Midwood Victorian: One Year and 35% Later
What a difference a year (and a well-manicured lawn) can make. Last April we remarked upon the speed at which (one day) this charming Midwood Victorian sold last year for $20,000 over the asking price. That was then, when it was priced at $1 million. Now it’s back on the market asking $1.375 million. It…
What a difference a year (and a well-manicured lawn) can make. Last April we remarked upon the speed at which (one day) this charming Midwood Victorian sold last year for $20,000 over the asking price. That was then, when it was priced at $1 million. Now it’s back on the market asking $1.375 million. It looks like it could have had a tune up and there’s plenty of hyperbolic language in the listing to that effect (“XXX mint”), so presumably part of the price increase reflects that. Somehow we doubt there was $350,000 of work done. Sure is a beaut though. All you gawkers can take a gander from 12 to 2 on Sunday. While you’re at it, check out this house just down the block.
636 East 19th Street [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
Bidding War in Midwood [Brownstoner]
LOL
Final secret revealed: the aphrodisiacs were, in fact, no cable, no computer, no kitchen in which to prepare meals, and all of our books packed away in boxes. What else is there to do? You can only spend so much time at Picket Fence!
The first non-greedy seller I’ve seen in years. If you do 300K of work, asking 300K more than you paid is reasonable.
…or, like I said before, you decide everything on the market is overpriced and you don’t buy at all.
Plaster dust and general chaos as aphrodisiacs? Renovation = population boom? Nicole, your house is terrific. Stay and have your husband commute. We need the ethical brokers to stay, not move.
anon 2:11 —
Buyers certainly should be asking if a house is worth its price. That’s part of making a good deal. (And it’s different from just looking at comps; for instance, the market may have softened since the comps were posted.) But that’s different from asking whether the owner’s purchase price, plus the cost of reno, makes him/her deserve the amount of profit.
Either the house is worth it given what else is on the market, or it isn’t. Owner’s profit margin is irrelevant. He/she could have bought the place for a steal for some reason, but then he/she is not obligated to pass the savings on to you.
I’m the broker/owner of 636 E 19th St and just thought everyone might be interested in knowing what’s really going on with this house. (Although, I admit, speculation *is* more fun—why do you think I read brownstoner??!!) We actually spent more than $300,000 updating and renovating this amazing home over the past 11 months, so there’s no windfall in store for us at all. We moved into the house amidst plaster dust and general chaos, found out a few weeks later that I was pregnant (not ideal when one is living in the aforementioned situation!), and then put all renovation plans on the fast track so that the house would be ready for the baby. Well, the baby arrived (five weeks early!) and so did an unexpected out-of-town job offer for my husband. We absolutely hate to leave the house, the neighborhood and Brooklyn. We’ve put so much time and money into this house (including everything from learning the hard way about the intricacies of lawn maintenance to becoming experts on unobtrusive, modern HVAC systems) because we thought we’d be in it for many years. We’re certainly not “flippers.†If you’re a serious buyer, please do stop by the open house on Sunday. It’s from 12-2. And, if you have any other questions at all, call or email me (718-832-4174, nps@corcoran.com). I know that brokers are portrayed elsewhere on brownstoner and even in the discussion about our house on this site as rather unsavory and unscrupulous, but I’m honest, scrupulous and even quite savory.
Linus, buyers have more power now, whether they realize it or not. I’m not equating it to a moral decision at all – far from it. And I’m not suggesting not to look at the recent comps, but as Will pointed out, if you want, you can see what they paid for it, you can ask what kinds of upgrades they did (and they’ll probably be happy to tell you) and decide for yourself whether you think it’s worth it based on that in combination with other things.
Buying is clearly a personal decision but sorry, these people bought the property will brought up only 2 years ago for way less than it’s asking now, and I think buyers have some power now to stand up for themselves if they really want to buy and stop sellers from asking random sky high prices out of the blue. And yes, I understand prices are likely based on area comps from recent years, but really, I personally think the recent years have been nuts so why shouldn’t a buyer look into those things?
Well said, Linusvanpelt. We certainly didn’t give Roz Huebener $80,000 more than the asking price for her house because we wanted to give Aguayo & Huebener a little extra for their “morality” and “ethics.” If those issues were in play, the house would be worth no more than a few hundred thousand.