Listings: Open House Today in Untouched Lefferts Gem - 163 Maple Street

New to the Listings section of the blog, it's a trip back in time over in Lefferts.  To hear the listing broker tell it, the original wood details at 163 Maple Street are "untouched" and "mint".  Available for the first time in 70 years, if you wanna "feel like you've stepped back in time", come on down to Lefferts where there's an open house tonight and this weekend.  A quaint Single-Family on a cute block, the broker says it's one of the nicest houses for untouched details that he's ever been in...

The list price of $1.6M is higher than the quick flip at 289 Lincoln Road currently listed just under $1.5M, but it matches what another quick flip at 176 Lefferts Avenue sold for not long ago.  Big brokers had a bidding war all cash above asking price around the corner on Midwood Street a few months back too.  Three-story houses for as much as $1.5M and higher in the outer rim of brownstone Brooklyn?  Yeah, that's how it's going down these days.

Besides mint original details, they already stepped-up their kitchen game a bit at 163 Maple Street...

To hear the NY Times tell it, the separate kitchen is making "a comeback", but when the house was built in 1909, we say, "Don't call it a comeback, I been here for years."

With rental income potential of over $6,000/month, for the buyer who wants to rent a house for top dollar for a while before moving in or selling, this is a perfect play.  And we think we know a few of those active in the area.

If you're still pricing these at $1.2M, you haven't been paying attention, and might've missed the fact that over 160 apartments traded for more than $1.6M in Manhattan last year, and almost twice as many co-ops did too.  All it takes is one person to opt instead for a house in Brooklyn to keep prices here on par with those condos.




Pro's:  curb appeal, block, original details, quintessential Lefferts Single-Family, rental income potential, easy to check out at upcoming open houses

Con's:  not multi-family, upper range of pricing in the area, not ready for the end-user on day 1

Ideally:  top notch product can command top dollar, timing will determine this one

Closings of Note: $3M Still Clicking for Brooklyn's Finest

People with a million cash in the bank call and e-mail us every week with a wishlist of the best neighborhoods in Brooklyn where they'd like to spend their $1M and not a penny more.  Yet, where are these homes for $1M in the no-brainer neighborhoods of Brooklyn?  In fact, the $3M pricepoint is showing no resistance in the top neighborhoods for the right product, whether it's mixed-use, townhomes, or 8-Families.  Now, a million down on a $3M purchase price, that's happening.  But why would someone in a $3M neighborhood sell you a house for "just" $1M cash?  Even the savviest flip artists can't source them that cheap anymore.  A stylish, turnkey 2-Family in Park Slope like 337 1st Street has no problem fetching its asking price of $3.35M in a flash from buyers in the neighborhood.  Even a 16' wide not-as-stylish house in Park Slope on the market since then is having a bidding war above $3M now.  Platinum Members are spying a few pre-market houses in the area whose owners want well over $3M, and we can't blame 'em!

Fort Greene can't be slept on either, as the 22' wide stunner 308 Carlton Avenue lists for $3.3M and closes for $3.5M to a buyer coming with over 50% down.  That's right, not even a million dollar down payment gets you this house in this market.  No wonder 252 Carlton Avenue went so high over asking price.

Just like the townhomes in Prospect Heights and Park Slope, the 8-Families go for over $3M too.  14 Lincoln Place listed for $3.375M and closed for $3.5M last month.  Most groan about the stunted rent roll while others pick up some of the best price per square feet in town!  A handful of these are still available around this pricepoint.

A corner mixed-use piece like 367 7th Avenue in Park Slope started at $3.5M and closed for $3M last month.  Don't try playing price per square foot comps with this badboy!  Even mixed use in South Slope like 471 5th Avenue sold for $2.5M!

Barely below $3M, 199 Dean Street was a nice corner 4-Family house in Boerum Hill that closed for $2.9M in January.

For a finished product below $3M in Park Slope, you've gotta go south for a 3-story like 354 10th Street, which closed for $2.3M last month to a buyer from Delray Beach, FL.  16' wide and $300K over asking price?  That's our Brooklyn!  And don't even try to use 204 St. Johns Place's latest trade as a comp in Park Slope, y'all!

With what $3M+ gets you in Park Slope, 412 Dean Street was actually a nifty look by the time its original list price of $2.99M dropped as low as $2.5M.  The house closed for $2.35M last month to buyers from lower Manhattan.

If the $2.35M fixer-upper isn't your bag, maybe the $2.75M condo is more your speed.  that's what 1 Grand Army Plaza, #6G fetched last month.  Buyers from Cobble Hill logged another $1,000+/sqft condo sale in Brooklyn well over asking price.

Speaking of over $1,000/sqft, 133 Sterling Place, #1A in Park Slope goes for over $1.2M last month to buyers in the same building.

Even further out on Sterling Place by Crown Heights the condos can fetch almost $1.2M!!  The duplex at 475 Sterling Place, #1A - on Platinum Member radar before it came out - fetches full asking price of $1.195M last month.

