Condos of the Day: 1296 Dean Street Revisited
When we first took a look at the 5-unit condo conversion at 1296 Dean Street in Crown Heights back in January, there was a general consensus that (1) it’s a beautiful building; (2) the renovation denuded the interior of any old charm; (3) the prices (which at the time ranged from $450,000 to $550,000 for…
When we first took a look at the 5-unit condo conversion at 1296 Dean Street in Crown Heights back in January, there was a general consensus that (1) it’s a beautiful building; (2) the renovation denuded the interior of any old charm; (3) the prices (which at the time ranged from $450,000 to $550,000 for floor-throughs) were probably a little on the high side. Fast forward seven months and guess how many of the apartments have sold? Zippo. Fillmore now has the listings and cut prices so that one unit is now $425,000 and four others are $475,000. (The prices on the developer’s site have yet to be marked down.) One close watcher of the Crown Heights market told us he’s waiting until the offer hits $400,000 and then he’s pouncing.
1296 Dean Street, #4 [Fillmore] GMAP P*Shark
Condos of the Day: 1296 Dean Street [Brownstoner]
This is close to the A/C at Nostrand which is an express stop. If you really need the 2/3 you can walk the extra block or you can transfer at Chambers St. The A is a good train line and will get you to Manhattan quickly. As an added bonus this is near the LIRR in case you need to go out to LI.
My take on these condos is that
1)They have not been given to a good brokerage who can market them properly. Neither TAJ Properties nor Fillmore have done what’s needed to generate interest in these units. This one really needs a pro since this is a new area for condo development and they will need to attract those buyers who have been looking in other neighborhoods and turn them on to this neighborhood.
2) The pricing is very aggressive. Considering that there are units available in the $500’s/ft range that are closer to the city and more gentrified it will be tough to pull buyers out to Crown Heights at the same price just for the beauty of the block. If these are priced in the mid to upper $400’s/ft I think they will move quickly.
In response to 3:10.
I agree about the block being very nice, but I don’t agree that the walk to the 2/3 is “short”. I’d say it is about .75 miles (maybe about 15 minutes) away from the 3 at Nostrand. Add a couple of minutes more to get to the 2/5 at President.
Fifteen minutes is fine if you want to take a stroll to the park, but if you are trying to get to work in the morning, 15 minutes can be a lifetime.
This is one of the nicest blocks in Crown Heights. Honestly, it’s gorgeous. I live in the nabe. I saw some of these units and they do not have any details but they are very nice modern renovations. No Fedders here. Most aren’t huge but the outdoor space is great. If you pay 400k for one of the units with outdoor space, that’s $500 per square foot. Seems a bit high but again, this is a great block and has good train access. (The walk to the 2,3 is short and the change to the 4,5 at Franklin is a step across the platform).
The photos on the website don’t inspire, and I question the neighborhood, no matter how nice the units are.
Recently went through the process of looking for a place (am now in contract), and found Fillmore to be a little hard to contact (didn’t return calls, emails, etc.). Wonder if that’s a problem here.
They had an open house last Sunday. Huge sign on the side of the building that is literally 3 stories high. I passed by twice during the afternoon, and never saw a soul.
It really is a pretty building, on a very nice block, close to the trains, etc, etc. Maybe if they hadn’t stripped every inch of charm from the interior, they may have had a better chance of justifying a higher price, but not that high. The building is nice and wide and has an airy feel, even from the outside.
If they have another open house this weekend, I will try to drop by.
You can see some pic’s and flr plan on Taj properties who had the listings:
http://www.tajproperty.com/deandescriptions.htm
I’ve seen 1 of those Eastern Parkway coop’s that sold for over $400k. It’s nice. some pre-war details vs. these have none (except for the high ceiling and external facade). Location-wise, both are on great looking blocks. Believe this one is in the recently approved crown heights north landmark area.
I don’t live there so don’t know the neighborhood well. From the walking tour and driving by the area a couple of times, do find the houses / bldgs in the area very attractive
This is a lovely area (to get a decent size pre-war 2 bdrm coop / condo) that I can afford with my low salary. would love to hear what others think of this crown heights north area (now and the near future)
Exactly, 12:50. Asking prices were taken seriously in 2005. Now it’s bids that need attention.
What would happen if a listing had no asking price? How could it fare worse than one with a repelling sticker shock? Wouldn’t it be a magnet for bid volume?
I wish I could see a floor plan. The pics look nice, although the kitchen looks a bit tiny.
Depending on the size, I would say that $400,000 is reasonable (since these a floor thru, I can’t imagine that the square footage would be too scant). In the past three months or so, there have been a handful of co-ops on Eastern Parkway between Rogers and Nostrand that have sold for well over $400,000.
The only drawback for me is that the area is serviced by the A/C trains. The 2/3/4/5 are more convenient for me for getting to work. I guess one can switch trains at Fulton…
Is this area safe?