House of the Day: 532 Putnam Avenue
This brownstone at 532 Putnam Avenue, which just hit the market with an asking price of $975,000, has some of the more impressive woodwork that we’ve seen in a while; the three-family house is also in move-in condition. That said, we’re not wild about the kitchens and bathrooms and close to a million bucks is…
This brownstone at 532 Putnam Avenue, which just hit the market with an asking price of $975,000, has some of the more impressive woodwork that we’ve seen in a while; the three-family house is also in move-in condition. That said, we’re not wild about the kitchens and bathrooms and close to a million bucks is serious money for a pad in this part of town. What do you make of its chances?
532 Putnam Avenue [Douglas Elliman] GMAP P*Shark
This house has been on the Bed Stuy House tour twice in the last 5 years. Inside, the pictures don’t lie! It’s absolutely beautiful. It was completely renovated back in 2003 or ’04. Including new facade. As brownstones go, it’s pretty attractive.
All that said, forget the comps, but the price just won’t get it done. The house is a 3 family being used as a 2 family. So you’re basically talking about a 4 story, 2 1/2 bedroom brownstone. Anyone that has $1MM to drop on a house, isn’t going to move into that part of BK. if you’re someone that can make it happen with rental income, this house isn’t set up to do that. It’s basically a double duplex with no privacy. And if you’re dropping close to a mill on a house, you’re not going to want to do any more renovations! That said, rents on that block are about $1700 for a 2 bedroom, so it could be done.
This is one of those rare Bed Stuy houses that everyone is looking for: well cared for, all the details, and updated mechanicals. And while the kitchens and baths may or may not be to a particular buyer’s taste, they are good quality and in excellent condition. If you wanted to move in here and slowly renovate a bathroom or kitchen — even do the work yourself, if you are handy and can spare six months of weekends — you could.
As for the price, not sure of the square footage here, but a similar house of about 3,000 sq feet in Stuyvesant Heights would get $700,000 or $800,000 or so. So the price does seem a little high. Funny, in the Bay Area, if you underprice, you will spur a bidding war and go way over, but I guess it doesn’t work that way here.
Bornraisedresideinbk,
How do your words taste? I mean, the sellers basically got their asking price. (So much for Grossly Over Priced) and just 2 doors down less than 14 months later, property closes at $1.4 MILL. I guess you just don’t know this neighborhood all that well after all!!