208 Midwood Sells for $995,000
When 208 Midwood Street in Prospect Lefferts Gardens was a House of the Day back in September, the small brownstone was asking $1,150,000, a lot for the nabe but worth trying for given the gorgeous interiors. In the end, though, the market spoke and the seller had to settle for $995,500, just shy of the…
When 208 Midwood Street in Prospect Lefferts Gardens was a House of the Day back in September, the small brownstone was asking $1,150,000, a lot for the nabe but worth trying for given the gorgeous interiors. In the end, though, the market spoke and the seller had to settle for $995,500, just shy of the mansion tax. Is this price what you expected? GMAP
$275 in 1987 is about $500 in 2007. Since this $275k house is now appraised at $1 million, the market prices in PLG has *doubled* !!??
While the properties weren’t cheap by any stretch of the imagination in 1987… I don’t understand why everyone thinks that a 200% increase is OK. The market takes care of everything.
But in all honesty, what would the prices in ANY neighborhood in Brooklyn look like if the tax bill was reassessed at FULL market rate upon sale?! Do you think those $200k north slope brownstones would still be selling at $3 million? Or would the radical increase in the tax bill have tempered the thirst a bit?
What’s the point in the city spending money on neighborhood improvements if there are no real benefits to the city coffers? (except 6% a year or whatever the annual cap is). I think Brownstone Brooklyn should have to plant their own trees, maintain their own streets, and privatize the schools. it’s only fair.
My sentiments exactly mopar. Most native Brooklynites realize that there are wonderful “safe” neighborhoods all over Brooklyn and Queens for that matter with great schools – Kensington, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Bensonhurst, Bay Ridge, Sheepshead Bay, Astoria, etc… And guess what? All of the neighborhoods mentioned above have sections where there are Brownstone or Limestone houses! There are actually people who buy in these areas because they genuinely like those neigbborhoods and not because they were priced out of somehwere else.
No, you won’t get into the city in 20 minutes from any of them but so what. Many of us don’t work in the city and even if we do, we don’t care to go back there on the weekends. It amazes me that people can’t add 15 minutes to their communte so that they won’t have to pay over one million dollars for house. None of us are entitled to own a house but if you want to buy and you can’t afford to live in Brownstone Brooklyn, look somewhere else or just rent.
clinton hill is much much better than park slope. any time. any day
“The insularity and backwardness on this blog, and the lack of perspective, particularly from those who grew up in New York and have never lived anywhere else, is tiresome.”
Could not agree more.
Thanks Bob! As I understand it, some of the blocks in the North Slope were pretty nasty back in “the day.”
Part of my point though was to comment on Tyburg’s whole thing today…275k 20 years ago is the equivalent of $500,000 dollars today. Not to mention that interest rates in the late 80’s were in some cases well over 10%, no…?
So houses in PLG (and other areas of Brooklyn) have been expensive by Tyburg’s standards for decades. The idea that they are all of the sudden expensive in the last few years is a misnomer.
Do we have to have the same discussion every day? 11217 is right. It is hardly news that, even in the downturn, New York has some of the richest people in the world. So ordinary people compete against celebrities for housing. Much of brownstone Brooklyn has turned into what downtown Manhattan used to be. It’s expensive. Yes. There are also many very affordable places in New York outside of this tiny swath of brownstones where you will not be killed and your children can go to a decent school and even get into Yale for college. The insularity and backwardness on this blog, and the lack of perspective, particularly from those who grew up in New York and have never lived anywhere else, is tiresome.
haha – am staying out of this argument about PLG
I know where that got me 😉
hahahaha!!!
11217,
PLG prices have been about 1/2 PS prices for years, but there might have been small North Slope houses (near 5th Avenue)for the same price Brooklynista paid in the late 80s. Back when we were looking at houses, in 1974, nice PLG houses cost $45–60,000. We saw PS houses in that price range, but they were depressing, w/o detail, and on blocks where we wouldn’t want to live. PS houses comparable to the Lefferts Manor house we bought would have cost $100,000–far more than we could have paid.
Brooklynista, Since you bring up your appraisal value… I’m curious, the “value” of your home has increased a little less than 400%. Has you tax bill?
I’m not suggesting that you should be forced out of your home because of the market around you… My suggestion is that, you probably have a pretty reasonable tax bill because there are limits to how much it can increase annually… i.e., the market has well out-paced the tax increase.
If you were to sell and someone were to buy… both acts completely voluntary… I would suggest that it is ENORMOUSLY unfair and possibly immoral to *gift* this beautiful tax rate to the new owner. The new owner is, in effect, paying the taxes of a $1/2 million house when she paid a full million…
Would the absurd market be tempered… and would public services be enhanced… by real estate taxes actually tracking with market value (i.e., sale price)? Of course only at the time of sale/flip… i’m not suggesting forcing little old ladies out on their ass because their tax bill went from $1200 to $12,000.
Again, Brooklynista, I’m only using your $1mm assessment as an example… and don’t wish to raise your taxes… I’m just find it a bit off putting when you see the annual tax bill included in a real estate listing as a *benefit*!! (e.g., $1.8 million… Annual Tax = $2200… because the tax rate was set when the property was worth only $180k 15 years ago)
You can price me out of the Brooklyn, but you should at least pay for it…. No?