Semi-Open House This Saturday: 864 President Street

Listed since before Thanksgiving, and nearly impossible to get into, this 7-Family hit the scene for $2.7M. 864 President Street is a healthy 20' x 50' on a great block in Park Slope. The price doesn't seem too too crazy compared to what you see for the flagship properties on the best blocks in the Slope these days. But who does this property work for? The listing brags, "This 5 story Victorian brownstone has an income of $150K that should pay off $1.9 million dollar mortgage." However, our commercial mortgage guy says this place can carry a maximum mortgage of $1.2M. And our guess is they're not ready to adjust that $700K discrepancy on their price.

Thus, even if you had the $1.5M in cash necessary to acquire it (which is no small "if"), then is that what you want to pay to get one floor, at best, of this big ol' house? Wouldn't you want more of it to yourself?

104 Berkeley Place is a cheaper look at something just as pretty on the outside that a user can actually get a duplex in AND get great rentals without the drama of rent controlled or rent stabilized tenants. 104 Berkeley is also simpler to finance.

And as investors go, $150K gross income for $2.7M? You can NET $150K over here for $2.4M. And at least that you can see the inside of and get to enjoy all the upside that the market will bear.

The "open house" on Saturday that's "By Private Appointment" we're sure is only for qualified buyers. But we're hard-pressed to think who's ready to make this happen unless there's readily-available upside in the rents, or readily-available flexibility on the price. Certainly there's a long term conversion play here, but there's no telling how long that might take. And we'd rather not pay the ~$20K/year tax bill waiting to find out.

Pro's: curb appeal, location, a cinch to rent, flagship Slope

Con's: no pics inside, pricing, acquisition, rent controlled/stabilized tenants, where does the buyer live?, where's the investor's cash-flow?

Ideally: maybe, just maybe, there's someone out there with the funds to swing it for whom this is a slippery slope away from purchasing an already-pricey co-op in a brownstone. Maybe they'll figure if they're paying $1M+ for a 2BR, they might as well pay almost $3M and get the whole building?

Expired Listing with Potential: 105 St. Marks Avenue

"And now, ladies & gentleman, the starting line-up for... your Chicago Bulls!!!"

Ok, not really, but how hilarious is this video? 105 St. Marks Avenue couldn't really compete with the likes of 57 St. Marks Avenue in the $2M range, but there's still plenty of value here considering the price action in Park Slope. We're kind of sad to see it go away just as the market was really heating up. We can see action on this just below that $2M number, given what's been going on. And they only bought for $1.1M in 2007, and didn't do the MOST amazing job or anything inside. Isn't there equity left to strike a deal appealing to both sides? The C of O is for a 2-Family "with no more than 4 boarders". So those of you who had a 5th boarder in mind for this place, you can "Fuhgeddaboudit!"



You get a healthy 20' x 50' on four floors with an extra-deep yard and some buildable squarefeet? Original details are okay, with a mediocre renovation for this price point, but we see potential.

Pro's: curb appeal, great block, price coming down in an up market, big place

Con's: so-so renovation, no longer listed

Ideally: maybe this owner would reconsider...

Different Strokes: 400 Bond Street

Prices are no joke right now in the best parts of Brooklyn!

400 Bond Street, listed for many months at $999K, is now in contract. Call it "Gowanus" if you will. Wonder why it's almost a million dollars for a 15' wide place with rental-looking fixtures, if you'd like. But this is what is happening with prices. Just as sellers moaned on the way down, buyers are now moaning on the way up. And both have to either move with the market, or get mowed over. There's nothing compelling going on over here on 400 Bond Street in our book, but that doesn't mean it won't fetch its price in this seller's market.





There sure is some generic space and tiny bedrooms for this price per squarefoot, but at least you get a roof deck!



For less money, we'd much rather have 931 St. Marks Avenue, that went in contract just over a week ago. But that's just us. Obviously, you've seen the premium people pay for the top areas. Even 210 Hoyt Street starts to look like a bargain across from the projects, compared to 400 Bond.

