Wounds?

The key theme in this debate is leverage. It is why a 20x P/E multiple for the S&P 500 is sustainable today when the average is probably in the 10-15x range. Companies have been able to access much more attractive debt over the past 10 years and despite the credit crisis continue to do so. Antidope, if the debt fundamentals return to historic norms, the P/E must fall as well.

For the same reason BHO, I can't agree with you - historically, banks only lent 3x annual incomes for housing, which clearly has not been the case for the past 10 years (allowing housing prices to increase as a percent of household income). If you can convince me banks will return to that threshold, then I buy your argument, but as long as jumbo loans continue to remain available, your vision is only theoretical. I agree with you that it will happen someday, but that day is far off. You're right though, just because it hasn't happened yet does mean the bulls are right, but are you willing to wait 10, 20, 30 years to be proven correct?

Posted by: bkhabitant at January 6, 2010 4:21 PM in response to House of the Day: 485 4th Street

That's exactly the point that many of the bears make though antidope - i.e., that what has actually occured in the market for the last 10 years has not adhered to real estate fundamentals, which is precisely the definition of a bubble. As I said, I disagree with the naysayers who think real estate still has another 30% to fall, because I think that the bubble mentality remains (along with artificially low interest rates and a whole mess of other government intervention). Still, the bears do have a point - at some point fundamentals do eventually win out unless there is something so special about the Brooklyn market that creates a different dynamic than fundamentals would suggest.

Posted by: bkhabitant at January 6, 2010 3:34 PM in response to House of the Day: 485 4th Street

antidope, you're giving quite a bit of ammunition to the bears out there with your admission that prices will need to come down 30% or rents will increase the equiv. Just goes to illustrate the irrational exuberance that remains in the New York market.

I do not believe that prices will come down another 30% like some of the doomsayers on here (in fact in my mind, prices have troughed at least in the near term), but your comment certainly suggestes that if prices have troughed, it is for some reason aside from fundamentals.

Posted by: bkhabitant at January 6, 2010 3:16 PM in response to House of the Day: 485 4th Street

If DIBS is right and this is only a 3 family, the top two floors each get $2,500 a month (antidope and FLH, $2,500 is reasonable for a firaly good sized 1 br in center slope based on what I have seen) and the basement and parlour get say $4,000 (a bit aggressive in my opinion but we will go with that).

That's a monthly rent roll of $9,000 or $108,000 p.a. and a price of $1.73m at 16x. You'd want to be fairly confident of getting $4,000 for the bottom two floors as well - I could see that going for closer to $3,000. Somewhere in the $1.6m range would makes sense for me, though I wouldn't be shocked to see $2m or $2.2m.

Posted by: bkhabitant at January 6, 2010 1:55 PM in response to House of the Day: 485 4th Street

Dave, have to echo ecoux on this one. Artificially low interest rates and loose monetary policy aboslutely do influence the purchase price and buying decisions on $1m plus brownstones -driving activity and prices up (see, "Housing Boom - 2005-2007").

Agree with you on "tax credits" though - an $8k tax credit that is available only to couples earning less than $150k per year doesn't influence the $1m plus market.

Posted by: bkhabitant at January 4, 2010 12:37 PM in response to 219 Washington Finally Sells...For 40 Percent Off Peak Ask

I personally think that a bid of $540k is too high, but I am not particularly stunned given that the top bid on the Brownstoner widget was over $500k, and that was out of 29 submissions. Not sure how many people constitutes a "big turnout" but if there were more people at the auction, it is not surprising that one of those individuals would have submitted a bid that was even higher than the average expectation. I guess that's what makes a market...

Posted by: bkhabitant at November 13, 2009 9:12 AM in response to Big Turnout for 437 Waverly Auction

I don't agree that the fact that properties sell for a higher price than the average widget price indicates that widget users are undervaluing house/co-op/condo prices. In the real world, if the seller had to accept the average offer s/he received, then it would be an apples-to-apples comparison to look at the average widget price relative to the sales price. But the seller only has to accept the highest bid (by definition an outlying bid from the average offer s/he receives), so it makes sense that the average widget bid is below the sales price. Now, if the highest estimate on the widget was lower than the price the property actually sold for, then brownstoner would have underpriced the property.

Posted by: bkhabitant at October 23, 2009 10:46 AM in response to 20 Clifton Place Sells, Kicks Widget's Ass

Seems you can't see "Atlantic Yards" in a sentence without seeing the word "loophole" before the next sentence begins!!

Posted by: bkhabitant at August 26, 2009 9:59 AM in response to The Carlton Avenue Bridge: Closed Through 2011

Love the comments deriding the judges in NYC Housing Court for doing their job - enforcing the law. The decisions may not be landlord friendly but anyone who has a problem with the decisions they render in favor of tenants has a problem with the lawmakers not the judges.

Posted by: bkhabitant at August 17, 2009 2:14 PM in response to Tenant's Deposit

Mixicon, are you planning to convert each level into a one family home? If not, would assume you could move into one of the higher floors and wait out the lease?

As has been commented on in other forum posts, an eviction process for a rent stabilized tenant is a long and tedious process and with good reason - ultimately, the tenant would need more than moving fees to be made whole as they will likely have to pay higher rent going forward upon moving.

I assume you're focused on the garden because you want access to the backyard? If not, any reason, you need to move into the garden apartment? Just seems like you're asking for a lot of headache when you could more easily move onto other floors.

Posted by: bkhabitant at August 13, 2009 4:55 PM in response to Eviction for Owner Occupancy

Every night when I walk home from work, the place is packed. Good number of tv's to watch the baseball games as well.

Posted by: bkhabitant at August 6, 2009 2:07 PM in response to StreetLevel: WingBar Takes Off on Smith

MacD, no argument from me anymore. You're right - enough said based on your second post.

Posted by: bkhabitant at August 6, 2009 10:07 AM in response to Brooklyn Monthly Foreclosures

MacD, not so sure I see what in that comment would imply that the lender was not "above board". The company failed, but nothing in the comment implies they defrauded anybody or did anything else unethical. When a company fails, there is always collateral damage and some people who relied on this company for loans will have to get them elsewhere - that doesn't imply anything untoward by the company.

Posted by: bkhabitant at August 6, 2009 9:38 AM in response to Brooklyn Monthly Foreclosures