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
“into PLG in the late 80’s for less than $275”
Correct me if I’m wrong, but 275K was a heck of a lot of money in the late 80’s for a house in PLG, no?
I hear about neighbors buying houses for much less than that in the North Slope around that same time…
I hear you, Tybur6. And I also have to admit that as a homeowner who bought into PLG in the late 80’s for less than $275 and got an appraisal above $1M in late ’07, yes . . . I’m definitely getting a kick out of seeing my property values rise! I also don’t like seeing my neighborhood “graded” by people who don’t really know it very well but think that $2 and $3M prices for homes elsewhere in the borough is perfectly “reasonable” (which I’m not accusing you of saying, btw). But, for sure, if we did not buy into PLG twhen we did, there’s no way in heck we’d be able to buy in today’s market. And, just as for sure, I have a sincere desire to see home prices become much more affordable and accessible to many, many more would-be buyers. Definitely a schizo perspective coming from one who already owns and doesn’t intend to sell anytime soon whether the market is in a bubble or a bust.
Point taken Brooklynista. “Highly desirable” was probably a poor choice of words to describe what much of PLG has become… I was trying to underscore, perhaps ineffectively, what SouthBrooklyn said earlier (@ 12:57).
It’s not so much the desirability, but rather than affordability. The desirable properties were still (relatively) affordable only a very few years ago. And even if the bubble burst brings prices down, PLG will never be (relatively) affordable — and I don’t mean move-in ready brownstones for $275k…. I mean accessible to folks not earning $400k with a $400k downpayment burning a hole in their pocket.
It can’t be denied that many of the homes in PLG are very very nice, but…
A house this size and condition in the historic districts of Stuy Heights or CHN would not sell for a million, but it would definitely be more than $450k. And a house this size and condition in the best part of Park Slope would still get over $1.5M. PLG falls someplace in between. Bubble or no, $1 million is not a blue-chip price for a house in Brooklyn anymore.
PLG kinda has crappy schools. I love the houses there. I thought the Lincoln Road mansion that sold for over a million was sort of a bargain, because it was a MANSION 2 blocks from Prospect Park… but this is just a house like all the other houses in Bed Stuy and Crown Heights that are now going for $450k. So I am surprised at this price. Don’t get me wrong, it is close to my dream house, but I am rational enough to realize that my dream house is not worth a million bucks in what is not (and may never be) a blue-chip neighborhood.
Tyburg, something you just said makes me think you don’t understand certain things about PLG at all. In fact, PLG has not become “highly desirable” in such a “sort span of time.” Parts of the neighborhood, especially Lefferts Manor where this house is located, have always been “highly desirable” to some. Indeed, primarily because of the one-family restrictive covenant that protects occupancy of homes in Lefferts Manor, that area never became “undesirable” because of disproportionate middle class white flight that impacted so many other solid neighborhoods in the late 60’s -70’s, significantly altering their character. Moreover, there are other sections of greater PLG, beyond LM, which have similarly retained their stable, well-kept, and healthily diverse character.
During the more recent real estate bubble of the mid-late 00’s, home prices rose in PLG and LM, as they have risen all over the City. And, as the sale of homes just across the Park in the Slope or in BH,CG,PH, and CH were reaching north of 2.5 and 3M, sales in PLG were clearly in the $1M ballpark. Depending on the house and its location in the neighborhood, a couple of houses sold for close to, or over, $1.5M. Now that the bubble has burst and sanity is returning to the market all over NYC — including PLG — sales prices are coming down. However, it is still too early tell whether it is “crazy” to think that a house loaded with original details,in move-in condition, near the park and BBG, 30 minutes from midtown, and in a landmarked district of PLG simply cannot command a $1M price tag. Again, down cycle and all, PLG remains a “highly desirable” neighborhood for some. If such a move would be “crazy” for you, well . . . . no problem!
quote:
Should all the dinners be $19.95???
no they should be 9.95.
*rob*
Bolder, you’re a douche. Nowhere in my comments have I suggested that NYC cannot demand a “premium” for real estate in comparison to Cedar Grove, NJ. Obviously the demand curve is fine, it’s the “elasticity” of the market that is of concern. i.e., gobs of cash for mediocrity… and the exponential growth and expansion of such.
“When you factor in the difference between those cities and New York, the prices here kinda make a bit more sense.”
HAHAHA! That’s a loaded statement.
Anyway, I would also agree that LA, Seattle, Portland, SF, DC and Boston certainly do have similarly crazy price tags. BUT, and this is a big BUT (heh heh), I think you might actually get what you pay for in those cities… i.e., not just the privilege of residing somewhere within the city limits.
What i mean by that is in those other cities, the quality of the home still has a relationship with the price tag. In NYC (brooklyn, manhattan, queens or wherever), there seems to be a sever disconnect and the ol’ “location, location, location” seems to be the only driver…. and even that is amazingly stretched.
With very few exceptions, you probably have to work in Manhattan to have the income to afford a $1 million or higher home. (yes, there are exceptions) Looking at other public transportation cities (Boston, Portland, DC)… the “expensive” and “premium” neighborhoods just seem to be more stable (see SouthBrooklyn’s comments above). To think that PLG is is now a highly desireable neighborhood demanding $1 – 1.5 million price tags in such a sort span of time… it’s just crazy.