Soaring Prices: 345 Sackett Street

Just a few doors down from 341 Sackett, the unfortunate fakey brick place we held a Hater's Ball for some months before a fire half collapsed the joint, comes a solid 3-Family that can hold its head high: 345 Sackett Street.

We're pretty sure we've seen this signage up outside the building and the listing up for a few months, but Property Shark, Zillow, and the nytimes.com/realestate all just got hip to it this month. Streeteasy knows nothing of it, mind you. The group that has the listing, Vespa, specializes in pricey properties in this area, many above $2M. Indeed, the average list price on these blocks is the highest in the borough at $1.54M. And you can't argue with the location. Just in from Smith Street, by the corner where Bar Great Harry is, the walk to any amenity and the F/G trains is super convenient. But does a rising tide actually lift all boats?

345 Sackett was purchased in October 2005 for $1.35M, and would get snatched up at that price today. Even around the neighborhood average of $1.54M, we're not sure you'd see too much resistance. The listing would have us believe, "this is a great opportunity to own a property in the neighborhood for under $2M," which is quite a paradigm shift in price-point.

Let's see what we have. The exterior looks great:



The inside of the one apartment they show looks livable, nothing special, nice mix of orginal details & freshening up. Nothing that 159 Luquer doesn't offer just a few blocks deeper and for much less money:



Don't forget the yard!



So what justifies this going above $1.5M again? Rental income? Funny you should ask. Rents are high over here & we don't see that changing any time soon. But how fast are they rising? The listing on the broker's website claims, "collect over $9000/month in rent, or move into one level and still collect approximately $6000/month from the rents." While the NYTimes listing claims, "Fully rented, the building yields just shy of $10,000/month in income for an investor. Take one apartment and still receive nearly $7000/month from the other units." Sounds like a fish tail to us. Check back tomorrow to see if it's making $11K/month.

Also note, Property Shark lists the building as 19' x 40', while the broker's listing generously has it standing at 19' x 56' (but with the same square footage). "The camera adds ten pounds"??

Pro's: curb appeal, great block, close to trains and amenities in one of the best neighborhoods, high rental income potential, turn-key condition, backyard

Con's: high price, listing inconsistencies, same price point gets much more house than this

Ideally: for this price you get yourself one of the nice 4-Families we've covered, or see if this place has room to move closer to $1.5M