Sunday, August 5, 2012

Prime Slope Heights Mixed-Use: Mystery Meat


You won't see this brand-new listing on your StreetEasy, or your New York Times, or your Corcoran.com.  When a tree falls in the forest, does anyone hear it?  When an incredible property goes on sale undercover in Brooklyn, does anyone know about it?  We've shown you undercover properties before that close at steals compared to what Corcoran would fetch if they ran it up their flagpole.  Today's pick isn't priced at a steal, but could be a great pick-up for the right buyer.  It is an enormous mixed-use building in Park Slope, near Prospect Heights, with a gorgeous stone exterior and bay windows like the one pictured above.  However, that isn't the Mystery Meat in question.  This one has a similar style, but isn't it either...



And it's got a lovely stone stoop on one side like 27 7th Avenue:


Ahhh, yes, 27 7th Avenue.  The gorgeous prime Park Slope steal we tried to tell you to buy.

This Park Slope Mystery Meat will give you vibes that are downright Gramercy-like.


The curb appeal on this Mystery Meat would make 372 2nd Street look like an ugly duckling.  It's not only prettier than 372 2nd Street, it's bigger.  It's over 15,000 sqft.  It has multiple commercial tenants (places that you know & love), over a dozen apartments, and grosses over $700K/year.  Asking 16 times rent roll, it wants just over $10M.  It's a 4.25% cap at asking price.  That may sound like a Manhattan cap rate, but for an area this prime, and a piece this big & this rare - it's not that far-fetched.  Some of the apartments are really spacious with nice details, there are some RC and RS apartments to play with, and the rent roll hasn't been totally maxed out on the free market apartments yet either... so there's upside left.  Which is more than some places can say for themselves.


The owner wants to keep the location hush-hush - except for serious, qualified buyers - so as not to disturb or spook the high-paying tenants.  But the only way to get the most money is through the most exposure.  A $10M+ mixed-use property, asking a top-dollar cap rate, that isn't on LoopNet or Showcase??  Doesn't make too much sense, we know.  Would this listing be better off in the hands of, say, Massey Knakal?  It's true.  But some of their listings would be better off in the hands of someone else too.  The key is marketing a property in the traditional channels where those types of buildings are sold.  A $3M+ Brooklyn Heights townhome that's not at least on StreetEasy or NYTimes doesn't make sense either.  So it's a two-way street.  And don't even get us started on how/(why?!?) Marcus & Millichap choose to barely market their listings publicly.

Suffice it to say that there are quirky, non-intuitive idiosyncrasies all over this industry.  When an over-priced listing goes off the market, some think that means they're ready for a low-ball offer; when, in reality, it means they've already turned down a slew of low-ball offers for months and are finally done chasing the impossible.  Why someone wants to try & fetch top dollar without even truly marketing their property is beyond us.  Even if they're just fishing with this price, it's a chance to sniff a deal that rarely comes to market, and maybe there's a price that makes sense for buyers & sellers.

Pro's:  prime piece, prime location, huge size, curb appeal, upside left, not on everyone's radar

Con's:  mystery meat, pricey

Ideally:  contact us for more info

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