Pro-Cro Condo Game is Hot: 475 Sterling Place, #3I

On Platinum Member radar a few weeks before Corcoran dropped the hammer on ya (and why shouldn't they?), it's another 2BR condo in one of Prospect Heights / Crown Heights' niftiest little buildings, 475 Sterling Place, #3I.  Over 1,100 square feet of legit 2BR/2 bath goodness is only getting pricier and pricier by the day.  The building's got a part-time door man, parking, laundry in the unit, gym, backyard with a grill, finished common roof deck with a grill, new 2008-ish construction, and is lodged between the Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum 2/3 stop and the Franklin Ave 2/3/4/5.  Did we say "parking"?  Yes, parking.

You might've missed just last year when the 2BR market forces sent mid-$700K listings in this building above asking price.  And some of those buyers even spent a few weeks updating floors and kitchens in their units.  You might've missed when Platinum Members picked up a 1BR in the building pre-market for $550K around New Year's.  You might've missed when a few duplex units went over $1M effortlessly.  So the asking price of $995K (roughly $900/sqft) - in the same building with a $1.2M and a $1.35M listing -  still isn't surprising at all in this market for this location in this condition.  This is a great apartment for dozens of buyers on the market.  Low maintenance fees, tax abatement, great vibe in the building...  we ain't in Park Slope anymore, Toto, and we wouldn't even WANNA BE!

The neighborhood keeps you laced with new & flourishing business on Washington Avenue, Classon Avenue, Franklin Avenue, and Vanderbilt Avenue.  Before half of you even tried Bar Corvo, there was Tooker Alley, Lincoln Station, Coven Hoven, Pete Zazz, Kimchi Grill... and so many more, with more to come.  When a 2BR condo went for $775K last year, the next one went for $810K, then next one went for $851K... if you really wanna all Da Vinci Code with the dang numbers (as so many of you are apt to do), that's an increase in the rate of increase from $7K/month in equity to almost $14K/month more in equity, which puts this condo squarely at its asking price by closing, even if the rate of rise levels off.  Condos have traded even further east than this for over $2M and over $1,000/sqft.  By the time you Brooklyn doubters get back from your Player Hater's Ball, it'll have already swept you by.

Pro's:  quintessential 2BR/2 bath, south-facing, great building with modest amenities and charges, PARKING SPACE, common roof deck and backyard, blossoming neighborhood, close to the train, fair price per square foot, totally turnkey new construction

Con's:  price increases hard to keep up with, kinda generic new construction, won't be undersold off-market

Ideally:  dozens of buyers will take a stab at it, but like Highlander, "there can only be one"

Closings of Note: Numbers Don't Lie

No fewer than 5 people reached out to us this week about their search for "a live-able fixer upper in Clinton Hill for a million".  Where are these expectations coming from?  Even 3-4 years ago after the financial crash, that only happened a handful of times a year.  Even 2 years ago live-able fixer uppers in Clinton Hill could command $2M, then last year sell out for a million dollars or more PER FLOOR (people!!) as condos, like 338 Clinton Avenue.  So what seller in their right mind wants to sell their entire house to you and only you for less than people pay for condos in the area?  Were you not there well over a year ago when 375 people showed up in the cold at an open house for 102 Gates Avenue for well over a million?  When one of those people got the house, did the other 374 people just stop looking?

How do we explain that even the off-market live-able fixer-uppers in Clinton Hill trade these days from $1.85M (like 123 Gates Avenue and 395 Grand Avenue) to well over $2M?  And the really special ones can go much higher.  Cue 53 Cambridge Place, a 22' wide beauty in Clinton Hill that needed work.  An off-market deal on Platinum Member radar for months that big brokers worked, closing for $2.575M last month to buyers from DUMBO.  You weren't there when that deal was worked off-market this year, and you weren't there when even the flippers who sold it to them had to spend $1.4M+ to get it last year (not $1M or less).  The property lasted 3 days on Zillow last summer with a $1.79M asking price.  This year it lasted a few months off-market before fetching 80% more than it sold for last year.  But at every step of the way, a $1M purchase had nothing to do with anything.  If you're holding out for that once a year short sale all cash that actually does trade in Clinton Hill for $1M or less (one is being flipped as we speak off-market for $2M+), make sure you've got the funds and the stomach for what that takes to pull off.  Or hop in the time machine and go back 4 years to the glory days when SRO's in Clinton Hill still went for under a million.  Now we have sight unseen cash offers on occupied SRO's in Crown Heights well over $1M, people.  The numbers don't lie.

What else trades for over $1.4M in Clinton Hill??  Even a generic new construction piece lodged between Fulton and Lefferts Place at 478 Grand Avenue.  Wasn't looking too pretty in 2010, but then the brownstone front & renovation helped it close for $1.425M in April.

When the first stab at making up a price and a neighborhood proves unfruitful, lots of buyers start naming other neighborhoods they're sure must be bad and therefore within budget.  "Crown Heights isn't gentrified" we keep hearing, but then you go to Crown Heights and see a renovated 4-story trade barely on market for $1.55M last month like 852 Park Place with $300K down to buyers from nearby.  Whether the commercial strip nearby is quote-unquote "gentrified" in your book or not, sure doesn't stop people from paying more than you expect the neighb' to cost.  Where were you last year when the seller got it for $600K as an SRO with tenants in need of a gut and would've gladly flipped it to you for just over a million?  We were in & out of it with Platinum Members who proudly passed.

