South Side Pricing That Boggles the Mind
These two brick houses on the South Side in Williamsburg caught our eye because they are both within a couple of blocks of where we lived up until last month. And while there were plenty of things we liked about our old neighborhood, we are baffled by these prices. The Berry Street house in literally…
These two brick houses on the South Side in Williamsburg caught our eye because they are both within a couple of blocks of where we lived up until last month. And while there were plenty of things we liked about our old neighborhood, we are baffled by these prices. The Berry Street house in literally in the shadow of the bridge with the constant rumbling of the above-ground subway and ten minute walk to the L or the J/M/Z trains. The South 1st Street house is in a better location, no doubt, but it’s tiny! At the asking price of $1.2 million, that’s more than $600 for each of the 1,900 precious feet in the house. Add to that the fact that 630 of those square feet are halfway underground and it gets hard to see how this price will hold up. At least the Berry Street property is priced at under $500 a foot. Neither of these places is in pristine condition either, glossy paint-and-polyeurethane jobs notwithstanding. Of course we are biased, but when you think what $1.6 million can buy you in Clinton Hill or Prospect Heights, Williamsburg’s continued high prices boggle the mind. We understand why people would want to live in Williamsburg but not why they would be willing to pay these prices to do so.
328 Berry Street [Portrait Realty] GMAP
110 South 1st Street [Corcoran] GMAP
The dead dog on the stop has to add some value
Yes $1.6 million for southside WBurg is absolutely friggin crazy. We bought in (historic part of) Greenpoint 3 years ago because it was 40% less than the places like Cobble and Boreum Hill. And maybe 25% less than Clinton Hill/FG. This is still pretty much the case, and should be the yardstick until the park & waterfront situation emerges. That said, we much prefer the easier access to the city, easy parking, and safety of the area. But aesthetically its a block by block situation, without the grandeur of brownstone brooklyn proper.
Geez. Trying to get more than double that comp? Crazy.
Someone mentioned this above, but the exact info from 16 months ago (according to my copious notes)on the open house listing:
332 Berry Street, $755K, 4/13@1-3pm
The at 332 Berry (two doors down from this Berry building) has sold a couple of times in past few years. It was listed at about $350k in early 2001, and then again for about $750k two years or so later. 332 had a lot of historic stuff, with layers and layers of paint, etc. when I saw it 2001; I don’t know how much was done in the interim.
It’s not just you. I had buyers remorse after spending almost $400,000 for my less than perfect house 5 years ago. Now, I’m happy – but I just don’t see how spending over $1 mil on a fixer-upper can leave you with a great feeling afterward. There is a huge difference between $400,000 and $1.6 mil.
Is it just me? Or does anyone else feel that these prices (not just for Wsmbrg) are insane? We are literally pricing ourselves out of our neighborhoods. Yes, I know, the seller wants to get as much return on his investment as the market will bear, but when will the market stop bearing? Of course,there are some truly exquisite properties that are clearly worth their $$$, and I can only dream about those. However, being a life-long resident of brownstone Brooklyn, I don’t understand why anyone (other than a developer or a flipper) would pay upwards of $1 million for a fixer-upper. I just don’t know how they do it…or maybe I’m missing something.
Aw, c’mon, subway noise deserves a premium in this market!