What the Heck Is Going On in Carroll Gardens?
This is getting weird. Despite a softening market all around, there’s been a rash of new listings in Carroll Gardens that have defied all logic and precedent. Starting with 44 1st Place (which in retrospect is probably the best deal of the lot) for $3,842,500, they’ve just kept coming: A 3,100-square-foot house at 78 3rd…
This is getting weird. Despite a softening market all around, there’s been a rash of new listings in Carroll Gardens that have defied all logic and precedent. Starting with 44 1st Place (which in retrospect is probably the best deal of the lot) for $3,842,500, they’ve just kept coming: A 3,100-square-foot house at 78 3rd Place for $3,495,000? A 16-foot-wide one at 40 2nd Place for $2,800,000? And now a three-story house at 329 President Street for a $3,600,000? What is going on here? One common denominator: Corcoran is the listing agent on all these places except for 1st Place. Coincidence or conspiracy?
329 President Street [Corcoran] GMAP
HOTD: 40 2nd Place [Brownstoner]
HOTD: 78 3rd Place [Brownstoner]
HOTD: 44 1st Place [Brownstoner]
Correction: make that 3x what he paid for it.
Every home buyer, condo buyer or coop buyer in brownstone Brooklyn should punish Corcoran by using a competing broker. Eventually they will get the message.
The President St house is not being sold by a greedy old-timer. The previous owner of the home passed away several years ago. The heirs sold the house about two years ago to an individual who gutted the home entirely, added an 18-foot extension on the back (how he got around DOB, I’ll never know), and now has flipped the house for more than 2x what he paid for it. This is a fact.
I agree, Corcoran is incredible….but the ghost in the machine are the sellers. …Complain and complain when it’s time to buy, but list through them when it’s time to sell.
on another note, in a year when values are declining precipitously, the city just reassessed my home at a higher tax rate! IRS = Corcoran?
I see Carol gardens made the same point as I was busy crafting mine.
10:56 here and this is the first time I’ve been accused of being a broker. Sorry, I’m really not one, just someone who has lived in the neighborhood, as a renter and buyer, for the last 14 years. I do admit to an unhealthy interest in real estate (and definitely waste way too much time on this blog, however). And, having been someone who has accused others of being brokers, I guess I can’t really complain when someone accuses me of being one.
Funny, I thought I was clear in my post that these prices were way over the top, so I don’t know why that would make me a broker. I did list reasons why Carroll Gardens real estate had increased in value, but that didn’t mean the prices weren’t absurd.
But posters like 11:07 am simply post things with no knowledge of the neighborhood. First, yes, the rise of Smith Street BEGAN about 8 years ago. 10 years ago it was a dump — I know because it was scary to walk down stretches of it late at night. Second, there are no Starbucks in Carroll Gardens, really, not a single one. (OK, there is one Dunkin Donuts, but hey, we’re downmarket and not Starbuck snobs and that’s what I like about it. )
There’s also no McDonalds, unless you count the one on Hamilton Ave that’s been there way longer than the rise in real estate values.
And, funny that my remark about too many young hipsters made you think I was a realtor. I’m just someone who stood in line way too long for a movie at the local cinema and realized that no one else there was over 30 (or maybe even 25). Same thing at the local restaurants lately. I just don’t know where all these kids are coming from, but 5 years ago there were definitely not as many 20 somethings here unless they were pushing their newborns in strollers.
Maybe I am wrong (I often am), but I don’t think it is illegal for one firm to decide to advise sellers to up their asking prices. While it would be illegal for all the producers of a product to collude and create a monopoly situation by setting prices in step and controlling the market, it would be very hard to argue that even a large broker like Corcoran “controls” the market of real estate. There are multiple sellers using multiple brokers selling non-fungible products (i.e. a varied stock of houses, apartments, etc). The use of a broker seems to be a “branding” process for some buyers and sellers. Some buyers like going to Barneys to buy a suite – others will go to Loehman’s or Daffy’s. As I read this blog it is hard for me to figure out who is for real and who is not, but for real buyers the answer has to be, don’t buy through Corcoran if you think the price is inflated, or discount your offer accordingly. If Corcoran is successful in pushing up prices for their sellers (and after all they should be representing the sellers, not the buyers or “the community of fairm-minded citizens.”), well I guess bully for them. Eventually the market will correct by having potential buyers look in different neighborhoods or look to buy from smaller brokers. To me the greater monopolistic behavior on the part of NYC brokers is their thwarting of the information flow by refusing the creation of a multiple listing service. It seems to me the fastest way to level out prices for buyers would be to mandate legally that all listings be placed on a multiple listing service accessible to all within a week of getting a listing.
Why on EARTH would Carroll Gardens cost more than Park Slope??
I’m not saying CG isn’t a nice neighborhood, but at least North Slope has the park, it has the 2/3 and Q Train and it has the shops of 5th, 7th and Vanderbilt nearby. Not to mention the Greenmarket, Library, Museum and Botanical Gardens within a 5 minute walk.
Why in god’s name would ANYONE with a brain pay more for a house in CG if given the choice?
It’s a conspiracy. My theory is that it makes the new condos (can’t remember if it’s 3rd or 4th Pl.) that are listed with Corcoran seem reasonable.