Who's buying all these houses for more money than you think these neighborhoods are worth? Why, many people who just sold houses for more money than you think those neighborhoods are worth! 370 Washington Avenue is a 16.5' wide, 4 story brownstone fixer-upper in Clinton Hill that came out for $1.8M in the spring of 2012. With original details worth gushing over, high ceilings on the parlor floor, 50' deep on a 120' lot, there's plenty to love...
7 fire places, a curved staircase, crown moldings, arched doorways, ceiling medallions, original floors... all great details that make folks weak in the knees. But how many pictures of the same parlor does it take?
Whether you've got a $200K or $500K renovation budget for the place, this is a great look at 4-stories in Clinton Hill. If you don't think a fixer-upper in Clinton Hill warrants $1.8M, tell that to the nearby 338 Clinton Avenue that sold for just under $2M last year without a single interior picture of its lovely details inside, then turned around and listed the next month for $2.6M. "But 338 Clinton Avenue is bigger and better than 370 Washington Avenue. Of course it'll go for more..." you might say. Not so fast, Marty McFly.
338 Clinton came out in 2011 and was long gone by the time 370 Washington came out in 2012, so they were never in simultaneous competition. So any comparisons are looking backwards, not forwards, and are certainly not apples to apples. 370 came out in April 2012, and 338 didn't close until July 2012, but it was already locked up months earlier. The beauty at 221 Clinton Avenue was already gone too. Besides other $2M+ examples, Clinton Hill nay-sayers should take note that a finished product like 377 Grand Avenue listed for $2.4M and closed for $2.54M.
You can bicker about comps 'til you're blue in the face, but who actually stepped up and took 370 Washington Avenue down for over $2M in November 2012? None of other than the folks who just sold 314 Park Place in Prospect Heights for $2.975M in August 2012. That's right. The person who just bought a fixer-upper in Clinton Hill for more than you think it's worth, they did it with the cash from selling a gem in Prospect Heights for more than you think that place is worth. And this isn't the first time we've seen this. The folks who just bought the Crown Heights mansion at 120 Brooklyn Avenue did so with proceeds from their sale of 214A St. Marks Avenue. Again, selling in Prospect Heights for more than most folks swear that neighborhood's worth, only to buy in Crown Heights for more than most folks swear that neighborhood's worth. The people bidding hundreds of thousands of dollars more for 261 Hancock Street than you think you'd pay, already own on the same street and have seen this movie before. Words of advice we saw in the basement of one of the best underground buys in all of Bed-Stuy last year...
Pro's: curb appeal, killer details, 50' deep on extra deep lot, makes a great 1 or 2-Fam for an end user
Con's: gone already, fixin' to be done, went $200K+ above asking price
Ideally: don't look the now, but the next place that wants $2M may not even be this sweet
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