House of the Day: 455 Henry Street
This house at 455 Henry Street has a very nice feel to it (or at least the renovated owner’s duplex does), but the fact that the house is less than 17 feet wide and has two rental units make the asking price of $2,250,000, in our mind, pretty aggressive. The house will be delivered vacant…
This house at 455 Henry Street has a very nice feel to it (or at least the renovated owner’s duplex does), but the fact that the house is less than 17 feet wide and has two rental units make the asking price of $2,250,000, in our mind, pretty aggressive. The house will be delivered vacant but converting it to a one- or two-family house won’t be free. Thoughts?
455 Henry Street [Douglas Elliman] GMAP P*Shark
Two rental units and it will be delivered vacant?
Does anyone know if the tenants are still living there? Is the house empty now?
“Based on the $1.8 million widget you have to put 20% down these days to qualify for jumbo + closing costs + minimal renovation = $500,000 to get into this place. That still leaves you with a $10,000+ monthly mortgage.”
Here’s a newsflash for the folks who aren’t actually in the market for the multi-million dollar HOTDs:
(1) Very few people buying at these price points ever put only 20% down.
(2) No one today can put 20% down. You’re lucky to get a jumbo with 35% down, more likely 40-50%.
(3) “Who’s your prospective buyer?” seems to go back to the fable that only people making 1/2 million a year or more to support a 5-digit monthly mortgage are in the market for these houses. Circle back to points 1,2 – there are lots of potential buyers with a big downpayment (Manhattan cash-outs, inheritances, careful saving of boom year bonuses) who make a comfortable income (say $250K-$300K dual income families) but are not mega cash-flow wealthy by NYC standards.
I’m not opining one way or another on the price of this house – just wanted to (re)inject a dose of reality. I know there are others who regularly point this out in a sisyphean way.
HellsBells, I agree with your analysis about the economics of buying this place, but you are undermining your arguments by sticking with your contention that this location is somehow fringe based on looking at a Yahoo street map. No one buys real estate by looking at some street map, and anyone who lives in the neighborhood will tell you that this location is pretty darn good. It’s closer to Carroll Gardens than to Brooklyn Heights, but these days, that’s actually a selling point since there are more restaurants and other amenities that way now. That block is more commercial than some, which makes it less desirable, but there’s no need for you to comment on a location you aren’t familiar with.
On the other hand, you are correct that this property is way overpriced for a 3 family when you can rent a much nicer duplex for less than your carrying costs. But there are probably affluent buyers who might want a 1.7 one family, so I’m guess at 1.5 million it would be snapped up very quickly (and probably in a bidding war). It’s still not clear if this is a 4 story with a sub-basement, or a 3 story with English basement, and that might affect the price as well.
i’m a renter in cobble hill and i’m familiar with the ~2k price point for apartments (because that’s my own price point). $1800 really is a stretch for this neighborhood and would be a steal if it ever happened, but it doesn’t. $2000 for a garden apartment does not happen unless it’s a complete dungeon. prices for garden 1br units around here are really around $2300-$2600. trust me, if they were cheaper, i’d be living in one. 🙂 regardless if where you think the market is going, this is where it is right now.
and though kane/degraw is the last block of cobble hill, it’s still a very nice one. kane st and the blocks of clinton and henry off it are some of the best in the neighborhood. the kane/clinton intersection is my favorite in cobble hill.
Minard, I live right around the corner. There is plenty debating this location. No one from the ‘hood thinks of that stretch of Henry as the nicest in Cobble Hill; because it just isn’t. Period.
You can debate the wallpaper and the layout but there is no use debating the location. This is a prime block in one of Brooklyn’s prime neighborhoods and to boot, it is close to one of my notable church designs, The Strong Place Baptist Church of 1849.
If you live near a Minard Lafever Church, you’re cookin’ with gas!
” fundamentals-driven perspective” — means the authors opinion.
What’s a fundamentals-driven perspective?
RIght, HellesBelles. So more like $1.3 million.