House of the Day: Wood for 52 Midwood
This gorgeous house at 52 Midwood Street is a bit of a hot potato. The property changed hands in 2004 for $540,000 and then again in 2005 for $775,000. It looks like the owner took out a second mortgage for $200,000 three months after buying it — perhaps to get the house into the beautiful…
This gorgeous house at 52 Midwood Street is a bit of a hot potato. The property changed hands in 2004 for $540,000 and then again in 2005 for $775,000. It looks like the owner took out a second mortgage for $200,000 three months after buying it — perhaps to get the house into the beautiful shape it’s now in. And beautiful it is. Our first impression is that this isn’t the work of an amateur. Both the interior decoration and even the photographs are totally pro. (Look at those flowers in bathroom window!) We’d love to hear from those of you who hit the open house on Sunday. Did the real thing match the photos? Is $1,525,000 achievable for a brownstone in PLG right now?
52 Midwood Street [FSBO/NYT] GMAP P*Shark
what happened to real estate being about three things….location, location, location. people will sacrifice one, two, or all three of these things if the price is cheap enough. My point is simple, the Bob Marvin PLG ratio is totally out of whack at the moment…buy the rumor, sell the news…the news is out and the rumor buyers are selling.
Anonymous at March 21, 2007 9:35 AM: “Midwood, on the other hand, is just a much quieter street. The back garden at 52 is virtually silent (unless you count the occasional chirping of birds)”
If by chirping of birds you mean gunshots, then this is true. The beauty of PLG is that there is a little of both. Not for everybody.
That being said, proximity to the train and the garage under Patio Gardens make this a decent buy.
Wouldnt pay over 1.5mm. This has been discussed before, but dont expect major changes in this nabe until the old renters are replaced with the new. Location is great, but many who don’t own could care less about seeing the area reach its full potential.
Dreamin, I don’t get your math: why is it that someone who could afford a $1.5 million house be in a category where $2.5 is not out of the question? By that logic, someone who could afford an $800,000 house is likely in a category with someone who could afford a $1,280,000 house. Assuming this imaginary $1.5 buyer has $300,000 (20%) to put down, his/her mortgage would be about $7388/month (30 yr fixed @ 6.25). A $2.5 mortgage with that same $300,000 down is about $13,545/month. That’s a difference of about $74,000 a year. That’s a big difference. And a big category of people that could afford one and not the other.
That kind of odd leap of logic seems to be somewhat endemic in your posts. I have no idea why the buyers of a $1.5 single family home would “probably” have school-age children anymore than they’d “probably” be gay or “probably” be empty-nesters who want to live near the park.
And finally — and lord knows it’s a waste of time to have this same debate again — there is most definitely a lack of services in PLG…just as there is in Windsor Terrace and Ditmas and Clinton Hill and parts of the two Hills and the optimistically christened South Slope. It’s a mile from Lincoln & Flatbush to Grand Army Plaza, and about 50 yards from the Q. By my reckoning, that makes PLG in considerably closer proximity to “services” than huge swaths of Brooklyn, including a lot of the Ft Greene/Clinton Hill areas. And it makes it about equidistant from the heart of either the 5th or 7th Ave shop-centric parts of the Slope as, say, 14th and 6th.
Finally, one last point. I don’t get the paranoia about people trying to “hype” their neighborhood to drive up prices or push “change.” There are, what, five or six places for sale? If they all sold tomorrow, the neighborhood still wouldn’t change all that much. And houses aren’t pump-and-dump stocks. PLG is what it is: a neighborhood with its unique advantages and disadvantages. I’m sure we can figure out a way to discuss those on their own merits.
Dreamin’,
The biggest difference between this house and Ocean is the noise level. The Ocean house backs up to the subway tracks, with only the one story garage in back as a buffer. It also sits directly on Ocean Ave., which gets a fair amount of traffic throughout the day. So in the front yard, you hear the almost constant rush of cars. In the tiny backyard, you hear the rumble of the not-infrequent Q and B trains. You’re also adjacent to a large co-op apartment building. However, the tradeoff is, you get lovely views of Prospect Park from all the rooms along the front of the house. Don’t get me wrong, Ocean was a fantastic deal, but it did come with strings. Strings that would be a significant bother for some, and not much of an issue for others.
Midwood, on the other hand, is just a much quieter street. The back garden at 52 is virtually silent (unless you count the occasional chirping of birds). If you’re the type of person who is bothered by noise, there’s no question of which house is for you. And further, if you look at the basics of each, I think you’ll find other reasons for the price difference — the size of the houses, the extent and quality of the renovations, etc. etc.
Bob Marvin…you have lived in PLG for 23 years, I think the story goes. Whatever you live in cost you nothing at this point and skews your view of PLG considerably. If you tell me the buyer of this single family home is, currently, a neighbor of yours, trading up, I will be impressed. More likely; however, the buyer will be a first time PLG buyer and, quite possibly, a first time Brooklyn buyer. To be in the market for a $1.5M single family home puts you in a category where $2.5 may not be totally out of the question and, also, probably, means school age children, just like the previous owners. Expectations of services for a single family at this level of purchase are WELL beyond what PLG can provide, plain and simple. This includes everything that “services” represents. It is in your best interest to hype your neighborhood to buyers that have spent very little time in PLG…continue the unabated hype as “PlanetPLG” and the owners of this home EXIT your neighborhood.
We live in LM in PLG and we agree, move there because you like the neighborhood now. There’s a lot to like. #1 would be the house itself, and also you’ll like your neighbors in LM, who are mostly really cool. And the proximity to the park and botanic gardens. If you think you’ll like it well enough to stay there 5 to 10 years, it’s a great investment. I feel more confident buying in an undervalued neighborhood during these times, if we’re talking about investment. But for lifestyle, sure, PLG is not for everyone. It’s best for those who are content to be holed up in their lovely house and lovely garden, with their partners or families. Or for those who work in the city long hours and who can eat and shop in the city instead of PLG. My two cents.
Don’t forget 63 Midwood…not sure if that ‘s the correct street number. That place had all of the beautiful wood detail restored and the place was just amazing inside and out. They stuck at 1.5 asking for a year I think. Finally got 1.45 this past fall. I refused to go above 1.4 and now that I’m still looking around Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Slope at nothing less than 1.8 (needing 200k +) i miss that deal. I also would consider this place at 1.5. But alas, the age old dispute in this locale … the wife refuses to live in that nabe. Kills me, but true.
Just adding my 2 cents. If you can live with that neighborhood, which truly is not a big deal in my opinion, you get a ton for your money. That being said, it’s all about the location and whether or not it works for you.
Wow, this renovation went all out. They did everything! Makes us feel inferior, wahh. I always say this, but I think there are plenty of buyers who have no interested in doing long arduous old-house renovations and are happy if not thrilled to pay more for a house that’s already done.
Dreamin,
I really don’t mean to pick on you, but I have to respond to another of your posts. You write “1.5 in plg makes 2.6 on clinton or 3rd look like a steal.”
That might be so, but, for many of us, the additional $1,100,000 does make a difference–it isn’t exactly chump change for, at least, some of us.