Closings of Note: Can't Buy What You Don't Know is For Sale

As the New York Times points out, we often point out, "You can’t buy something you don’t know is for sale."  Case in point, this juicy 5-story at 238 Gates Avenue in great condition that Platinum Members snagged for $1.3M before it could even hit the market in full force.  Probably worth much more if delivered vacant and touched up a bit, but the owner wanted a quick sale and got one.  The next 5-story coming up from this same broker is even juicier than this.

Speaking of going in contract for $1.3M before it could even hit the market, 1138 Bergen Street had offers as high as $1.4M we're told, but closed for $1.3M last month.  Brokers never even needed to bring it to market (or bring the sellers the highest offer) to get it done.  If you think you're too good for Crown Heights, that's not what cash buyers from Carroll Gardens thought.  This sale price makes the Platinum Member pick-up for the identical (but better-renovated) limestone two doors down at 1134 Bergen Street look even better.

Or maybe you're still doubting Crown Heights?  Did you see 100 Brooklyn Avenue, just around the corner?  An easy, stylish flip that listed for $1.5M and closed for $1.6M last month.  Only 16' wide and on a short lot didn't stop buyers from Brooklyn Heights from making their way all the way out to Brooklyn Avenue.

Also last month, buyers from Clinton Hill closed on this amazing Prospect Heights fixer-upper.  We ventured to guess that 390 Sterling Place was in contract over asking price, but we guessed wrong.  It closed for a very nifty $2.085M.  Don't expect your low-ball offers to always come through, but they're certainly worth a shot.  We're willing to bet it's a cash deal and that the buyers sink another $500K into the place, so don't bring 25% down and expect to duplicate this result.  However, it's still one of the best buys all year in this neighborhood.

Why is 390 Sterling Place such a good buy??  Look no further than across the street at 385 Sterling Place to see what fetched over $2.7M in Prospect Heights nowadays.

Still in Prospect Heights, the list price of $3.5M shocked and awed folks when 195 Prospect Place hit the market last year.  The house had a unique size and some unique details to match.  So while many moaned, and big brokers salivated over what they'd have done with the listing, buyers from the Upper West Side bought this 4,000+ square foot townhome for $3.05M.  It's not like a smaller 3-story around the corner or a fixer-upper around the corner didn't go for over $3M too.

Also in Prospect Heights, we knew that $2.4M wasn't the right price for 655 Vanderbilt Avenue as soon as it hit the market.  After a few quick price drops and another year in time out to think about what it did, it finally closed for $1.475M

Lingering in probate court, the estate sale at 425 Washington Avenue closed for just $1.6M in December.  Not bad for a 4-story 5-Family in prime Clinton Hill.  And to think, it was just a few years ago that people wouldn't pay this much for the monster 8-Family from this same estate at 234 St. James Place.

With an asking price of $1.299M and a few shiny pictures, 398 Lafayette Avenue in Bed-Stuy probably blends in with a lot of listings like its neighbors.  Most people whined that it was a 3-story across the streets from the projects (true), but it still closed for $1.1M last month.

Speaking of Bed-Stuy, are you ready to head east of Ralph Avenue?  A buyer from Prospect Heights was, closing on 556 Decatur Street just over asking price of $899K.  On Platinum Member radar, but not on Corcoran.com, the even juicier 557 Decatur Street across the street also just closed for $925K.

Just off the park in Park Slope, 194 Lincoln Place was asking just under $3M and closed for $3.115M last month.  The buyers came from nearby in Park Slope.  Now Platinum Members are scoping out the fixer-upper on the next block at 115 Lincoln Place (pre-market for the second time in 2 years!) that now wants $2.5M.  We toured it last week and saw how the progress of tidying it up was coming along.

Uncooperative tenants couldn't stop 45 Halsey Street in Bed-Stuy from getting dozens of offers and closing for over asking price.  $1.15M cash got it done on a stretch of Bed-Stuy where sellers have balked at cash offers well over $1.4M.
 

Over in Williamsburg, the small frame house at 199 Devoe Street gets its $1.15M afterall.  One of the reasons we rarely go to the 'Burg, but many would rather have this than a brownstone in Bed-Stuy.  Go figure.