Prices Rising in Bed Stuy East

Recent sales are pushing prices up in Bed Stuy east of Malcolm X, public records show. One block east of Stuyvesant, 421 Decatur Street (between Patchen and Malcolm X) sold for $789,000 in January. Previously, it had entered lis pendens and changed hands for $50,000 in July. An updated brownstone with an unusual amount of pristine original detail that was a HOTD sold for $675,000 in December. It is located at 534 Decatur Street between Howard and Ralph. (The photos can still be seen on Streeteasy.) As you travel further east toward Broadway, prices drop. In August, a house at 615 Decatur between Saratoga and Howard sold for $570,000. We were surprised to see that the wood frame house at 770 MacDonough Street is in contract, following a price drop from $675,000 to $669,000. This is the house whose well-preserved original exterior was recently covered over in brick veneer, and it was also a HOTD. The interior has received a similar overhaul, with mantels and window trim left intact, but crown and baseboard moldings removed. It is located between Thomas Boyland and Saratoga on a block consisting mostly of large tenement apartment buildings. Also in contract is 585 MacDonough Street between Ralph and Howard, pictured above. The asking price is $899,000 and it has incredible details such as Aesthetic Movement fireplace mantels and tile. It looks like it could still use a bit of polishing; the wall between the kitchen and dining room and the kitchen ceiling appear to be mid-construction, and some plaster looks like it needs skim coating. However, all this said, there may still be some hope for would-be buyers dismayed at the run-up in prices: The fixer-upper at 605 Decatur Street that is asking for $675,000 all cash, another HOTD, is still on the market. As we noted when it was HOTD, it last traded to an LLC in December for $300,000 — about what you would expect for a house lacking working kitchens and baths that cannot be financed. So it is not yet clear whether flippers will be able to double their money for unrenovated properties this far east, as has been happening in Bed Stuy closer to Clinton Hill.