Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Closings of Note: Valentine's Day Sales





This just in!  One of Brooklyn's most sought-after neighborhoods, Fort Greene, is only 1 square mile.  And on top of that people still think they can name which blocks within that square mile they wanna live on.  Well, it ain't gonna be cheap.  Cue 169 Adelphi Street.  This decked out 4-story brownstone is north of Willoughby Avenue, next to a frame house, and was asking $3.65M.  The price sounds high if you haven't been paying attention, but it was love at first sight for someone who closed on Valentine's Day for $3.5M.  We're told the buyer just sold some huge lots for much more than that, so the wealth trickles "down" (if you can call it that) to the townhouse market.  On blocks with lots of buyers and almost no product, fixer-uppers command $2M+ and finished products can obviously get well over $3M.  No wonder Platinum Members are psyched about sourcing a fixer-upper here for under $2M.






Or hop over to Fort Greene's more beloved blocks, where 35 South Elliott, #D is a duplex condo that was asking $1.2M.  That's right, $900+ per square foot is alive & breathing in Brooklyn.  It closed for $1.185M on Valentine's Day.   Who was the lucky Valentine?  A buyer from the Upper West Side in Manhattan.  This is a 25' wide building, a unit with roof access, and kind of generic interior.  No wonder Platinum Members are psyched about an even more stunning duplex condo with a huge backyard and low common charges in Fort Greene that wants this same $1.2M price pre-market and is certainly well worth it in our book.







When close to the park in Fort Greene commands well over $3M, you can imagine what Park Slope costs close to the park.  627 3rd Street is a stunning single family that wanted $3.95M and closed for $3.85M just before Valentine's Day.  Yes, it turns out the buyers of 115 Lincoln Place got so much drama about their proposed pimped out extension on their extra-deep lot, that they said 'screw you guys, I'm going home',





....and bought a better house on a better block, and are now flipping Lincoln undermarket.  Platinum Members had access to the flip, which should be wrapping up soon.







Almost $4M may or may not shock you for a flagship house in Park Slope near the park, but check out the Windsor Terrace activity!  Buyers from just down the block on 3rd Street picked up 411 Prospect Avenue.  This 13' wide frame house on 3 stories in generic turnkey condition won't win any beauty contests.  But it was also asking "just" $1.1M.  Too bad it closed for $1.675M two days before Valentine's.  Maybe now those stunning finished products in Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, and Lefferts going for well over $1.5M are starting to make a little more sense comparatively??  Is this what $800/sqft really looks like off the beaten path of Park Slope??







It's activity like that frame house which makes 107 President Street, even in generic condition just steps from the BQE, look like a steal.  It listed for $1.95M and closed a few days after Valentine's for $1.765M.  That's about as straight-forward a look as you'll get in BoCoCa for under $2M on-market anymore these days.








Another Valentine's Day closing is a house that's probably a dog in most people's books.  287 22nd Street is a tiny frame house in Greenwood, too deep to even call it South Slope or Windsor Terrace anymore.  With a list price of $1.2M, anybody can hate on this place, but only buyers from Chelsea made it happen for $1.16M.  But if you think that sounds like a lot...







Deep in Bed-Stuy, past Utica, near the projects, this wide frame house & one-time Brownstoner building of the day at 201 Chauncey Street sells for $1.4M a few days before Valentine's Day.  Regardless of the huge lot, it takes some serious cash and some serious vision to purchase this piece for this price, even these days.  Not everyone is knocking down the door to pay ~$125 per buildable square foot for a piece this size in this location.  Platinum Members are checking out a 3-story brick house over here tomorrow for under $1M.






Speaking of lofty price per buildable square foot numbers, 814 Dean Street on the Prospect Heights & Crown Heights border sold for $1.25M last month too.  25' wide, and not that much buildable, but at $234/bsf it makes 500 Sterling Place look like a steal.  Totally different proportions, but to think they called Sterling Place overpriced at the time!






It took almost 2 years, but a few days after Valentine's Day, 35 Rogers Avenue (aka, 35 Grant Square) finally sold just $20K above its 2012 asking price, for $1.1M.  Platinum Members were in & out of this under-marketed piece back then.  This deal is even more obvious in this market than it was in that one, and we can still picture people low-balling them were it still available today.  Can't wait to see what kind of operation lands in this sleepy-but-prime little commercial space.  The 1000 Dean Street surroundings are quietly percolating...



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