Bond Street is a condo alternative for someone, but we'd even rather be in this over-priced co-op for less money than a so-so space on the edge of Carroll Gardens. It's definitely a case of "different strokes for different folks." But if you think you're sneaking up on anybody with bargain prices in the best parts of Brooklyn, it's a case of "Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?!?!"



Pro's: techincally - it's all yours, a garage, a little terrace, a little roofdeck, on the edge of a great neighborhood

Con's: on the edge of Gowanus, rental-grade fixtures, no back yard, garage isn't wowing us, wouldn't you rather get a condo?

Ideally: figure out what compromises you're willing to make, because the steals are all gone in this market, and even previously-overpriced is finding its buyer.

Just in Contract: 613A Hancock Street

Just 3 miles east of where $700K barely gets you a decent Home Depot condo on a shaded block off of 4th Avenue, barely in Park Slope, comes a turnkey 2-Family in Bed-Stuy for $590K. 613A Hancock Street is your proto-typical Bed-Stuy flip. Originally came out in June for $395K, closed in August for $360K, then came back out in November after a serviceable renovation.





This renovation is nothing too fancy, but it gets the job done. You get the great classic brownstone look on an amazing street filled with all kinds of architectural details for a very affordable price. An owner's duplex with a yard & a 2BR rental above is what people are chasing in other neighborhoods for 3 times this price or more. Our mortgage people assure us qualified buyers can swing this purchase with $50K downpayment or less. That's 2 years rent to many couples in this city. Maybe it's not the original details some are aching for, but it ain't too shabby either...



Pro's: curb appeal, totally turnkey, owner's duplex with a yard, 2BR rental, price point, easy to finance

Con's: won't feed your appetite for original details, a hike to the train (which isn't uncommon in Bed-Stuy), are you ready for Bed-Stuy?

Ideally: get these babies while you still can

Chasing the Unicorn: Park Slope Under $1.5M

Many readers looking for townhouses in Park Slope in the $1.5M range have lamented that their bids with $200K-$300K downpayment have been rejected in favor of lower offers with $500K down, or all-cash offers. As was the case when we were under-bid by a faux all-cash offer on 96 St. Marks Avenue.

Many of these are the same readers occasionally telling us what's overpriced by $200K or $300K, especially in Park Slope. It may be the case that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", but pricing's in the eye of the seller who sells it & the buyer who buys it - not those who scoff at prices from the sidelines. Just because you don't like Park Slope prices, doesn't mean they aren't what they are. And the new pay-to-play price is $400-$500K downpayment.



But don't take our word for it. Let's let the numbers speak for themselves. Setting South Slope aside for now....

36 residential townhouses closed & had their sale recorded in Park Slope proper in the past 6 months.

Of those 36, only 10 closed for $1.5M or less.

Of those 10, only 2 were purchased with less than a $500K downpayment.

Of those 2, one was a gut renovation & the other one was a 1,600 sqft 2-Family in the less-desirable PS 282 district, not the coveted PS 321. But let's take a closer look at all of these sub-$1.5M sales:

105 St. Marks Place was a 2,700 sqft 3-Family, purchased by an LLC for $1.375M all-cash, and in PS 282, not PS 321.

345 5th Street was a 15' wide estate sale that needed lots of work that closed for $1.4M with about $500K downpayment.

411 4th Street was a "bring your architect" that closed for $1.455M with about $500K downpayment.

362 6th Street was a dated, 1,700 sqft, 2-Family estate sale that needed lots of work, sold for $1.3M all-cash.

290 8th Street was a turnkey, 2,500 sqft 2-Family, closed for $1.445M with over $500K downpayment.

405 Douglass Street was a gut renovation that had an accepted offer within the first few weeks it was listed - in PS 282, not PS 321 - sold for $1.16M and needed over $300K in work.

396 Douglass Street was a tiny, 1,600 sqft 2-Family that was serviceable, but could use some renovations to update it, closed for $1.1M with a $220K downpayment - also in PS 282, not PS 321.

131 St. Johns Place was an SRO purchased for $999K all-cash, which takes 6 months & $50K in paperwork to convert the C of O just for the privilege of doing a ~$1M renovation with cash.

385 3rd Street was an estate sale purchased for $800K all-cash, bound to be a gut reno as well.

