Last Week's Biggest Sales
1. PARK SLOPE $8,450,000 17 Prospect Park West GMAP (left) As covered last week, the 5,200-square-foot mansion owned by Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany sold for a hair below its asking price, $8.5 mil. It hit the market in late January. Entered into contract on 6/1/08; closed on 11/17/08; deed recorded on 12/10/08. 2. PARK…
1. PARK SLOPE $8,450,000
17 Prospect Park West GMAP (left)
As covered last week, the 5,200-square-foot mansion owned by Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany sold for a hair below its asking price, $8.5 mil. It hit the market in late January. Entered into contract on 6/1/08; closed on 11/17/08; deed recorded on 12/10/08.
2. PARK SLOPE $1,800,000
547 9th Street GMAP (right)
Also old news: This three-story limestone house went for $200,000 more than its original asking price. Entered into contract on 5/8/08; closed on 8/11/08; deed recorded on 12/8/08.
3. WINDSOR TERRACE $1,800,000 $1,490,000
272 Windsor Place GMAP
When it was an Open House Pick in late February, the two-family house’s sellers were looking for $1,595,000. Entered into contract on 6/11/08; closed on 11/26/08; deed recorded on 12/9/08.
4. MIDWOOD $1,362,500
2401 Avenue O GMAP
Detached, 2,971-sf single-family house on a 4,500-sf lot, according to Property Shark. Entered into contract on 6/23/08; closed on 11/25/08; deed recorded on 12/12/08.
5. BATH BEACH $1,310,000
115 Bay 29th Street GMAP
DOB records indicate that this is a new construction, three-family house. Entered into contract on 9/19/08; closed on 11/24/08; deed recorded on 12/12/08.
I disagree – are you serious with that article? First off, any one off anecdotes is hardly representative of anything. And second, this one off in particular is not representative. You are talking about a) a second home bought b) at the end of that long day of househunting (insinuating that this was not your typical weeks/months long search.)
If your argument that those in the market for investment properties and second homes are more likely to walk away in these times, then that might be reasonable. But there is nothing to suggest that these houses, which you are basing your further conclusion on, fall into that camp.
Most people just don’t walk away from their deposit for any number of number of reasons even if they know they are overpaying. Its really that simple.
Billyboomer,
I don’t mean to be rude, but you make it sound like EVERYONE in the region dreams of living in a brownstone. Sure, I like these townhouses and wouldn’t mind living in one and appreciate the architectural details, but brownstones are overrated on this forum, IMO. Brownstone-mania of a select few has little effect on overall demand and, as any other mania, it comes and goes…
Our mortgage will be low (mostly cash purchase – don’t want to be a slave to my mortgage) so I don’t care that much about rates – low purchase price is more important to me, and prices are still way too high on most places. That is indeed starting to change, but only *just* starting. Looking forward to 2009.
Its already happening MM. Get to it. Rates are low, now is your chance, Come on do it do it do it, you know you want to. Come on stop trying to predict the future, no one can, except me. DO IT Spend money spend money do it do it. and you took my quote out of context.
“Sure prices will drop on some houses” – and I will buy one.
Come on. Prime Brownstone Market is not A TOLL Bros. developement in a corn field in Ohio. This market is only affordable to the rich. The price drops that Miss Muffets wants is not going to happen. The rich are going to pull their money from the stock market and have cash on hand in the near future, sure prices will drop on some houses. Limited supply, demand is still there, some are sitting and waiting granted but that will turn around soon. Brownstone Brooklyn is desirable, more than ever,better than a condo on 4th. Ave. Real Estate in prime areas is a great investment, and now with such low interest rates, is even more so. Crap I wish I had a bunch of cash on hand I would be ready to buy next year.
I’m not sure at all that the market is going to drop 50% – only that some think that’s certainly possible. If it were only to drop 20%, then I’d probably have stayed in my contract and have overpaid rather than deal with all headaches Ledbury cites which make markets inefficient. No one knows for sure where the market is going so in some respects, everyone is gambling (that’s the nature of the marketplace). But there is way more evidence supporting large price declines than any other scenario right now. In fact, it seems certain (and not a gamble at all) that prices are going down. The only gamble is how much, how long.
Wow, deja vu. I’m starting to wonder if these comments are real or if someone is just cutting and pasting comments from any of the 3 months prior. Brownstoner is starting to be a spoof of itself.
nope, not spot on. did you not read the article i cited? if buyers and sellers share your belief about where the market is headed (and i’m talking about miss muffett’s 50% here), you’d have to believe that buyers are irrational idiots who would let the factors you mention “overwhelm” them. and if the market is going there, sellers would also have to be insane not to negotiate somewhere in that range, as that’s real money for them, too.
i agree that the real estate market is not perfectly efficient, which is one reason i don’t think it’s tanking in quite the scale and timing the way some others seem to think it is. but i do not think the buyers of these places were idiots – i think these sales show us the buyers and the sellers certainly do not share 50% drop predictions and probably not anywhere close to it.