Houses of the Day: The Ugly Stepchild Problem
It’s a rich man’s problem, but when a broker has a lot of listings, the risk is that one can make another look pretty bad by comparison. Such is the case with two townhouse listings of Elliman power broker Kathryn Lilly. She recently got the listing for a house at 211 Carlton Avenue which is…
It’s a rich man’s problem, but when a broker has a lot of listings, the risk is that one can make another look pretty bad by comparison. Such is the case with two townhouse listings of Elliman power broker Kathryn Lilly. She recently got the listing for a house at 211 Carlton Avenue which is a classic brownstone (except for the stoop alteration) in a good Fort Greene location. The house traded for $1,580,000 in October 2006 so the current asking price of $2,650,000 may be a bit aggressive even though it appears that the owner’s doing a pretty extensive reno. Aggressive maybe, but not completely insane, like Lilly’s other listing at 171 Greene Avenue. We’ve written several posts over the last year about the owner’s fruitless efforts to sell off this place as three condos at exorbitant prices, so when we heard that he had changed tactics and put the whole house on the market we thought that maybe he’d come to his senses. Apparently not. The asking price, at a whopping $2.5 million, is just as high as he was asking for the three units collectively. This place is overpriced by a good $1 million in our opinion. So now Lilly has the awkward problem of having two houses priced about the same, one an original brownstone a block from Fort Greene Park, the other a recently constructed house on a heavily trafficed portion of Greene Avenue in Clinton Hill. We’re not sure how she’s supposed to sell the latter with a straight face. Brokers, how do you handle a situation like this?
211 Carlton Avenue [Elliman] GMAP P*Shark
171 Greene Avenue [Elliman] GMAP P*Shark
PROSPECT PARK MAKES ME WANT TO MASTURBATE.
After going to something like 30 open houses over 3-4 months looking to buy, I can tell you that I saw a great many brokers practically begging us to make any offer, no matter how low. A few admitted that the apartments they were showing were overpriced (note: this was Nov.-Feb., before the market picked up) but the owners wouldn’t lower the prices.
Pretty obvious that they can advise the owners but the owners ultimately make the decision.
she ranks up there with sandy biano at brown harris stevens in my book. she’s had those vermeil condo listings and has sold two it looks like since they went on sale maybe 4 months ago.
not good.
8:38 agreed.
A true power-broker won’t take on a listing that they know won’t sell. This is not a first for Kathryn: 280 Washington Ave, that funky loft/garage thing in deep bed-Stuy that Jerry Minsky at Corcoran took over, Clinton Mews coop/rip-offs, the current Ft Greene Pl listing she has. Her “Just Sold/Rented” list speaks voulmes–it’s short!
The way it is *supposed* to work is that the owner sets the price with the advice of the agent; if the agent does not like the price the agent walks away or (often) takes the listing with (perhaps) an understanding that pricing will be reduced if the market snores.
Lots of agents have “competing†listings, all of which can be well represented in theory. When it works right, The Market decides, and the agent advises the owner about what The Market is saying (or not saying). Agents who persist in representing over-priced listings just like to see their names in the listings. Agents who do right by their owners help the owners get the best deal available in The Market.
But some owners will never be “sellers†because they insist on a price that The Market will not reach for some years (if at all). Agents waste time and money with such owner-never-sellers. No reason for someone to do that if they are trying to make a living and are good at doing that.
a good broker would walk away, but the desperate do whatever they have to. lilly lies in the latter catagory.
Lilly is very professional. Known her for years…has the relationships to get both properties sold.
What’s the point of comparing ft greene park and prospect park? I mean really! Both serve their communities well. As a proud Ft. Greener, I have to say that living near the park improves my life daily, and as another poster mentioned above, it is a true reflection of the diversity of our community. Dustbowl and all!
viva ft greene!
I’ve seen the homes on greene ave. they are mediocre at best. very vanilla, bland and not worth what they are asking and if the owner is who I think it is, they are going to take the broker through hell and back!