Last Week's Biggest Sales
1. PARK SLOPE $3,150,000 615 Third Street GMAP (left) When this 4,552-square-foot brick and limestone two-family was a House of the Day in February, it was asking $3.8 million; the price was cut to $3.4 mil the next month. The house, which was built by an architect for himself in 1899, last sold for $2,850,000…
1. PARK SLOPE $3,150,000
615 Third Street GMAP (left)
When this 4,552-square-foot brick and limestone two-family was a House of the Day in February, it was asking $3.8 million; the price was cut to $3.4 mil the next month. The house, which was built by an architect for himself in 1899, last sold for $2,850,000 in mid-2006. Entered into contract on 4/21/09; closed on 5/28/09; deed recorded on 6/10/09.
2. FORT GREENE $2,250,000
316 Cumberland Street GMAP (right)
House o’ the Day writeup on this in April, when it was listed for $2,295,000, went as follows: “316 Cumberland Street has a huge parlor floor to die for, with intricate plaster ceilings and an extension that houses the modern kitchen. The house has also been upgraded recently with all new systems and windows as well. It’s being used as a one-family but the ground-floor can easily be converted to a rentable apartment. All this sounds great but it will be interesting to see if it can pull off a price that’s similar to some of the nicer homes currently on the market in Park Slope.” Question answered. Entered into contract on 5/7/09; closed on 6/1/09; deed recorded on 6/12/09.
3. GRAVESEND $1,890,500
1927 East 1st Street GMAP
This is a 1,440-sf, two-family house, according to Property Shark. Entered into contract on 5/19/09; closed on 6/1/09; deed recorded on 6/10/09.
4. BAY RIDGE $1,300,000
135 86th Street GMAP
A 4,923-sf, three-family, according to PropShark. Entered into contract on 3/10/09; closed on 6/4/09; deed recorded on 6/10/09.
5. MIDWOOD $1,200,000
462 East 27th Street GMAP
A 2,385-square-foot, two-family house, says Property Shark. Entered into contract on 4/24/09; closed on 5/27/09; deed recorded on 6/10/09.
Photos from Property Shark.
“You can miss the boat
Another one will arrive
Invisible thread”
BrooklynGreene is the poet laureate of Brownstoner.
Five or four more years
The depths of our suffering
My mother made it
The interesting thing about both the PS and FG house is that the purchases appear to either be well over 75% cash or all cash deals.
Also, the PS house came down 20% from its initial ask. A comparable initial ask for the Cumberland house would have been $2.8 or so, which might have been floated if they had listed it last summer.
Are there enough high downpayment buyers out there for the over $2.5 million market in brownstone Brooklyn that these sales are trend indicators for the overall area?
Or are we seeing a split inthe market where great houses on great blocks are still able to command 2006 prices, but other houses are not going to move above 2004 prices?
I’m in the bullish camp relative to brownstones and a big factor is the Manhattan Luxury Downgrade. For a couple living in Tribeca or the UWS that has a kid and is about to have their second or third, they can literally save money by selling their lux 3 or 4bd apt and pick up a whole, fully renovated house, for LESS, even now. So in addition to first time buyers and upgraders, due to the economy, I think you actually get downgraders buying these houses too. The bottom line is that there are not a lot of them and they are nice. With the transformation of lower manhattan to a luxury neighborhood for super wealthy parents, it is no surprise that lower brooklyn, which is right nearby, is attractive to them. All that said, of course they are not immune and asks and sales would of course be much higher had the crisis not happened. Still, the drop is not as severe as the rest of the market and the appreciation will be steeper, once (if) the market starts to recover.
You can miss the boat
Another one will arrive
Invisible thread
That the LWBS feature has stayed bullish is as predictable as DIBS coming on here and doing a little chicken dance the minute it posts. It makes sense that the very most unique properties in the borough are being sold at solid if slightly softened prices; we’d be in the midst of a massive crash if they weren’t. The spring selling season is over and the pattern is clear: until a combo of divorce, unemployment, and asset depreciation starts to hit the prime market, and set new comps, some people with the dosh are going to throw it at the new “It” digs in NYC, a brownstone in Brooklyn. Unlike Dave I can’t pretend to know the future -from the way he talks one wonders why he isn’t (and I’m serious) worth north of a hundred million dollars, he knows so much about imminent price action –but if you have the money to buy some of these houses, go ahead, put your money where your mouth is. I just don’t want my money anywhere near your mouth. I’ll be looking seriously in the fall, when reality sinks in. If I miss the boat, so be it.
Closing poetry
Haiku rolls from inner eye
Fungible orange
ps I know exactly what is going to happen to house prices. But I’m not telling. It’s a secret….
“They are not fungible.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at June 16, 2009 3:35 PM”
HEY! That’s my line!