HOTD: Does Not Compute on Union Street
We love it when a post writes itself. Here’s an email we got this weekend from a reader: I noticed two twin brownstones on Union Street currently on the market just four doors from one another: 891 Union and 899 Union. 891 Union (listed by Warren Lewis) looks to be a renovated two-family priced at…
We love it when a post writes itself. Here’s an email we got this weekend from a reader:
I noticed two twin brownstones on Union Street currently on the market just four doors from one another: 891 Union and 899 Union. 891 Union (listed by Warren Lewis) looks to be a renovated two-family priced at $2,450,000 while 899 Union (listed by Corcoran) is also a two-family but is unrenovated and tired but is priced at $2,750,000. Seems to me the listing agent at Corcoran should put down the crack pipe and try researching the comps before she prices. Who does she think she’s fooling when one can walk four doors down and save $300,000 (probably closer to $550,000 because the buyer of 899 will have to sink at least $200,000 into it)?
What’s this guy missing? Is there a rational explanation why the house in better condition is priced so much lower?
891 Union – #5122 [Warren Lewis] GMAP P*Shark
899 Union Street [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
As the owner of one of the Union Street properties under scrutiny, I don’t see the big controversity involved. If you are interested and really love the home, end of story. It will not go unsold and stop insulting our broker.
Well, Peggy, Corcoran has obviously been quite successful. When I sell my house, I’ll probably go with them too. Why not overprice a house? Buyers might not like it, but if a seller waits long enough a rich fool might just walk in the door.
All agents should offer selling prices based upon comparable sales… Corcoran does not live by this philosophy. Most of their houses are overpriced
Agents do not have to accept listings which are overpriced…. Let them go to another agent to start and pick up the exclusive at a later point
What should a good agent take a listing that is 20-30% overpriced??? In terms of renovation, do you know what it costs to put new windows in a place??? It could easily cost $30,000. A crappy kitchen can cost close to $50,000 and baths at $10-$15,000 for nothing extraordinary. You would be hard pressed to renovate this house for anything close to $200,000 unless you were doing the work yourself…
Agents, or at least good agents offer a suggested listing price to sellers. Ultimately the seller decides on the price. Agents sometimes have to accept listings even if they don’t agree with the price. This happens in every business to some degree or another. Most posters here wouldn’t be able to handle the constant scrutiny and criticism agents face. You don’t understand what goes on and for once I wish that you would all just cut us some slack.
interest rates and credit have driven the market generally. but they do not explain the shrinking gap between brooklyn and manhattan prices. that has happened because, simply, more people who could choose otherwise now want to live in brooklyn. that’s partly from a change in perception, partly from actual qualitative changes like increases in middle- and upper-middle-class amenities.
in other words, maybe price will cool off or even fall across the board. but barring a major social change, brownstone brooklyn is never going to be as cheap compared with manhattan as it used to be. like it or not
“Why is everyone so damned critical of rising prices in our neighborhood? Doesn’t a price increase reflect an increase in value?”
No. It just reflects low interest rates and easy credit. Plus, it also reflects rising taxes and an end to the diversity of income that people moving to Brooklyn claim to love.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Why is everyone so damned critical of rising prices in our neighborhood? Doesn’t a price increase reflect an increase in value? We’re still no where near Manhattan brownstone prices! So please, expect more price increases!
Secondly, perhaps the Corcoran listing is on the mark and dinky Warren Lewis is underpricing its properties? Why do you assume the lower priced property is priced accurately and the upper priced property is priced too high?
Why does everyone bitch and moan about crack pipes and greed just because others are realizing how valuable our neighborhoods are?