House of the Day: 421 Sterling Place
We’re digging this limestone house that just hit the market at 421 Sterling Place, and we suspect that house hunters with a thing for original detail will too. The woodwork on the parlor floor is particularly impressive, and the 131-foot-deep lot makes for a killer backyard. The only real negative (for some buyers, anyway) is…
We’re digging this limestone house that just hit the market at 421 Sterling Place, and we suspect that house hunters with a thing for original detail will too. The woodwork on the parlor floor is particularly impressive, and the 131-foot-deep lot makes for a killer backyard. The only real negative (for some buyers, anyway) is that the house has only three stories. Then again the price tag would likely be quite a bit higher than $1,699,000 if that weren’t the case. You liking it?
421 Sterling Place [Ideal Properties] GMAP P*Shark
11217 is my Brownstoner hero of the day! Great comments.
11217,
Are you running for Borough President, by any chance?
Pigeon, that might be true, but haven’t brownstoners appraised nearly every property on this website under what it sold for?
And doesn’t nearly every brownstoner say that places like 500 4th avenue and Toren will never sell or that Avalon and DKLB will never rent and then we see 6 months later that most people were wrong….?
Brownstoner crowd is very negative and I feel as though my opinions actually reflect more of what the actual people buying and renting apartments in our area believe…they aren’t nearly as pessimistic as the average brownstoner crowd. They are EXCITED to move to Brooklyn, not nitpicking every single thing to death.
I don’t know what this house will sell for, but I think the area is fantastic.
“I really don’t understand why you make this comment so often:”
Leverage, DIBS. Without it, brownstones’d already be half off. Rents are down, mortgage applications and approvals are down, appraisals are down, comps are down. It’s a matter of time.
But I would prefer a 3-story w/o the trouble of tenants. 4-story just too much space to occupy (too much cleaning, furnishing, mysterious noises, etc)
1.7 is still wacko. No way this whole place rents for 14G’s/mo. And no way is median income over 500G’s this close to Wash. Detail and all.
Not that it won’t trade for that during the calm before the next storm.
***Bid half off peak comps***
Oh, and St Marks btw Flatbush and Carlton is gorgeous with a number of impressive Italianates.
I’m in complete agreement that this is significantly over-priced. $1.35 – 1.4 seems more appropriate. But a nice house none the less with lots of potential.
There are a number of odd comments about the neighborhood on this thread. This is indeed a lovely block and very close to the subway — both the Q and the 2/3 are just 2.5 blocks away! While Washington Ave may have its detractors, it also has its fans. Tom’s, the famous diner, is right at the corner of Washington and Sterling; there are plenty of useful mom and pop stores there; also new cafes and bars. No, it’s not super hip but sometimes that’s a good thing.
What’s prime Prospect Heights? My favorite blocks are Prospect Place btw Carlton and Vanderbilt, Carlton Ave btw Prospect and St Marks, Park Place btw Vanderbilt and Underhill, and this one! I live on St Marks btw Carlton and Vanderbilt which I love for its convenience and our wonderful neighbors but I wouldn’t try to argue it’s the prettiest block in the nabe.
11217,
I think you DO understand the comments, but you like to spin things in a positive direction, which is cool.
But if you were looking to spend 1.7M on a new home, I think you would better appreciate the discriminating views expressed about the difference between Washington and some Prospect Heights areas further west.
I don’t really understand the comments about Washington Avenue or Prospect Heights in general. I consider the entire neighborhood to be very nice (everything west of Washington).
Sure, parts are nicer than others (I love Park Place just east of Vanderbilt) but this is a very nice area. Washington Avenue is in the midst of serious gentrification…like 3 new coffee shops in the past year have opened up, the entire area is great.
It’s weird how people complain about other neighborhoods being too gentrified, but if a street like Washington doesn’t have 10 wine bars, it’s seedy. No, it’s just Washington Avenue. Hopefully it won’t go the way of 7th or even 5th and will have its own flavor and develop a little more organically like Vanderbilt has.
Prospect Heights is one of the most truly diverse and unique neighborhoods in Brooklyn, in my opinion. Not too chic, not too hipster, not too anything. It’s just right. And there is a sense of air and space there not found in other areas. Vanderbilt is positively spacious!
“There is a “garden-level” and there is a “cellar” beneath the gardern-level”—
except in the houses where parlor level is just a step or two up from street….and below that is mechanical floor with windows and sometimes finished rooms mostly below grade (more similar to typical american wood frame house with concrete foundation).