Co-ops

Five blocks to the North of Monday’s House of the Day, this attractive one-bedroom looks like a great first apartment to us. With an asking price of $185,000 and a monthly maintenance of $532, we guessing pre-tax monthly costs of about $1,600; after-tax probably closer to $1,200 or $1,300. Not bad for a real one bedroom with a separate dining area in a pre-war building. How close is the nearest subway?
Beverley Road 1 BR [Mary Kay Gallagher] GMAP

Here’s an attractive pre-war two-bedroom on Washington Avenue in Clinton Hill. After sitting on the market for all of two weeks, the price was cut this past weekend from $645,000 to $630,000 in time for yesterday’s open house. The ad doesn’t say, but we’re guessing the apartment’s about 1,100 square feet which would suggest it’s priced at between $550 and $600 a foot. We’re liking the floors and the plaster moldings on the bedroom walls. (Luckily, the sellers will be taking the drapes with them!) Other amenities include apart-time doorperson, live-in super, bike room and laundry facilities. Anyone make it to the open house this weekend? Have other units in this building turned over recently?
277 Washington Ave [Halstead] GMAP

We always have a tough time coming to grips with co-ops and condos that have been carved out of brownstones. Regardless of the attractiveness of the apartment in question, our mind immediately jumps to how nice a house one could get further out for the same dough. Which really isn’t the point. There are plenty of people who’d rather have a smaller place in a more convenient or gentrified area. So what about this place? We think the interior decorating is working against this listing. The Ethan Allen look makes the space feel crowded and cramped–as do the apparently sloping ceilings in the bedroom on the top floor. The saving grace on that count is the living room which appears to have cathedral ceilings. The apartment, which does not have outdoor space, is 1,600 square feet. The asking price: $1,100,000. Not for us, but not a crazy price, considering that $2.2 million would be reasonable for an entire house in the area. Of course, then you’d also have a yard and wouldn’t have to get someone else’s permission if you wanted to pain the hallways.
363 Henry Street [Prudential Douglas Elliman] GMAP P*Shark

Today’s co-op at 114 Clinton Street makes last week’s Remsen Street listing look positively silly. We’re not sure how big this place is but from the pictures the $415,000 asking price feels reasonable. It’s a nice old prewar building with an attractive common roof deck and a modest maintenance of $660. This seems like it would be an enticing first apartment for some young professional, no?
114 Clinton [Prudential Douglas Elliman] GMAP

A reader brought this ground-floor brownstone co-op to our attention questioning the size and the price. No one’s going to argue with the location–only a block from the promendade–or the historic details. Good stuff indeed. Our tipster (who’s been inside the building) notes, though, that this apartment is only the front of the ground floor and does not include garden access. (Which makes one wonder how the apartment could be 864 square feet if it’s only half a floor.) That, combined with the fact that the “bedroom” is really just a nook tucked under the stairs, makes the asking price of $799,000 seem a little steep, doesn’t it?
Brooklyn Heights FSBO [NY Times] GMAP

People seemed quite positively disposed to the listing at 255 Eastern Parkway we discussed last week. The 1,600-square-foot apartment is on the market for $799,000, which makes today’s co-op of the day an interesting comp. Located on the other (more expensive) side of Washington Avenue, this penthouse classic six at 50 Plaza East is similarly sized but with far more pre-war detail and exceptional views. The price tag of $949,000 however reflects some of these advantages. We expect that they’ll both find buyers without too much difficulty but are curious to know which you think represents a better buy in this market.
50 Plaza Street [Corcoran] GMAP

Despite being located in a building whose name sounds more like a gay bar than a residence (Pumphouse? Come on), this BHS listing at 25 Joralemon Street looks interesting. Though perhaps too close to the BQE for some, we suspect the sheer size and openness of the apartment–a relatively hard thing to find in Brooklyn Heights–will be attractive to others. We’re gonna need some input on the valuation as we’re just starting to pay more attention to apartment prices ourselves. How does $700 a foot strike people for this location and type of apartment. At only about 60 cents a square foot, the maintenance seems reasonable at least. What’s the history of this building? Anyone know when it was converted to co-ops? There’ll be an open house on Sunday from 2:30 to 4:30.
25 Joralemon Street [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP