House of the Day: 156 Hicks Street
You know times are tough when a five-story brownstone in Brooklyn Heights hits the market for less than $3 million. In this case, there are extenuating circumstances: 156 Hicks Street is less than 16 feet wide, and is in need of some TLC. The raw materials are there (woodwork, mantels, etc.) but the $2,875,000 asking…
You know times are tough when a five-story brownstone in Brooklyn Heights hits the market for less than $3 million. In this case, there are extenuating circumstances: 156 Hicks Street is less than 16 feet wide, and is in need of some TLC. The raw materials are there (woodwork, mantels, etc.) but the $2,875,000 asking price still’s not a lay-up, primarily because, well, nothing’s a lay-up in this market. It will be interesting to see if houses that need work get penalized more than those in move-in condition the grim market marches on. Update: A tipster sent in some interior photos “from 4 or 5 years ago” that we posted at the bottom of the post; click through to check them out.
156 Hicks Street [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP P*Shark
Knowledge is power, that is absolutely true. Knowing what to repair and what to replace is something one gains with experence. Getting rid of an overly anal-retentive architect -ditto! This house looks good to me, the most expensive renovations are things like rear additions and rooftop additions and excavations for basement lap pools(like the one proposed for Lincoln Place). Cornices and stoops can be expensive too (especially ironwork). But structural issues are surprisingly not that big a deal. Jacking a house up a bit and sistering a bunch of joist? No biggie. Having your architect fly to Turkey to buy those hand painted tiles you saw in the bazaar? Biggie. It’s where you draw the line. A 17-foot wide house that is plenty big without have to add or excavate for more space, that already has a stoop and a cornice and that looks like it has good floors and stair? A snap! Really. Hire a good (cheap) brownstone architect and GC and keep an eagle-eye on them.
People under estimate the cost of renovation. $100 sq. ft. is going to get you a bare bottom renovation. I mean bare bottom, low end finishes. High end Renovations start at $300 sq. ft.
Someone buying a multi million dollar house is not going to be putting in plastic laminate counters and and $30 light fixtures…or maybe they will and when they’re ready to sell and are featured as HOTD, we’ll be right here to point out the crappy renovation.
Only if the switch plates are brushed platinum, and I do mean platinum.
When renovating a property of this vintage it is very hard to restrict spending to $500,000 (or $125 psf) as entire systems (plumbing, heating, electrical, etc) typically need to be replaced. Also, if windows are single pane and in need of repair what is the sense in putting in a new energy efficient heating/cooling system. While the bones may be in good condition that is not where the real expense lies. It is in the systems and finishes. $225 psf minimum is where you start when pricing these type of renos.
I believe this property backs up to the 12-story Standish rental bldg to the west. Not alot sun getting into this rear yard.
The central A/C must come with built-in humidity control of course.
Are we going to get into a pots and pans ideal-kitchen fight again?
also, as home equity loans/locs become harder to get, fewer folks will be in a position to renovate right after buying, which is what these guts require.
i’m not sure, though, that fixer-uppers of any kinds will wind up being discounted more steeply than renovated places. i think there are a significant number of buyers who underestimate the cost and extreme hassle of a renovation and, perhaps, overestimate the value (and likelihood) of getting “exactly what you want” out of your renovation. informed buyers like miss muffett and experienced renovaters like sam might be able to price it out better. but that’s a different knowledge base required than simply what’s going on in the market and i think you’ll still have a decent number of buyers willing to overpay even for gut jobs.
on the other hand, and somewhat paradoxically, i think that even informed buyers may underestimate the true cost of renovations when buying a reno’d house and demand discounts there, too. unless you’re in the trades, it’s just really really expensive just to get some of these places simply functioning in a modern way – let alone the central A/C, professionally landscaped gardens, finished basements and radiant heating that some buyers seem to believe should be included in a $300K renovation.
Whatever it will cost you to renovate, it will cost the existing owners who naturally will put a large surcharge over that. I think that spending 120,000 on a kitchen is pure folly. I am talking about sensible renovations. What I like about doing a house completely over like this is that you can put in central a.c and new wiring while you have a lot of it opened up anyway. Half a million dollars will get you a great renovation here. I’m not talking about turning this into a minimalist-style Bauhaus loft and taking out every stick of old structure, that seems to be an alarming trend now. I would work with the house and keep a lot of old fabric. Gutting and throwing out everything old ,even the joists, (something I see happening in the Heights)is not my idea of the right way to renovate an historic brownstone. Believe me, 500,000 will buy you a lot if you do it right.
cobblehiller, according to the listing and the propshark info, it’s narrow (15 ft) but deep (53 feet). that’s around 800sf per floor, for a total of 4,000sf. so it’s a pretty big place even though it’s relatively skinny.
whether the price is reasonable depends on how much work is required. if not a lot of work is needed, the price is actually pretty good for this neighborhood. if $1M in renovation is needed, then the price is pretty aggressive.