Closings of Note: What's Surprising to You?

When a 3-story 2-Family fixer-upper in Crown Heights at 355 Eastern Parkway lists for $869K with Corcoran, is descended on by yuppies, voyeurs, and developers alike; has offers ranging from $750K to the mid-$900K's, and closes for $945K last month - should anyone be surprised?  We'd be more surprised at how comfortably the $2M-$3M+ range has settled in for BoCoCa and Park Slope, if we had to pick something to be surprised about.  But that's just us.

251 Clinton Street was a 3-Family Cobble Hill beauty that was asking $3.2M in the Summer and got $3.227M last month.  So much for low-balling.  We're sure if they had asked $2.6M, someone would've bid $2.2M and wondered why they didn't get it.  Price anchoring is an amazing thing.  And yet more people will probably be surprised that a Crown Heights home under $1M goes for $76K above ask, than people will be surprised that a $3M home goes $27K above ask.

There are original details for days in this North Slope brownstone at 226 Lincoln Place.  Even with an asking price just under $4M, it barely lasted 2 months on the market and closed for $3.7M last month.  All the more reason why this under-marketed beauty just around the corner for ~$1M less should be flying off the shelves if these ballers knew what was good for them.

A gorgeous Carroll Gardens townhouse comes out this Summer for $2.65M?  328 President Street wasn't going to last long.  This 3-Family sold last month for $2.45M.  This is why everyone hunting in the $1.5M range over here shouldn't be surprised when all they find is shells, fixer-uppers, and condos.

"Well, how come 177 Warren Street just closed for a mere $2.1M last month, then?" you might ask.  Well, silly, that's because it's an estate sale fixer-upper with "mechanical systems, kitchen and baths [that] need upgrading", that had been in contract for over a year, with a contract price negotiated within barely a month of it coming on the market last August 2011.  Besides, we told you last year that it was already one of the best buys under $2.5M.  So if a fixer-upper that takes a year's worth of sitting in contract for $2M+ isn't what you were looking for, you may not want to look in Cobble Hill anymore.

Brownstoner said they didn't think the 18' width would matter much on this $3M listing for 501 4th Street in Park Slope.  Indeed, it sold for $2.65M last month.  Boy, if you could've gotten 352 4th Street for over a million dollars less this Spring (like Platinum Members), you must really be kicking yourself!  And it wouldn't've taken too much vision (but a lot of funds) to pick up the FSBO neighbor 491 4th Street once upon a time (2011) for a mere $1.6M.

Unicorn Hunters, don't despair!  You can still get something for around $1.5M.  Only it's a trapezoidal, bombed-out building zoned as a factory on the edge of Prospect Heights and Crown Heights.  735 Bergen Street closed for $1.575M last month and we can't wait to see what someone does with the many thousands of buildable square feet left on this wide lot.  The exterior's been re-done in brick since this Google Streetview was taken, fyi.

Listed with no one you've ever heard of, 319 7th Street was an estate sale fixer-upper in Park Slope that closed for $955K in August.

You can get your Gowanus on at 105 2nd Street - a small single family "awaiting your TLC" that listed for $970K in March and closed for $875K last month.  Wouldn't you rather pay $76K above asking for 355 Eastern Parkway than $95K below asking for this?