Stylin' in Ditmas: 616 East 19th Street

Over in Ditmas Park, the valleys of Brooklyn's brick and brownstone row houses end and amazing frame Victorian home dreams come true.  616 East 19th Street sure looks like a classy combination of historic exterior and modern interior with an open house this weekend and a list price of $1.425M.

The asking price?  Well, Platinum Members had the early lead on the listing at nearby 551 East 19th Street...

Which had multiple offers at the first open house with an asking price of $1.399M, and closed yesterday for $1.465M.  We don't know Ditmas too well, but we know markets.  And no matter how you slice it, handfuls of folks who were eager to take down 551 East 19th Street (without even interior pics), will be chomping at the bit for the arguably even-cuter place like 616 East 19th Street somewhere above its asking price. 

Sure, these are single-family homes without the rental income that's part of the picture for so many multi-family purchases.  And not everyone wants to be "all the way out" in Ditmas.  But with unique proportions you don't find in 16' - 20' wide row houses - and spacious yards!! - it's no wonder people come out here.  Platinum Members have done it before.  When hundreds of apartments sold for over $1.5M in Manhattan last year, and the best of breed even in Windsor Terrace, Lefferts, Bed-Stuy, and Crown Heights can easily soar over $1.5M, you can see why a few folks would flock to the Brooklyn homes like these on huge corner lots with 2-car garages, front and back porches & yards, and all the fixings of the suburbs in Ditmas.



Pro's:  curb appeal, original details & modern upgrades, condo-alternative pricing, corner lot, front & backyard, open house this weekend

Con's:  bound to go over asking price, no rental income, not everyone's ready to head to Ditmas, frame homes have their own drawbacks

Ideally:  when you want a little piece of the 'burbs in Brooklyn, it doesn't get much better than this these days

In Contract in Ditmas: 136 Argyle Road

If you're not married to the look of brick, brownstone, & limestone rowhouses that everyone obsesses over, but you still want to be in a picturesque neighb' in Brooklyn, then mosey on down to Ditmas Park where suburban dreams come true.  Full of huge lots with huge yards, detached Queen Anne & Victorian houses with mansard roofs... you'll think you've been whisked from the "ghetto" of Prospect Park South to the outrageously wealthy haunts of, say, Greenwhich, Connecticut.  (As we like to say, "Not that we've actually been to Greenwhich, Connecticut.")  Yes, as if you needed another reminder that Brooklyn was built - if not "by", then certainly "for" - ballers.  136 Argyle Road was another one of these gems not to be slept on.  Platinum Members asked, and we agreed.

Stained-glass windows, decorative columns, oak pocket doors, ceiling beams, parquet floors with killer herringbone patterns, built-in wood cabinetry... this house has all the period details folks gush over.

Oh, and did we mention?  A pool, a garage, a driveway, a front yard, a back yard, a sun porch.  All for the price of a dinky condo a third the size in Manhattan.  You don't have to run to Long Island, Westchester, or Jersey to find this splendor.

Good news is, there are blocks and blocks of these.  Bad news is, they ain't getting any cheaper.


Pro's:  curb appeal, details, yard(s), great block, beats a dinky condo in the city, suburban-style family-friendly housing in Brooklyn?!

Con's:  gone already, needs work, no rental income

Ideally:  another great alternative to chasing $2M+ fixer-uppers in south Slope