Open House Picks

Re: Chester Court. Yes, the houses are charming but the location is really unpleasant (as others have mentioned) — sanwhiched between an unattractive stretch of Flatbush and a subway train on the other end of the block. We considered buying a place there less than a year ago but decided not to because of the surroundings. The other problem is that the house we looked at had a small backyard that butted up against a commercial parking lot which was really unsightly — thus making the views and the backyard less appealling. Not sure if this is on the same side of the street though…

To Anonymous at October 7, 2005 05:54 PM re Multiple Listing Service:

I misspoke when I mentioned Corcoran as an example of a real estate firm that doesn’t want to co-broker. In fact, it’s the smaller, indigenous Brooklyn firms that are fighting to hold onto the old model (where each small firm has its own listings, they don’t co-broker, and don’t participate in a MLS). Corcoran is, in fact, an example of one of the large Manhattan firms that is trying to push the co-brokering method in Brooklyn, though with little success. So I stand corrected (though I really think there might have been a better way for you to point this out than to say, “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.” I love the information I find on this blog, but honestly, why are so many people so impolite and hostile to one another?).

For anyone who still has any interest in this matter at this point, you might be interested in an article from the New York Times from December 19, 2004, “The Battle for Brooklyn,” that talked all about how the large Manhattan firms that were establishing a presence in Brooklyn were starting to share their listings on a computerized database, and promising to co-broker their sales, but with limited success because the existing Brooklyn firms wouldn’t join them. The article confirms that in Brownstone Brooklyn, “[b]ecause the brokers don’t share their listings, every broker has a largely discrete set of properties for sale, and none of them can provide access to the entire market. So buyers find themselves traipsing from brokerage to brokerage, often working with a dozen or more firms, to ensure themselves that they will learn of new properties coming on the market.” It is a fairly ridiculous system, and one which we can all hope will end at some point.

Man! Having grown up in fort greene and lived in bed-stuy at the height of the crack error, i read this blog and i can’t believe the stuff i read on this blog!! You people CAN’T be serious??!! Clinton Hill DID end at Classon avenue but now that u people (er manhattanite i mean of course) have moved in it has been extended to Franklin Ave. Bedford Stuyvesant doen NOT end at Stuyvesant ave duh uh because bedford stuyvesant was not drawn in a straight line malcolm x patchen av and ralph are all part of bed stuy (unless of course you guys decide to start paying 800K for ralph ave properties too…of course massey & knakal would have you believe they’re worth that., but why would ANYONE pay 3.4m for a house in fort greene?? man are you people being suckered in… i almost feel sorry for you

That’s okay linus, someone is trying to sell a three-story on 14th Street for $2.36 million. It looks quite nice, but $2.36 million for a three-story on 14th Street!!!