House of the Day: 216 14th Street
We’d glanced at this listing at 216 14th Street in the South Slope before but hadn’t given it much thought based on the exterior. When we took a closer look at the interior shots recently, though, we were struck by how nice it is. The two-family house is clearly a flip-job, but, other than the…
We’d glanced at this listing at 216 14th Street in the South Slope before but hadn’t given it much thought based on the exterior. When we took a closer look at the interior shots recently, though, we were struck by how nice it is. The two-family house is clearly a flip-job, but, other than the Home Depot-esque doors, appears to avoid most of the pitfalls typically associated with that kind of thing. (It was purchased back in June for $1,150,000.) The floors, moldings and bannister were all maintained and restored. The cabinetry looks a whole lot better than one would expect from a flipper in this part of town as well. The big question is whether the sellers have added the $500,000 in value that justifies the $1,650,000 asking price. Waddya think?
Property #118 [Townsley & Gay] GMAP P*Shark
True. Most of the buildings are nicer in Crown Heights.
Comparing South Slope to Crown Heights is like apples and oranges.
It shows how little you know about both neighborhoods.
This price stinks, for a so-so place in a marginal neighborhood. South Slope is the new Crown Heights for sellers with delusions of grandeur.
you’re also much more modest than this house, 4:39.
always a nice amenity.
sure, it’s a house, but 1400 sq. feet in that location is not great. you can certainly do better in a condo, more space for that money in a way way better spot. whether you think of a condo as a “home” is dependent on the actual space. our condo is significantly larger, nicer, in a better area, and cheaper than this, plus we have better outdoor space.
need to look at several listings and evaluate.
3:55: no of course not.
But has the market changed just a BIT since June do you perhaps think (bear in mind they would have had to pull the trigger earlier than June, perhaps in spring, when everything was just awesome).
Typically if someone does a lot of work to a place I suppose they make almost double back because people will always pay a premium to avoid the hassle. But the market sentiment & therefore market has definitely fallen since spring. Going sideways in price wouldn’t make any sense given all the crap that has happened and is still happening. I mean today Bush is having to spend time from harassing Iran to give an actual national SPEECH to reassure the hordes facing the possibility of foreclosure! Unprecedented, I think? Is the south south slope really totally immune? I don’t see how.
I’ve no doubt there are still some greater fools who think the slope can at worst go sideways & would buy @ the prices of last spring, but to snag one of these dumb fish is getting harder by the month.
So if they paid 1.150m and put 150k into it, take off a conservative 10% for post june depreciation in sentiment and add back 300k of (optimistic) renovation value, and you get about, uh, maybe 1.3m?
Re: 3:24,
It’s a home, not just an investment. Even for a real estate blog, this site sometimes is a bit too exclusively price-focused. As nearby homeowner (and not a realtor or otherwise in the business), I watch neighboring comps pretty closely, and as much as it is against my interest to say this, the price looks a little high to me, although not as far off as some other commentors have said. The reason I give this house more credit than some commentors have, however, is that this one has the look and feel of a comfortable home, in a way that new condo construction often doesn’t and in a way that bad flip jobs really don’t. The flipper did nothing fancy here other than to work with the house and give it a real feel when compared with many flip jobs that just leave me cold. Nothing too cheap and nothing ostentatiously over the top and out of character. The width is nice, too.
There is a value beyond the usual RE business metrics to be able to walk into a house and be able to take a deep breadth and say “ahhh, I could actually see myself living here.” Of course, it would make a big difference if the flipper failed to update the mechanicals as many try to get away without doing. I’m just going by the pictures.
Anyway, of course everyone here will continue to think about and discuss price. I would just love to see that discussion interwoven with a return to a bit more reflection on whether a particular HOTD etc. looks like a place someone might want to live.
Well, that’t my bleeding heart rant for the day.
3:55
no.
PS 295 is very good under the radar school.