Open House Pick, Singular
We found ourselves scrounging around the web feeling underwhelmed by the open house selection for this weekend until we checked in with Mary Kay Gallagher, queen of Victorian Flatbush. She’s got a real beauty on the block this weekend in Prospect Park South for $1.395 million. The 5,000-square-foot center hall house is in beautiful shape…
We found ourselves scrounging around the web feeling underwhelmed by the open house selection for this weekend until we checked in with Mary Kay Gallagher, queen of Victorian Flatbush. She’s got a real beauty on the block this weekend in Prospect Park South for $1.395 million. The 5,000-square-foot center hall house is in beautiful shape and chock full of historic details, including stained glass windows, oak parquet floors, and Palladian windows. We have to admit to not being experts on the immediate neighborhood, but we think this place looks tempting, especially when lined up side-by-side with a similarly priced townhouse in Park Slope. The open house is from 1-3pm on Sunday, but you have to call 718 282 3141 to get the address. On another note, if you notice any other compelling open houses on the slate, feel free to post them in Comments.
Prospect Park South [Mary Kay Gallagher]
Well continuing this thread on a blog entitled “Brownstoner” is perhaps a bit masochistic, but… look, these are two very different sorts of neighborhoods – both great in their own way. Obviously the Slope is much more attractive to most people or PPS houses would be priced in the $4MM range. And because the Victorian corridor from Caton Park on out to Fiske Terrace is largely 1 and 2 family housing, it will never have the density to sustain the myriad of shops, restaurants and bars of a 5th or 7th Avenue. And because of the zoning, you are right, rental income options are much more flexible in a Brownstone neighborhood. However, some people like low density living, especially when the Q and B are 2 blocks away. Some people like being able to park their cars in their driveways or right in front of their house everytime they pull up instead of dropping off the kids and circling for 15 minutes. If you were born and raised in NYC, a brownstone seems like the be all and end all. If you were raised somewhere else, you might wonder how you squeeze a house with a big staircase into an 18′ foot lot? So the comparison might not be PPS to Park Slope or Clinton Hill, but from whence you came.
As to the numbers, I still don’t think you’ve got the comparison right. First look at the cost per square foot. The Marlborough house is approx 5,000 s.f. (not counting the basement or garage) @ $1.395MM so $279 per square foot. The house-of-the-day today, the 10th Street 2 Family for $1.8, claims half of that @ 2,494 s.f. so $721 per square foot. We won’t even get into the 2-3 times the lot size issue. Now factor in the supply and demand factor – there ARE a few more brownstones than victorian houses in NYC. And finally compare cost per square foot with really dreary parts of Brookyn (No, I’m not naming names) but really, from Bayridge to Bushwick, nothing’s cheap – so why should these one of a kind magnificent homes be the best deal in Brooklyn?
Nice comparison, since Clinton Hill is just another vastly over-priced, over-hyped nabe.
I don’t agree that “Clinton Hill also suffers from a lack of amenities and services and requires a lot of driving.” just my opinion though.
I think the better comparison is not PPS to Park Slope, but PPS to Clinton Hill. Clinton Hill also suffers from a lack of amenities and services and requires a lot of driving that might not otherwise be required in the Slope. And we all know about the explosion of prices in Clinton Hill.
The point remains: Appropriately priced houses in PPS are a great value. I’m not talking about 1.4 million dollar offerings that require another half million in renovations. I’m talking about 1.4 million dollar offerings that only require minimal refurbishment.
Think of it in pure real estate terms. Travel down Prospect Park southwest for 3/4 of a mile, and get three to four times the real estate at a substantial discount. And it’s beautiful.
One more thing. I view my brownstone as a highly flexible investment – I get a wonderful home + rental income, I could convert it to all-rental (at at profit), I could convert it to condos, I could even use part of it for office/light commercial use.
A single-family detached house in PPS has no such flexibility. It is less like an investment, more like simply buying a BIG EXPENSIVE HOUSE. Don’t get me wrong – I love those houses. Just saying, it’s one more reason, the prices are not adding up for me.
The issue isn’t whether PPS is a beautiful neighborhood – it is. I agree with all that. But, looks aren’t everything. There is no comparison to Park Slope’s infrastructure, amenities, shopping, locale, etc. In the same way that Manhattan will always be more expensive, so the logic goes that Park Slope should be more expensive than PPS. And PPS may never develop in the same vain as Park Slope. Why? Population density. Park Slope is more urban, it is an established “tourist†destination, and it is pedestrian-based. PPS is more like the burbs – it will never support the same infrastructure and because the residents are very car-based and mobile, they don’t really mind driving to where the action is. The question at hand is why would someone pay the asking prices on these houses. I really don’t know – and I don’t think betting on infrastructure that may never happen is a reasonable approach.
I hope you all justifying the price of PPS are either brokers or live in the neighborhood. Just one stroll down beverly or cortelyou will easily dispel any myths that this is on par with the slope in regards to community. As for the comparison to 5th avenue 10 years ago… you could get a nice brownstone near 5th avenue for 400k 10 years ago. Again the difference between potential to become and what actually exists is very far apart. And with an iminent real estate crash (interest rates on the rise–see what happened to the 10 year today, arms, and everyone talking about a bubble), I’d rather be in a better location that will hold value. I guarantee 97% of these buyers are just priced out of park slope. The only point here is that the renovations plus the asking price is 1.8 million…there are some nice houses in park slope for that price.
Bravo to Seamus! As beautiful a neighborhood, in its own right, as the neighborhoods of brownstone Brooklyn.
C’mon, one walk down 7th Avenue scanning the realty windows and see what you get for $800 – $900K in PS – and you want these homes to go for the cost of a floor-through? These are 4500 s.f. plus size homes with front 60′ x 100′ plus size lots, lawns, gardens, garages, just 3 stops past the 7th Ave. stop in PS. While you do need to allocate more for exterior maintainence, a complete tear-off on a roof like the Marlborough house is going to cost $35 – 50K, not $100! Yes it will be nice when the shops come, but think of 5th Avenue ten years ago. I’d say Brownstone Brooklyn has hit the ceiling, Victorian Brooklyn is just coming up.