House of the Day: 484 East 17th Street
We got a tip from a regular reader on Friday about a new listing on Mary Kay Gallagher that he said was the nicest house he’d ever seen in Ditmas Park. The reason he’d been inside is that it was on last year’s Victorian Flatbush house tour. (We even included a photo of the kitchen…
We got a tip from a regular reader on Friday about a new listing on Mary Kay Gallagher that he said was the nicest house he’d ever seen in Ditmas Park. The reason he’d been inside is that it was on last year’s Victorian Flatbush house tour. (We even included a photo of the kitchen in our recap below.) From the photos on the listing, we’d have to agree that the 1902 Queen Anne Victorian looks spectacular. In addition to the tip-top restoration of the historic details, the kitchen and bathroom renovations look beautiful to us — a rare perfect balance of the modern with the traditional. So the question isn’t whether there will be demand for this house (we bet there will be a line around the block), it’s whether the asking price of $1,950,000 will fly. We bet it’s not far off.
434 East 17th Street [Mary Kay Gallagher] GMAP P*Shark
Victorian Flatbush House Tour Recap [Brownstoner]
I am not against living in a diverse neighborhood. The question is – is this neighborhood safe?
Anon 3:26, I agree with where you are going with your argument generally since I do think this house is a tad overpriced, but would add that the reasons for buying the house are exactly as west and some others have outlined — beautiful house with a lot of space in a growing neighborhood. No, it isn’t park slope but still a good place to live, depending on what your priorities are. I personally can’t stand 7th avenue, but i see why some would choose to live there…same goes for this ‘hood. To each their own.
So, they priced it a little high and will get $1.6- $1.7 or so.
I think all of that was addressed above. If Ditmas Park had all the things going for it that you describe, this place would be worth twice as much. People are buying it because it’s a beautiful, spacious family home in a neighborhood packed with young families. If you can afford the price tag, you can afford a private school.
My husband works long hours. He wants to hop on a subway and be home in 35 minutes. He does not want to worry about the last train to Westchester or wherever. We have four kids. Aparment living just doesn’t cut it anymore. I work at home and need an office. I have last-minute meetings in Manhattan.
We are the market here.
Sure if I had $4 million to play with I might look elsewhere… But I wouldn’t spend $0 in the ‘burbs.
It’s a brave new world of families who just won’t settle for the sticks.
So let me get this straight folks. Your not buying this house because of the neighborhood amenities. Your not buying this house for the fantastic neighborhood schools. Your definitely not buying this house for the easy/convenient commute to work. Your not buying this house for the huge yard or distance from your neighbor.
So why exactly is worth $1.9 million?
This house is perfect…. the one that everyone with money looking in Ditmas Park holds out for. Yes, the only complaint might be… wish it was in PPS, which is closer to the Park and the Slope.
This house will sell for very close to ask. It has all new SHINGLES and ROOF people. I’ve been in it – it’s enormous. No corners have been cut. It’s the most tasteful reno I’ve ever seen out here, on one of the grandest homes available…. It’s not too close to Church or Flatbush. There are no falling down shacks nearby. This is the BIG ONE in Ditmas… The one everyone will deep pockets has been dreaming of. If I had a couple hundred thousand more to play with, I would offer ask.
2:22. That was EXTREMELY well said. I looked at about 75 brownstones in Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and the Slope and we finally just bought in Ditmas. I know people will say it’s apples and oranges but finally it just came down to value. We needed more space for a reasonable price and since neither of us is a banker or lawyer, we just couldn’t find something we could afford in the above-mentioned areas. Sure I’ll miss the convenience of 7th Avenue but I won’t miss driving around 20 minutes looking for a parking space in the South Slope.
Speaking of, has anyone else noticed how much harder it has become to park in the North and South Slope in the last six months or so?
This house is perfect…. the one that everyone with money looking in Ditmas Park holds out for. Yes, the only complaint might be… wish it was in PPS, which is closer to the Park and the Slope.
This house will sell for very close to ask. It has all new SHINGLES and ROOF people. I’ve been in it – it’s enormous. No corners have been cut. It’s the most tasteful reno I’ve ever seen out here, on one of the grandest homes available…. It’s not too close to Church or Flatbush. There are no falling down shacks nearby. This is the BIG ONE in Ditmas… The one everyone will deep pockets has been dreaming of. If I had a couple hundred thousand more to play with, I would offer ask.
Um 2:36, an appraiser these days will basically give you any appraisal you want and use any excuse to do so, including “excellent condition” and “top of the line fixtures.” Every gentrifying neighborhood has issues with comparables and it is pretty much never a problem if you can show you have the stream of income to support the mortgage. If the NY real estate market crumbles, this will change, but it hasn’t yet.
Have you ever had an appraisal done? It always comes out to the asking price or slightly above. Do you think this is a coincidence or that people always pay exactly what a property is worth? I bought in one of the Victorian Flatbush neighborhoods two years ago and paid more than anyone had at the time (by quite a bit)for a house in good shape – which is not so easy to find here. I had NO issue with the appraiser or the bank. I made more than enough money to pay the mortgage and had a good credit history. They didn’t think I would walk out and kill my credit history if the market tanked for a while. The market value of my house, by the way, was just appraised by the city (who are notoriously low appraisers) at well over the price I paid.
Comparables dont matter if your a cash buyer. But if you’re dealing with a bank, comparables are everything. The appraiser doesn’t really care whether you have waterworks fixtures and a viking range. Furthermore, appraisers dont give a rats ass about how much other properties are being listed for. They want to know about ACTUAL sales in the neigborhood. There are ZERO comparables to support this price.
The small number of sales in the neighborhood will actually end up hurting the seller. Of the handful of sales that have transacted over the last 3 years, their purchase on 10/04 for $1.177 was one of them.