House of the Day: 500 Marlborough Road
This new listing at 500 Marlborough Road in Ditmas Park West looks like a lay-up at $1,350,000. The three-story Victorian woodie is in excellent shape as far as the original architectural elements go. (Love those parquet floors!) The bathroom and kitchen also look like they’ve been recently redone in a way that fits with the…
This new listing at 500 Marlborough Road in Ditmas Park West looks like a lay-up at $1,350,000. The three-story Victorian woodie is in excellent shape as far as the original architectural elements go. (Love those parquet floors!) The bathroom and kitchen also look like they’ve been recently redone in a way that fits with the overall vibe of the house. There’s also a shared driveway, to boot. Other than the heating bills, what’s not to like? Is there anything negative we’ve glossed over?
500 Marlborough Road [Mary Kay Gallagher] GMAP P*Shark
Victorian Flatbush has the largest surviving number of freestanding, ONE FAMILY, WOOD FRAME Victorian houses in the United States.
The house is overpriced – but only slightly. Biggest drawbacks are the siding and kitchen. However, given the limited housing stock, this house will sell when prospective buyers realize there’s pretty much nothing else on the market. Stock is limited. Houses don’t turn over frequently. There’s a reason for this.
Houses in decent shape do not sell for less than 1.1-1.2 million in this neighborhood anymore. If you think this is the case, you’re not up to speed on the market. Fixer-uppers come in at varying degrees under the million mark. For a nice house under the million mark, try the lovely Georgian brick home on Bedford in South Midwood.
Not everyone out here has a jumbo, by the way.
As for all the negatives above – a few are close to the mark, but not many, IMO.
Erin Joslyn
^^ if thats the case hopefully brownstones get cheaper.
also the town I grew up in had a shitload of victorian homes and it had a pop. of 50,000. They were not very cheap however.
My favorite place for Victorian era architecture is Port Townsend, Washington (NE corner of the Olympic Peninsula). In 1880 they had an equivalent population to NYC as they were the port of entry for the entire West Coast. Intuitively, I would guess that they have a far larger stock of authentic Victorian era homes.
This thread is about sour grapes. The brownstone crowd hates it when their thunder gets stolen, and that’s happening now with increasing regularity as more attention is focused on Victorian Flatbush.
That’s what this conversation is really about.
“Are you sure you’re not thinking of the glory house that went for 1.9?”
(patient voice). No, I’m talking about the house that was marketed for 1.65m (and apparently went for 1.69m).
http://marykayg.com/html/0486.html
1.9m was the area record breaker at the top of the market, and a step above again in quality.
Either are pointless as a comp. You’re either a local owner up hanging onto your idea of your own dollar appreciation, or a broker, you’re pimping this price point so hard! A comp is the new fsbo on east 21st st that is offered at 1.45m (no reasonable offer refused) but is a corner property with a ton more detail, light and space.
And by the way, I was kind in not mentioning the kitchen in this place. It would embarrass a 400k mcmansion.
It’s the stuff of humor really. In most placed you’d be branded a nut if you said, “Let’s build a house that’s really long, dark and narrow, with windows mostly at the far ends.”
On the other hand, I’ve seen homes build into the sides of hills, almost like bunkers. To each his own.
“The idea that there are sizeable concentrations of brownstones (or something like them — whatever that means) in most big cities is simply false.”
Actually, it’s not false at all. Don’t you ever travel? That said, brownstones, as a form of housing, were obviously meant to house people in areas that are highly congested. Since NYC is more congested than anywhere else in the US, it’s not surprising that it has more brownstones. No big deal. People who live in other, less congested areas have more options.
“By contrast, as more than a few people have pointed out, there are Victorian homes — many of them superior to the Ditmas Park property — in literally every city (big or small) in the country.”
Yes, and you find them everywhere for a number of really excellent reasons. They’re beautiful. They’re spacious. They have windows out the wazoo. They often have gorgeous wraparound porches. And so on…
3:21-
“The MKG glory house in the historic district featured here to oohs and aahs, was twice as nice as this place & went for 1.65m in march”
Are you sure you’re not thinking of the glory house that went for 1.9?
http://www.marykayg.com/html/0469.html
Because that’s where the market was for “glory houses” in the spring.
The idea that there are sizeable concentrations of brownstones (or something like them — whatever that means) in most big cities is simply false. Baltimore does have some great streets of walk-ups, although the facades are nowhere near as attractive as the CH or PS brownstones. Boston has some. New Haven has literally two blocks of them, Providence a few blocks, and Rittenhouse Square some blocks as well. (Tenements don’t count as brownstones.) By contrast, as more than a few people have pointed out, there are Victorian homes — many of them superior to the Ditmas Park property — in literally every city (big or small) in the country.