There Goes the Neighborhood: 252 Gates Avenue

If you weren't ready for a fixer-upper in Clinton Hill proper on Gates Avenue priced at $1.5M, then you definitely don't want to hear that's what the next fixer-upper across Classon into Bed-Stuy is asking these days. But that's exactly what "the Minsk Man" (as Brownstoner affectionately dubbed him) has done here at 252 Gates Avenue. Fresh off a pair of fancy $2M listings in Clinton Hill, he's into Bed-Stuy now on this one and he's bringing his price points with him. The firm that just moved a finished 3-Family with great pictures of wood details under $1M now brings you a fixer-upper for $1.5M with no pics (as of yet).

The location of 252 Gates is about as Clinton Hill as Bed-Stuy gets, so close to the Franklin C train and all. The listing is a work in progress with no additional pictures, no layout, no details on its occupancy, and some square footage discrepancies. We're not sure if the existing C of O matches with the 3-Family it's used as, and we're told it's "perfect for conversion". If we're doing a conversion east of Classon, we're looking to jump in at a much lower price point, like this 986 Park Place. By the time you're doing a conversion at these prices, you might as well do it in a more desirable location like prime Fort Greene.

Perhaps the interior will be the missing link. We're eager to see the pictures now. Even if it's stunning inside, we're a little afraid of the precedent this sets for prices in this neighborhood.

Pro's: size, curb appeal, Clinton Hill end of Bed-Stuy, close to the train

Con's: pricey, "needs some work", not the best fixer-upper for this price, will this welcome more mis-priced imposters to the neighborhood?

Ideally: there are more compelling values in Crown Heights and Prospect Heights, in our opinion. But this is worth a closer look.