Last Week's Biggest Sales
1. COBBLE HILL $3,050,000 227 Kane Street GMAP This 4-bedroom, 3 1/2-bathroom landmarked brownstone sold for $2,429,000 back in 2007. The listing says the building has a “huge country kitchen,” central air, 2 working fireplaces, and 3 decorative fireplaces: “The just-renovated townhome has everything today’s home buyer could want, enveloped in the beautiful flooring, plaster…
1. COBBLE HILL $3,050,000
227 Kane Street GMAP
This 4-bedroom, 3 1/2-bathroom landmarked brownstone sold for $2,429,000 back in 2007. The listing says the building has a “huge country kitchen,” central air, 2 working fireplaces, and 3 decorative fireplaces: “The just-renovated townhome has everything today’s home buyer could want, enveloped in the beautiful flooring, plaster and crown moldings, columns, marble mantles, and extensive details that denote the traditional luxury of an historic brownstone.” Entered into contract on 10/30/09; closed on 2/4/10; deed recorded on 2/23/10.
2. BENSONHURST $1,525,000
7819 Bay Parkway GMAP
Built in 1930, this 1-family with a garage has 2,046-sf residential space and 1,934-sf commercial space, says Property Shark. It appears that the former owner used the commercial space as an ophthalmologist office. Entered into contract on 10/1/09; closed on 2/23/10; deed recorded on 2/16/10.
3. WINDSOR TERRACE $1,300,000.00
536 17th Street GMAP
This brick row house was an Open House Pick early last month, when the asking price was $1,295K. But the listing offers it at $999K and describes it as a 2-family used as a 1-family with “4+ Bedrooms, 2 Baths… Exposed Beam & Brick, Tin Ceilings Red Oak 3″ Plank Floors.” Entered into contract on 12/10/09; closed on 2/11/10; deed recorded on 2/24/10.
4. DITMAS PARK $1,298,000.00
1600 Dorchester Road GMAP
This gorgeous Victorian with a very tasteful pool was a House of the Day back in June, when the asking price was $1,525,000. Entered into contract on 12/3/09; closed on 1/22/10; deed recorded on 2/24/10.
5. MANHATTAN BEACH $1,200,000
64 Amherst Street GMAP
According to PropertyShark, this 1,944-sf 2-family home was built around 1920 and has a garage. Entered into contract on 10/12/09; closed on 2/1/10; deed recorded on 2/24/10.
Photos from Property Shark.
Pigeon – I think we are generally agreeing.
DIBS – I hesitate to mention this because it was absolutely not my point, but I did just do a quick street easy search. They came up with 18 houses in Brooklyn currently on the market between $2.75 and $3.3 million (a couple may already be in contract.) Again, not my point at all, but just figured I owuld close the loop on the datapoint.
OK, I did the detective work with Google map’s help. The garden level at 536 is a good 2 feet farther above ground than the English basement at 574 which is a lot more valuable IMHO, but 574 is cuter on the outside, maybe because it’s older, but that also brings to mind the question of whether on top of knocking down many walls and doing a cosmetic renovation of absolutely everything, you also need to do plumbing and electric. Difficult to say, but 574 had not been lovely maintained. Also to be one block west is better for 536.
If there are 29 properties of an equivalent comparison in any neighborhood at any price point in brownstone Broolyn, I will buy you dinner. That’s the point.
I think you took my hypothetical a bit too literally. The argument is simply whether data points of specific results (ie sales) is as meaningful as data points which can incorporate all possible outcomes. I don’t beleive that they are and gave a purposfully exagerated example to show that because that often helps to make the idea clearer.
Ledbury,
I now see that you’re of the view that the “Last Weeks Biggest Sales” thread “is a fun thread and interesting for what it is, but not as good a measure of the market as others.”
I had failed to see that when I posted my last thread.
My bad.
Ledbury,
Your hypo, at 2:24 is interesting and thought-provoking.
But your hypo looks only at the high end market. Indeed, the entire “Last Weeks Biggest Sales” thread is limited mostly to the high end market.
The “6 Months Later” thread, on the other hand, deals with a broad spectrum of the market. That is why the “6 Months Later” thread is more telling for those of us who are not in the super-high end market.
I just browsed through the listing for 536 17th on Streeteasy, and I went to see 574 last Sunday. So, the verdict is 574 probably needs more than 300K to end up looking like 536 and the fact that at some point they had been listed at similar prices is utter folly. They seem to have the same footprint, though, although the lot at 536 is way bigger (almost a double lot, really) because 574’s garden is tiny. 574 needs a thorough renovation and the garden level (English basement in the floorplan, so I don’t know if that’s an additional and major difference) would need to be excavated to reach 8 ft. of ceiling height. Right now is like 6.5, though it looked dry and smelled OK. If anybody wants to finish the detective work, a quick look on a Google cam would check if the houses look similar on the outside.
“Meantime the even bigger renovated 47 Sidney Pl & 85 State St sold for $3.3mm and $3.4mm respectively, so on the basis of a thin market it appears that Cobble Hill is commanding a premium over the Heights.”
You assume all 3 of these houses are comparable, which they really aren’t (based on size/quality of renovation/layout/etc), and moreover that they’re comparable by looking at the price per square foot, which I think is doubly dubious. Plunk the Kane Street house down on just about any street in Brooklyn Heights and then come back to report on the Cobble Hill premium.
BTW, I love Cobble Hill just as much as the Heights – I simply think your reasoning is faulty.
If there are 29 properties of an equivalent comparison in any neighborhood at any price point in brownstone Broolyn, I will buy you dinner. That’s the point.
How many brownstones are currently on the market in any neighborhood in the $2.9 – 3.3MM price range. I bet fewer than 10, likely fewer than 5!!!!
The issue is that inventory is quite low and there is NOT the equivalent of 29 unsold properties on the market…in ANY price range…for brownstones in brooklyn.
No DIBS, you are the one making a statistical assumption. My point is very careful not to make any assumption at all. There is tons we don’t know about any individual circumstance. The 6 months later thread does a much better job of diversifying away those potential biases. The biggest sales thread doesn’t even try to (nor should it.) It is a fun thread and interesting for what it is, but not as good a measure of the market as others.