Now, come with us on a magical journey to a far, far away land (1-3 miles east...) where dreams come true and a million dollars actually DOES get you a property...

To avoid spending well over a million for a condo, head to Bed-Stuy where a 3-story out by Ralph Avenue commands $999K last month with Corcoran at 730 Hancock Street.  Buyers from Forest Hills got it done with 30% down.

Small mixed-use pieces deep in Bed-Stuy even command almost a million now.  486 Halsey Street closes for $975K last month to a savvy local buyer who's obviously bullish on Bed-Stuy.

Even well above asking price, isn't Crown Heights still a relative deal in Brooklyn?  This 3-story at 1488 Pacific Street may have listed for a million, but was in contract well above asking price, and closed for $1.19M last month.  Too deep in Brooklyn for most buyers, but killer details that fetched a premium.

An even smaller 3-story off of Franklin commanded more in Crown Heights.  The quick flip at 673 Park Place got $1.275M last month.

With the price activity at 934 Pacific Street above $1.6M, 991 Pacific Street for $1.13M last month looks like comparative highway robbery.  How did the jokers bidding $1.3M on 934 not take a stab at 991 for $1.2M or even higher?  We're sure the Corcoran listing scares off those buyers who think they're savvy by avoiding well-marketed listings altogether.  All in all, still a very nice flip for the folks who got it late last year for $625K.

Grainy photos and deep in Bed-Stuy for a 3-story with a generic renovation?  Sounds like a million in this market.  937 Green Avenue listed for $999K and closed for $920K.  Amazing flip for the seller and amazing ~90% financing for the buyer.

A funky 4-story 3-Family listed over a million in mid-Bed-Stuy?  Sounds like a million to us.  434A Jefferson Avenue closed for $999K with 20% down last month.  Now a neighbor wants a high price for not too impressive product, and only the market will tell what happens...

Even the deepest discounts in the best neighborhoods are still compromises not all buyers would be willing to make.  428 Clinton Street in Cobble Hill traded this year for less than its House of the Day price from 2011!!  But still, 12.5' wide for $1.8M??

25' wide in Cobble Hill for $1.8M sounds like a dream come true, except 81 Warren Street is on the other side of the highway, where few dare pass.  Closed for $1.8M last month.

Undermarketed, 414 Degraw Street sold for a relative value at $1.9M in March, but still barely 17' wide.  The market's moved so fast that even the best deals are easy to scoff at for most buyers.

$100K in Upside? Try 100% in Upside: 289 Lincoln Road

If you didn't like 289 Lincoln Road pre-market for $750K last year, or for $995K shortly after it closed for $800K cash, then try it on for size at $1.45M this year.  That's right, this limestone in Lefferts has a new "placeholder" kitchen...

And new baths...

And the same 100 year old details it still had last year...

Not too much in the way of landscaping since its stint at $995K, although the "For Sale" sign in the backyard is an interesting marketing twist...

Not feeling the kitchen?  Well then, "*Note - Kitchen appliances in photos are placeholders only. Parlor kitchen will be delivered with countertops and appliances to be determined between buyer and seller."  Yes, the former record-breaking price for a finished 4-story in Bed-Stuy is now lower than the run-of-the-mill number for a half-way finished 3-story in Lefferts.  It's almost as if everyone woke up overnight (or at least over the course of the past 18 months) and realized Brooklyn's a pretty darn nice place to be.

"Give us your tired, your not-quite poor, your huddled masses of millions more dollars than you needed to give us last year..."

If you think this is a bubble that's about to burst, please wake us up when you have some concrete datapoints that demonstrate as much.



Pro's:  same as they were, plus upgrades, can be finished to owner's specs - it sounds

Con's:  double what they wanted a year ago, almost half a million more than they wanted after that, not as far as you needed to go into Brooklyn at this price range until very recently

Ideally:  actually, frighteningly pretty much in line with this market even with the price doubled.  Although, we're spying a better property on Maple Street pre-market as we speak...

Listings: Bed-Stuy 2-Family Under a Million - 38 New York Avenue

New to the Listings section of the blog, it's a 3-story 2-Family in west Bed-Stuy priced just under a million with an open house this weekend.  38 New York Avenue is a 20' wide house in modestly turnkey condition on not the fanciest tree-lined stretch of Bed-Stuy or anything - but it certainly presents a condo alternative for lots of buyers in this market.

Some mantles, some built-in's, some moldings... leave the kitchen as-is or not...

The grumblings from the Brownstoner House of the Day coverage last month aren't too far off.  The block is situated near the LIRR tracks running above ground, the house did go in contract (was available for all to see on Streeteasy, y'all!) last year and close for $620K this year, but all that's just sour grapes.  When 22 Arlington Place is soaring over $2M at 16' wide, is it too much for a 20' wide 3-story equally as close to the Nostrand A train to ask half that price?  Anybody else offering you an owner's duplex, a rental, and a backyard near an express train anywhere in Brooklyn under a millie?

