Open House Picks: Carroll Gardens Edition
Carroll Gardens 396 Degraw Street Cobble Heights Sunday 2:30-4 $1,900,000 GMAP P*Shark Carroll Gardens* 79 Carroll Street Stribling Sunday 2-4 $1,895,000 GMAP P*Shark Carroll Gardens 150 Huntington Street FSBO Sunday 1-5 $1,350,000 GMAP P*Shark Carroll Gardens 199 Huntington Street Brooklyn Bridge Sunday 12-1:30 $1,289,000 GMAP P*Shark *Okay, it’s really Columbia Waterfront District
Carroll Gardens
396 Degraw Street
Cobble Heights
Sunday 2:30-4
$1,900,000
GMAP P*Shark
Carroll Gardens*
79 Carroll Street
Stribling
Sunday 2-4
$1,895,000
GMAP P*Shark
Carroll Gardens
150 Huntington Street
FSBO
Sunday 1-5
$1,350,000
GMAP P*Shark
Carroll Gardens
199 Huntington Street
Brooklyn Bridge
Sunday 12-1:30
$1,289,000
GMAP P*Shark
*Okay, it’s really Columbia Waterfront District
First off huntington is not even Carroll gardens> &9 Carroll street is on the columbia waterfront where the city designates it at Cobble hill. Anyway Carroll gardens is a great area for those who don’t know. The area demands way more than all other areas of brooklyn with the exception of Brooklyn Heights. The area is just a Gem if you ask me. great school PS 58. Great families and a beautiful stock of brownstones and federal brick homes.
I live in cg and it’s ugly and crappy, so stay away! As for these wish prices … well, if they wait around long enough, they may wish they’d sold at 800K. Folks in “bubble-proof” Calif. are already wishing like that.
In regards to the 1.35 on Huntington, if you look out into the backyard, the BQE looms right in the distance, the noise, dirt and grime of so much traffic should lower the price down quite substantially…
There are actually some very pretty houses on the Carroll Street block. I remember looking at a place there four years ago and there were protesters about some issue at WBAI (which may be some indication of the hippy nature of some of the residents). The noise of the BQE is a bit of a downer. The interior of the house looks like mine was four years ago. Of course at several times the price!
I saw the Carroll Street place at their first open house last weekend. There were almost no original details left and almost everything has to be redone. No work seems to have been done in the 50+ years the current owners have been in there, while every cosmetic decision begs to be redone — linoleum floors, wall-to-wall carpeting, ugly dropped ceilings, ancient wiring, fake brick fireplace, 2/3 cemented backyard, etc.
Degraw Street House: I saw this house at last weekends open house. According to the broker the owner lives on the top floor, has bought a house outside of NY (I think she said in Ohio) and is looking to sell asap. Apparently the bottom floor is rented out – to the same tenant for the last few years. Broker could not say if house was to be delivered vacant or not, but by now she may have more info. Basement is used as storage. There is a small paved over garden/non-garden between the house and the garage.
Could not get in to see the garage. There is a small crumbling deck off the back of the bottom floor unit. Rooms look much bigger and brighter in the pictures than they are in real life, granted I was there on a cloudy day sometime between around 12.30 and 1.00pm, but I found that the house felt darkish and small which was not what I expected given the dimensions, the floor plan and the pictures. To be fair, I did overhear other people talking about how great it would be to have so much space but that’s what makes the market. Ceilings height is very ordinary so that didn’t help it for me.
In general the place seemed to be quite solid and in reasonably good condition, completely livable, but I wouldn’t call it gorgeous. Floors and woodwork looked like they had undergone a bit of a cheap poly job. On the top floor is a rudimentary bachelors kitchen, bathroom is old, quaint, working, a bit decrepit looking, had some character. Ceilings could use some refinishing to smooth them out. Could not get onto the roof. Could not get into tenants apartment. Was told by Broker that the owner told her that the electrics were upgraded to 220 some 6-8 yrs ago or so if I remember right.
Quite a big turnout I thought – I saw maybe 20-30 people passing through – I was there for maybe 25-30 minutes. Couple of couples having earnest looking conversations with the broker so I thought there would be a good chance that someone would make an offer, maybe someone did who knows!
So besides my opinion of the house my impression is that at this price level there was some evidence of pent up demand but at the same time folks seem hesitant in this market. Broker did emphasize that the seller is motivated.
i don’t get these prices. at all. thank you.
I don’t think these prices are way out of line, but, as usual, the market will decide. The two smaller houses are pretty appealing. You might be able to knock $100k off the listing, then use that for renovating/remodeling. The big multi-family ones, meh. But a savvy landlord might look at the rent rolls and see an income stream there. Sounds like the 1,200 sqare foot floor-thrus might rent for $2000 a month, or more.
Yeah, some parts of CG are a little threatening at night, but it’s not really a neighborhood you’ll be wandering around in at the time, anyway. Truth be told, it reminds me a lot of certain parts of Philadelphia.
Although these houses are a bit removed from Carroll Gardens “proper.”
I love living in Carroll Gardens, but I have to agree that the housing stock isn’t as “pristine” as in other neighborhoods. So, if your main priority is buying a brownstone with lovely period details, this isn’t the neighborhood for you. The recent Carroll Gardens house tour was a good example — houses with traditional touches, but basically lived in by families who wanted to keep living in an urban neighborhood but wanted more space, decent schools, nearby shopping, and an unpretentious community.
That’s what I like about it, and hope that prices decrease enough so that it doesn’t become just another enclave for rich people.
(And I own a brownstone already). And if the so-so housing stock turns off buyers who obsess over traditional detail, so be it — maybe that will bring prices back to earth. There’s a lovely community of families (who use the public schools) who are simply happy to be living in a decent space that gives them room for a family, a backyard, and lots of trees. Sure, we hate the new construction buildings that are beginning to ruin the charm of the neighborhood, but we could care less about what the interiors of brownstones look like. Traditional, modern, a mishmash, or whatever — those of us fortunate to have bought houses when they were still affordable are grateful to have the space to raise a family in a lovely neighborhood. I’d hate to see that ruined by an influx of people who can spend upwards of $2 million dollars on a home and expect their houses to showcase their wealth.