Crown Heights Losing Its Mind: 672 St. Marks Avenue

Back before Halloween, we tried to warn that some big contracts were coming down the pipeline.  Among them, this unique 27' wide gem at 672 St. Marks Avenue.  While people are still hating on full-sized fixer-uppers pre-market for under $2.5M in Fort Greene, over in Crown Heights this 5-unit townhouse off of Nostrand Avenue closes for $2.9M.

Even one of the foremost local experts for the area said 6 months ago, "This is one of my favorite blocks in CHN, with a lot of architectural gems on it, but it’s a long way from a 3 million dollar block, no matter how fabulous the house is. That price is just greedy."

Another commenter added, "Price would be a game changer for the neighborhood and not many want to be the buyer who pays the highest price to date. Did I say needs lots of work?"

The highest price for a house on this block up until now was the 20' wide 627 St. Marks Avenue for $1.9M earlier this year, one of the highest ever in Crown Heights...

No wonder we were all about the Platinum Member fixer-upper at 660 St. Marks Avenue for under a million the year before...

But $2.9M?!?  Not in Brooklyn Heights, or Prospect Heights, y'all.  This is squarely in Crown Heights.  What does this say about the market??  Is the glass half-full or half-empty?  Is this $90K "under asking price" or the hands-down record for a townhouse in Crown Heights by almost a million dollars?  The answer...

It's both!!

Like we saw yesterday, 672 St. Marks Avenue narrows in the back which means 3-exposures, although giving up some of that monstrous 27' x 80' footprint on the top 3 floors in exchange.  Still... Worth it!  Even at this price, the estimated 7,500 sqft (the listing calls it that, and on only 3 floors?) is still under $400/sqft.  Try finding bones this unique for that cheap anywhere else in Brooklyn.  Heck, it's not even finished yet and this house still shines.  Can't wait until it twankles & glistens...

140 foot lot?  You don't see that everyday!  Even the backyard has a backyard at this house...

"25 rooms" up in this??  Jeezy said it best.

What's the move?  Who knows?  Even if you sell these as condos for a million a floor (lofty expecations), we can already hear everyone griping that you'll have to put a million into it and then there's zero meat on the bone.  So is this just the juiciest end-user piece you ever saw?  There's no rhyme or reason to some prices for premier flagship properties like these.  All the more reason we were happy to sink our teeth into 669 St. Marks Avenue across the street with the driveway & the two story carriage house...

"Hottest thing in the lot, that there mine."  And 672's pricing is among the many reasons why we thought it was okay to "overpay" for 669.

Now, hindsight is 20/20, but if you were in right place & the right time to pick up 672 St. Marks last year for the $1.1M cash it traded for, you'd really be flipping bricks.  "36 a thousand times, I'm doin' somersaults / Do it right & you can leave your whole summer off."

Let's sit back and think about this again.  $2.9M in Crown Heights!  Sure, the house is huge and unique, but it's not finished.  And this is a price people were too chicken to pay on a vacant 5-story 5-unit corner gem with parking in Clinton Hill!!

Just goes to show that premier properties will command premier prices, even east of Franklin Avenue.  But still, $2.9M for a fixer-upper in Crown Heights, no matter how sensational the house, is a shocker.  Where do we go next, Brooklyn?  We have officially seen it all.


Pro's:  uniquely huge townhouse with killer details on a great block, curb appeal, delivered vacant, ppsf isn't the worst, 

Con's:  record-breaking price, work to be done, where's the upside?, what's the move?

Ideally:  try to keep it in perspective, but feel free to lose your mind over this pricing