House of the Day: 408 Stuyvesant Avenue
This drool-worthy limestone mansion at 408 Stuyvesant Avenue in Stuyvesant Heights just hit the market. It’s so impressive architecturally (except for a couple of recently-reno’d spots) that we almost feel bad questioning the asking price of $2.1 million. Although the building has a large footprint (22 by 60 feet), it is only three stories and…
This drool-worthy limestone mansion at 408 Stuyvesant Avenue in Stuyvesant Heights just hit the market. It’s so impressive architecturally (except for a couple of recently-reno’d spots) that we almost feel bad questioning the asking price of $2.1 million. Although the building has a large footprint (22 by 60 feet), it is only three stories and therefore only 4,000 square feet. (It’s hard to tell from the photo whether the basement is habitable or not. We’re guessing that’s what the photo of the windowless modern room is.) We’re not aware of any house in the historic area selling for more than $1.5 million. Also, we’re not sure how it’s six-family status should affect the sales price. At this price, it seems like the only option for a buyer will be to convert it to condos. Starting at $500 a foot pre-conversion even makes that route a stretch, no? Is there any precedent for this price? Any chatter in the neighborhood about this?
408 Stuyvesant Avenue [Halstead] GMAP P*Shark
A lot of things don’t add up to justify this price:
i) How big are the apts? It’s a pretty large house, sure, but for the owners’ piece of it to be a decent size, the other apts may only be studios. Are any of the existing tenants RC or RS? The listing doesn’t specify so you have to wonder. Buyers at this level don’t want the hassle of managing a 6-family property (with a potentially very low rent roll) and someone planning to convert to condos may have a tough time if the units are too small and/or occupied by protected tenants.
ii) The reno looks very “shiny” which is also something many buyers at this level would be turned off by.
iii) No matter how glorious the architecture of an individual house is or how gorgeous an individual block is, prices HAVE to be in line with the neighborhood as a whole. As much as we love parts of Bed Stuy, $2.1 million is just way, way, way too high. No one wants to buy the best house in the “worst” neighborhood. And before everyone goes balistic, I mean “worst” in the real estate sense of “last up, first down.” Bed Stuy is probably one of the most vulnerable areas in brownstone Brooklyn to this reliable trend in a cooling market.
OK, I don’t like anything built before 1950 and even I find these homes incredibly beautiful. SOMEONE is going to buy these, although not for $2M.
“Hopefully with time services/amenities in the neighborhood will catch up with soaring home prices.” – 4:03 PM
Or, with time, plummeting home prices will catch down with services/amenities.
The Corcoran property at 414 Stuyvesant sold for $1.2M in May but that limestone was not as grand and glorious as these two (much smaller at 20 ft wide with a more modest facade). Totally different architecture. Both 404 and 408 are detached on one side so you have three exposures. They are also much taller so despite having the same number of floors, the ceiling heights are much higher. All of the row houses on this block are very deep (55-65 ft) and most have finished basements. These listings definitely indicate a flight to quality as even fringe nabes have certain “A List” locations. Property Shark shows two recent sales on this block at or greater than $1mm and from what I remember both needed substantial work, e.g. $300k-$500k. From my own personal observation, deep pocket purchasers are indeed moving into this section of Stuyvesant Heights which bodes well for the overall future prospects of the neighborhood. Hopefully with time services/amenities in the neighborhood will catch up with soaring home prices.
416 Stuyvesant Ave. closed in June 2006 for $1.175 million.
I think that Corcoran had a listing on this block last spring. It is not on the website so i am assuming that it closed. What was the contract price for that house – can’t get a better comp.
I think that Corcoran had a listing on this block last spring. It is not on the website so i am assuming that it closed. What was the contract price for that house – can’t get a better comp.
The building is lovely and that is a nice area in Bed Sty and close to the train. It looks like the apartments are in good shape, but a 6 unit building is probably rent stabilized. Whether or not this is the case is the key to the price.
Hard to find adequate comps since nothing of this caliber has sold in the neighborhood in recent memory. The limestone mansions on Stuyvesant Avenue rarely ever come onto the market. These are archtitecturally significant homes on the grandest block in all Stuyvesant Heights. You can’t use ordinary brownstone comps in the neighborhood to determine appraisal or fair value for 404 and 408 because nothing else truly compares. The houses on this block are absolultely stunning. I think that if the sellers stick to their guns, they will eventually get between $1.5m -$1.8m for these two beauties.