Developers are scrambling to acquire smaller, worse properties all-cash off-market at prices almost this high.  Nit-picking retail listings is easy for the voyeurs & looky-loo's; offering up more attractive, actionable alternatives is another story.  Here's a great look, for better or worse, at what ~$1M gets you in our Brooklyn these days.  And with an open house on Saturday, makes checking it out for yourself (rather than just scoffing at the Google Map) an easy proposition. 


Pro's:  turnkey Bed-Stuy multi-family for a million, Bed-Stuy & Crown Heights proximity, condos still go for way more than this, duplex + yard & a rental at a value

Con's:  not the quaintest block, everyone else missed it at the end of last year, work yet to be done to make it top-notch

Ideally:  a great tweener play for the right buyer

Crown Heights 3-Story Pricing: 934 Pacific Street

On Platinum Member radar months before it hit the market, 934 Pacific Street was an uninspiring 3-story on a so-so block in Crown Heights in our book.  The deal was first shopped to us pre-market at $1.1M over the summer.  No takers.  Then, after the owners closed for $900K, we got the call around Thanksgiving that developers were already offering $1.3M cash.  "If investors would pay $1.3M cash, there's gotta be an end-user who would pay $1.5M-$1.6M," the owner told us.  We weren't buying it.  But, lo & behold, after listing for $1.59M in December, they raised the asking price to $1.69M in January, and a buyer from lower Manhattan swooped it up for $1.625M last month.

Is it surprising to see the underwhelming 3-story fixer-upper over $1.5M poking its way into Crown Heights on a not-impressive block?  Sure, for this same price or less we'd rather have 460 Carlton Avenue, 255 New York Avenue, or 795 Bergen Street.  Handfuls of people would be hard-pressed to bid over $1.2M on this house were it available now to do all over again, but all it takes is one buyer to snatch it up.  934 Pacific Street makes 85 Hall Street look like a masterpiece!  Heck, we'd even do 18 Brevoort Place before this one.  But it does go to show that sellers who have access to the retail market may shop their property around, but won't be low-balled if they don't have to be.  Sometimes there's a chance to intercept properties before they even hit the market, but this one was an easy pass and a relatively astonishing number on the retail side for Crown Heights.

This makes even record-breakers like 1234 Dean Street look like a deal, and puts the at-the-time shocking 1062 Dean Street in perspective.  $1.625M is a surprising price for a mediocre 3-story on a mediocre block, but it's another sign of the times in this market.  Can you even remember the days of the next-door neighbor 936 Pacific Street struggling to get $899K?  Can we attribute this pricing to the "any house around $1.5M in Brooklyn still beats a condo in Manhattan for some buyers" effect??


Pro's:  Prospect Heights side of Crown Heights, delivered vacant, a real listing, 20' wide

Con's:  listing price went up, high price for a 3-story in this shape, block is nothing special, lots of more grand alternatives for this price in the neighb', work to be done

Ideally:  an amazing low maintenance flip.  All it took was one buyer to prove us wrong.

Months in the Making on Macon: 295 Macon Street

Who says buyers with 25% down can't snatch a great deal out of the clutches of the big bad cash buyer boogie-man??  It's not easy to do, but it can be done.  Platinum Members closed last week on a sweet fixer upper brick house at 295 Macon Street in the expanded Stuyvesant Heights Historic District for less than $1.2M.  Although it took months in the making to deliver vacant and with clear title, sometimes all it takes a little deep digging and just a little patience to find a deal in Bed-Stuy.  The house is a healthy 20' x 40' 4-story on a great block...

Around the corner from the train and $2M listings.  And you know the rest... high ceilings on the parlor, exposed brick, original parquet floors, a handful of mantles, molding, etc.  Most of the house in live-able condition with affordable upgrades on the way...

Configure it as a double-duplex or triplex over garden, and you're good to go...

Think of this as a less decadent, less expensive version of 196 Hancock Street, which supposedly soared over $2M after asking $1.85M on the market as a fixer-upper this year.  Brewing since last year, 295 Macon Street has historic charms of its own...

 

 Babbling brook in the front yard too?!?

No wonder it appraised over purchase price!  Don't try this on your StreetEasy, your NYTimes, or your Brownstoner.com (at least not in this decade...), and don't use this as a comp unless you factor in that this contract price was negotiated almost a year ago and the market has moved up significantly since then.  Nobody said it was it easy to navigate this outrageously inefficient market, but patience, persistence, and perseverance paid off again in Bed-Stuy.

Pro's:  almost turnkey full-sized 4-story on a great block for under $1.2M, original details in great condition, delivered vacant, didn't take all-cash to do it, market kept rising while purchase price stayed the same

Con's:  tricky deal to pull off, work to be done including water damage to some floors, took a long time

Ideally:  a quintessential 4-story barely-on-market value deal with market equity and sweat equity already built into it on day 1