House of the Day: 475 8th Street
It’ll be interesting to see what 475 8th Street ends up selling for. The three-story brownstone is well-preserved and has plenty of nice original detail but it’s definitely doesn’t have the “wow” factor that some houses in this part of town have. Of course, at $1,700,000, it’s also priced lower than such houses. Given its…

It’ll be interesting to see what 475 8th Street ends up selling for. The three-story brownstone is well-preserved and has plenty of nice original detail but it’s definitely doesn’t have the “wow” factor that some houses in this part of town have. Of course, at $1,700,000, it’s also priced lower than such houses. Given its location between 7th and 8th Avenues, we bet this will fetch within 10 percent of the asking price—which has to be considered a win in this market!
475 8th Street [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP P*Shark
>”its too small to rent out a portion”
Depends. Not too small for a couple with no children. (Me!) And, as basementalist says, it can work even with children. These things — space needs — are quite individual.
Nomi: it all depends on what arrangement the landlord and tenant agree on. Some get backyard access, some don’t, some share.
Thank you for your rational mind, basementalist. Not everyone needs a ton of space, and not everyone wants to pay large portions of their income on housing.
Some people (and lots in this neighborhood) choose to own vacation homes elsewhere, travel often, dine out frequently, spend tons of time out in the park or in the garden and don’t find that they want or need more space.
Not to mention the fact that the blanket statement has no relevance to family size. Would the house be too small for me as a single person? I don’t get the bigger is better mentality, though.
Yes, basementalist…I’m quite comfortable with 1,700 sq. ft, a deck and the yard and I rent out the garden level as well. Not all buyers are married with 4 children.
I have a question. In a set up like this, does the renter get the the backyard to himself? There’s a back door on the floor plan, so he at least has access out there. Is it shared?
“you need to live in the whole house, its too small to rent out a portion”
I love when people issue blanket edicts like this. I live in a house exactly this size (different layout) and we rent out the garden apartment. We could afford not to (we bought when things were way, way cheaper), but we don’t feel we need the space — with two kids — and we’d rather have the extra income. And people certainly pay more for less space in Manhattan.
I mean, I believe that some people wouldn’t want to live in the space of that duplex, but other people demonstrably do. Sure, size affects price, but how much would they be asking if this were four stories and 20 feet wide on this block?
I know this might surprise you, but I don’t really give much thought about how much my apartment is worth right now or how much I could sell it for down the road. I guess some people do…we usually call them speculators or flippers. I certainly didn’t buy anything with the intention that it would appreciate 23% a year. I make no predictions about real estate 40 years from now…I don’t even know what it’s going to do 4 months from now.
more4less…we need someone at the firm here who can predict the market 40 years out. How can I get your resume????? I’m sure we can pay you close to 10X what you’re currently making.
11217, true. but I suspect if this was a bet with your own $$$, you would bet against buyer buying this @ 1.4M and be able to sell it for 46x (~65M) in 40 yrs (avg’s ~23% appreciation per yr).