Marketing PLG a Century Ago--And Now
Bob Marvin comes through again! Our discussion of 68 Midwood Street on Monday prompted the hardcore brownstoner to scan this ad he had in a frame on his wall. The advertisement shows 68 Midwood and its neighbors at top and some smaller houses one block over. The former were offered for $11,000 and the latter…
Bob Marvin comes through again! Our discussion of 68 Midwood Street on Monday prompted the hardcore brownstoner to scan this ad he had in a frame on his wall. The advertisement shows 68 Midwood and its neighbors at top and some smaller houses one block over. The former were offered for $11,000 and the latter $7,500. According to our calculations, if 68 Midwood Fetches its asking price of $1.495 million, the house will have appreciated at an un-bubblicious annual compounded rate of just under 5%.
In other PLG news, The Post gave the nabe a glowing profile yesterday:
If you’re panning for real-estate gold, you can strike the mother lode with Brooklyn’s Prospect Lefferts Gardens. It’s an increasingly popular neighborhood full of gorgeous townhouses, but it’s also a place where real-estate bargains still exist.
The article pegs price ranges for Lefferts Manor at between $1 million and $1.6 million and $625,000 and $875,000 for greater Prospect Lefferts. It also notes that there are currently NO condos in PLG–though some are in the works.
HOTD: Midwood Not Mid-Priced [Brownstoner]
PLG: Hot Prospect [NY Post]
More info on the new restaurant Ed mentioned a couple of days ago on Across the Park:
http://acrossthepark.typepad.com/atp/2006/06/margaritas_on_t.html#comments
And Planet PLG:
http://www.planetplg.com/
BROWNSTONER: Why was my Sunday afternoon comment deleted? Was it deemed offensive, or was it a spam-cleaning accident?
I had written a response to the person asking how far one has to be from Flatbush to experience “tranquility.†My response was that it is important to understand that Lefferts Manor (and greater PLG) is very much an enclave, and that life on the edges of the enclave can be much less pleasant than life further in the center. The impact of being near Flatbush certainly does vary from block to block, but at best Flatbush is a major thoroughfare with bus and truck traffic practically 24/7. At worst it, and the buildings on the corners, are a place for people to hang out all night, buy drugs, and blast music from cars and apartment windows. In my time living here, these problems have improved and then returned many times, depending on police enforcement. But they never seem to completely go away—and there is no law against hanging out in front of your building (which can be noisy for the neighbors).
I know that my experience of living here is very different from that of my neighbors who live further down the block. They often have no idea of what we deal with. This isn’t to say that I’m unhappy or want to leave. I don’t. It’s a great area and worth putting up with problems. But I do think it’s important for people considering buying a house just off of Flatbush to understand the potential downside. Well, I think this response is even better than the original. 🙂
It seems Midwood 1 is preferred by many. However, I still think Maple 2 is the bees knees. Midwood 1 looks like Park Slope to me. Maple 2 is uniquely PLG.
Sorry again–in my 12:19 post I meant to say that Midwood I seemed to be exempt, not Maple. Time for bed!
Sorry for the typos above!
Bob–thanks for explaining my reference.
10:13, That’s true, but 20 Maple not only had the highest-end renovation imaginable, it also had a private driveway and extra-wide garden–the only 3 story limestone with either. Maple I for whatever reasons seems to be largely exempt from the close-to-Flatbush price “discount.” I think it’s because the apartment buildings on that corner are nicer than most and actually serve to block Flatbush in a way that the ones on other corners don’t. As with many things in the manor, it depends on the block.
But look at prices for other houses near Flatbush–they are all lower than similar homes further down the block. I know my house was asking 75K below the sales price of an identical home in very similar condition that sold a few months before ours-and it was just 4 houses further in. It’s pretty basic–even without the apartment building issue, Flatbush is a noisy higheay. Houses next to higheways are cheaper.
No question that Maple II is the most distinctive block in LM–its unlike ANY other block anywhere.Nevertheless,my favorite LM block remains Midwood I. I especially like the two rows of fourv story houses that arev mirror images of each other.Of course I love my own block too, but its much plainer.
BTW the “white city” uniformity of Maple II that anon 9:00 refers to the style of houses made popular by the buildings of the 1893 Columbian Exposition (a world’s fair in Chicago). After that brownstone became unfashionable and limestone became the latest fad.
Re: lower prices near Flatbush, the neighborhood sales record (20 Midwood) is right next to an apartment building on Flatbush.
Re: Maple 2, I think it is one of the most stunning blocks in all of New York City, not just Lefferts Manor. It’s so distinctive not just because of the beauty of individual houses, but how they work as a whole. It’s what drew me to the manor in the first place.
We’re in the 3rd house from Flatbush and we hear traffic noise at night and in the morning on weedays (on weekends we often hear cars blaring music). How much of a problem that is depends on how sensitve to noise you are. As for street and apartment building noise, I agree with “jd” that it depends on the corner. Ours was bad but has gotten somewhat better in the last year. But we still have problems with people in the apartment building blasting music with their windows open.
From my experience, some corners are better than ours and some are worse. If I could do it over, I probably would not buy so close to Flatbush–but it isn’t so bad that I can’t handle it (or else I wouldn’t be writting this!). On the other hand, our house was definitely cheaper than it would have been if it were even 3 or 4 houses further down the block, so being close to Flatbush can get you a hefty discount.
As for blocks, I’m with Bob. Midwood I (not my street) is the best. It’s the diversity of styles that I love. I’m not into the “white city” uniformity of Maple II.