And all the buys just above $1.5M during the past 6 months were some of the best buys of the year, and still involved at least $400K downpayment in all of them. This includes the likes of 596 Carroll Street, 706 Degraw Street, and 158 Garfield Place (all-cash).

So, don't get us wrong; $200K-$300K is still a heck of a lot of money in the big picture. It just happens to not even move the needle in Park Slope proper. We're talking about a neighborhood where Anne Hathaway looks at $2.6M houses on Garfield Place, people. (She makes $8M a movie, btw, you think you're gonna outbid her?) We're talking about a neighborhood where even the bird houses are baller:



Wake up & smell the high net worth!

Time to Ball: 596 3rd Street

The pent-up demand in Park Slope is making its presence felt. Out just two weeks ago, 596 3rd Street has already endured over 30 appointments, a bidding war, and is in contract above asking price. For our part, when we first saw this 18' x 38' single-family home with an exterior that looks like grampa's argyle socks, we weren't chomping at the bit or anything.



Then the interior wasn't quite calling our names either. The flagship interior photo was this one:



And then a bunch of so-so mantles:



Yet it's certainly on the block just off the park, in a stretch with stately neighbors asking almost $4M. Is this the 2,476 sqft Park Slope buyers had been waiting for? A tiny single-family shell for over $1.8M that needs at least $500K in work to get up to speed for most users in this genre? One reader told us they weren't interested in paying the "park block premium" on this one, and their point was well taken. Another reader wondered what we thought of the $750/sqft price tag. While the median price per square foot for homes sold in the past 6 months in Park Slope has been $622/sqft, this article demonstrates how getting bogged down in metrics sometimes can be deceiving when there are so many other intangibles to consider. And we tend to think that the type of buyers who could bear a ~$2M purchase and ~$500K-$1M renovation, the majority of which would have to be in cash, wouldn't necessarily quibble over a $100K or two.

Almost regardless of the state of the economy, the haves still have, and these purchases should be no surprise. Park Slope remains the flagship neighborhood in Brooklyn, and still costs a fraction of what townhouses in comparable residential parts of Manhattan cost. For people looking at $10M townhouses in the West Village, $1.86M or more still looks like a paltry price to pay. We don't think people with the kind of cash to make this happen are necessarily deterred by the macro-economics in the country at the moment. Especially if they find themselves bidding against each other. Indeed, Mitt Romney recently points out that the majority of his income in the past 10 years has come from capital gains from investments made long ago, and that his fresh income from speaker's fees is "not very much". One man's "not very much", totaling just under $375K in the past year in Romney's case, just so happens to be in the top 1% of income in the entire country.



Suffices to say, Park Slope buyers aren't living check to check.

Pro's: Prospect Park block, neighbors worth double, rare product

Con's: curb appeal, needs lots of work, small, original details are "meh", bidding against ballers

Ideally: simply not for us. If we could swing this purchase, we'd want a bigger, prettier shell to start with, or a finished product in a neighborhood with more value for the buck.

Corner 2-Family with Garages in Clinton Hill: 63 Gates Avenue

After our last look at a corner lot in Fort Greene, comes an interesting corner lot in Clinton Hill. 63 Gates Avenue is a skinny 2-Family right on the corner of Willoughby, a block from the C train. Pricing is certainly funky at $1.7M. So are the dark, interior pics we're imagining were taken with someone's blackberry...





The garages can be deceptively useless. Unless there's room to really develop them, it's kind of the most expensive place to just put your car ever. Parking spaces in new developments can sell for as little as $15K, and yet there's way more than $150K of mark-up being applied here. Just 2 years ago, the building in Boerum Hill where Rucola is, wider and also on the corner with 2 garages, fetched only $1.4M. Who is 63 Gates even remotely compelling to at this price?

And the only details we get written up on the whole property are "1 bedroom apt rental $1500 PER MONTH delivered vacant"?!? That doesn't even scratch the surface.

Pro's: corner lot, a block from the train, original details

Con's: pricing, 16' wide, garages are really wasted space in the big scheme of things

Ideally: a pretty bootleg listing that could use some revamping and a price drop.