House of the Day: 272 Halsey Street
This four-story brownstone at 272 Halsey in Bedford Stuyvesant caught our eye because it’s been in the same family for seven decades. Other than a newish kitchen, the house looks like unusually intact, with some killer woodwork and fireplaces. The fact that it’s a one-family may be a drawback—most prospective buyers are going to need…
This four-story brownstone at 272 Halsey in Bedford Stuyvesant caught our eye because it’s been in the same family for seven decades. Other than a newish kitchen, the house looks like unusually intact, with some killer woodwork and fireplaces. The fact that it’s a one-family may be a drawback—most prospective buyers are going to need help paying the mortgage given the asking price of $1,175,000, which seems on the high side to us. In addition to the house’s lineage, the listing is noteworthy for the fact that it may be the first time we’ve seen proximity to Food Town and Applebee’s listed as an amenity on a million-dollar property.
272 Halsey Street [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
I agree Anon 5:44PM.
However, selling two or three homes in an area for about $900k does not justify raising prices to $1.2M for an average BS home. we are not talking about a substantial number of sales to insist that demand is so high that it dictates that prices go up 20% every year. Only a small handful of brownstones are coming up for sale on Bed-Stuy’s prime areas (e.g., Stuyvesant and Bedford Heights), yet with each passing sale (after languishing on the market for months at a time) home values are being raised by $100-$200k. That’s insane. At this rate when the 100th brownstone trades hands in prime BS since 2000 (probably about 2010), by logical extension you can expect the seller to get north of $3M for the house which would leave the remainding 5,900 homes in BS worth north of $2.5M. Do you really think this makes any economic sense? Bed-Stuy has too many brownstones and the area is too far behind other more established hoods to command these prices. I live in the community and I want prices to go higher as much as the next guy but I understand that it must happen in an organic and pragmatic way – slowly overtime. At 800k+ this house would be priced accurately. $1.175M is retarded. If that is indeed the market then the grand homes on Stuyvesant Avenue should be worth about $2.5M.
Thank you, 3:29, for bringing some sanity and good reasoning to this discussion.
Though I agree with @ 3:29, the point is that the real estate market is driven by supply and demand. Granted, the supply of brownstones may be greater in BS than other places, but its still a fixed, relatively small amount. Plus, look at the taxes!!!Hence, like the entire market rise over the previous 6 or so years, its irrational in that its $1M for BS, but its simple economics. Especially since the reason NY real estate is so inflated is due to lower crime, i.e., families moving back into the city. Eventually, families will outgrow the tiny apartments in Stuy-Town and Manhattan and want a real house. Hence, the sudden craze in BS. And unless crime goes back up (i.e., when Bloomberg leaves) the trend is likely to continue.
A little history on this house. According to the 1900 census this home was first owned by a manufacturer from New York named Daniel Hicks. It looks like this house has only had two families live there in the past 115 years. Buy having two families not a lot of crazy chopping went on like SOOO many other houses in NYC. I think That 1.175 is a bit much I think 800K is a little bit more down to earth. I am sure the blessed person that gets this house will know they have just found Gold.
folks who buy million dollar houses in the hood may not be millionaires, but they sure are richer than me.
I actually think the interior looks a little “haunted house” but i know a lot of people love that.
If I had that money,,,, never mind, that’s another thread.
God knows I rag on Corcoran whenever that entity rears its head, but I do know a couple of the brokers, and Greg Todd is one of them. He is a dedicated community minded activist in Crown Heights North, and has really been on the front lines for a great deal of the good work that has happened here in the last couple of years. He also put his money where his mouth is, and moved to Crown Heights when he was about the only white rice in the gumbo, as it were, and he does know the neighborhood. It is unfortunate that he used Foodtown and Applebee’s as the only examples of the good life in BS, and I’m sure when he reads this, he’ll change it. I agree that the pricing is way off base, but tend to think that’s more corporate Corcoran and perhaps seller’s greed, rather than Greg’s. In any case, I agree with the rest of 3:29’s post, it is absolutely correct.
They really should have dusted the spindles. The photo selections are highly focused, making one wonder what’s going on in the rest of the room.
Yes, makes total sense. If 1,000 brownstone trade at $650k-$750k in Bed-Stuy thereby creating a critical mass of new entrants who will bring about new energy and a different level of commitment into the community, the next 1,000 homes easily sell between $750k and $1.25M, if not higher. However, Corcoran appears more interested in seeing 1 or 2 homes trade at the $850 – $1M mark and immediately pricing all subsequent homes above $1.25M. What’s the justification for this practice? Shouldn’t hundreds of homes trade within range before up ticking prices to the next level of demand?
@ 3:29 – well said