Or for a look at what Crown Heights commands for vacant SRO's with Certificate of Non-Harrassment listed with a big broker, try your hand at 1082 Dean Street.  A no-brainer off of Franklin, that closed last month to buyers from Connecticut for full asking price of $1.599M.  Where were you when this bad-boy was showing last spring asking just over a million and closed last fall for a million?  We were in & out of it with Platinum Members who proudly passed.  So, while vacant SRO's with certificates in need of a gut trade for over $1.5M, people are still asking for live-able million dollar fixer-uppers in this neighborhood or better.  Go figure.  Makes the at-the-time shocking $1.7M number for the already-renovated & rentable neighbor 1062 Dean Street look like a total steal comparatively!  When the shockers become the steals in barely 6 months, you know you've got a hot market on your hands.



But let's take a look at where a purchase price of $1M actually DOES buy you a house, and in what circumstances.  Because the neighborhoods most people scoff at are pushing $2M now for the best product, and well over a million for the gut renos.  Renovated 3-story flips without permits in Bushwick are going for over a million now, with Corcoran brokers and lesser-marketed independent brokers.  But let's look at the data.  'Cause "men lie, women lie, numbers don't..."

195 Macdonough Street, a vacant SRO in Bed-Stuy, in need of a gut, delivered with C of NH, trades for $1.024M all cash last month.  On Platinum Member radar for months, 4 cop cars and 6 police offers showed up when we toured the vacant building on a snowy weekend day this winter, wanting to vet the broker and buyer and double-check what was going on.  And you still think Bed-Stuy is too dangerous!  Even a harmless real estate showing elicits a mini swat team.  With a Corcoran listing for $1.25M in the pipelines, the buyers who were balking pre-market got motivated and took it down.  It's not live-able fixer-upper in Clinton Hill, but this vacant off-market SRO in Bed-Stuy in need of a gut... that's a million!

Prepare to be underwhelmed by the generic renovation at 1080 Greene Avenue.  Not Fort Greene "Greene Avenue", or Clinton Hill "Greene Avenue", or even Bed-Stuy "Greene Avenue"... this is Bushwick's Greene Avenue.  Closed in April for $998K.  Even we can't sleep on Bushwick anymore, and a huge development site with ambitious expectations for condo price per square foot is going on around the corner.  If you want Bed-Stuy Greene Avenue for anywhere near this price, it's gotta be something like 413 Greene Avenue, off-market for $960K all-cash.

Or how about a generically renovated 3-story "deep in Bed-Stuy" at 124 Malcolm X Boulevard, which just closed for $999K?

You ready to see what $999K actually looks like in Crown Heights?  Hop on down past Kingston Avenue where Corcoran proudly brought you 1123 Park Place with an $800K list price and a hilarious listing at the end of last summer.  "PHOENIX...LIKE A PHOENIX RISING FROM THE ASHES, 1123 Park Place is waiting to reborn," they said.  Which only sounds absurd if it weren't totally true.  They even coined the hashtag #fixerupper!  A 3-story 2-Family fixer-upper for a million past Kingston?  No wonder the fixer-uppers off of Franklin Avenue want and easily command more.  While half you Clinton Hill renters still think your 'ish don't stink and you got no business having to go any further east, buyers from the Bed-Stuy end of Clinton Hill took this one down.  Albany projects at the end of the block included.

Or, try your hand past the highway where south Slope becomes Greenwood, for a vinyl-siding 3-story that sold barely over asking price.  289 18th Street closed for $999K last month to buyers from nearby.  This estate sale is certainly a far cry from that Clinton Hill brownstone for a million they keep scratching their heads looking for.

Another fixer-upper for over a million in Bed-Stuy?  That's just how Brooklyn's living.  378 Halsey Street listed for $1.13M and sold in a flash to a property group from Central Park South.  Why are you too good for Bed-Stuy again?  Right, because folks like the Central Park South crowd are so beneath you.  It closed last month for $1.075M.  If you didn't have the cash to buy it, or the cash to fix it up, of think you had to go this far east to get it done in this price range... then remind us why Bed-Stuy is beneath you.  As we've been saying for years, by the time the neighborhood looks the way you think you want it to look, it won't cost what you want it to cost.  It just is what it is.  The numbers don't lie.  Has it already been a year and a half since we warned, "By the time you realize that you're not too good for Bed-Stuy, Bed-Stuy might well be too good for you"??  If you want an even better deal that 378, just go right down the street to 304 Halsey Street where a similar house just went for $800K.  But don't try that on your Streeteasy, and don't think that was top market price.  That sale was kept within the family.  Not really a true market comp.

Or come on out even further into Bed-Stuy, past Ralph Avenue, where a 3-story like 541 Decatur Street with sick details soars way over asking price of $999K.  It closed for $1.175M, people!  And that's with over $250K down.  So gosh-bless ya when you call us with your $200K in the bank.  That is certainly an affluent chunk of capital to have at your disposal.  But remind us what it's got to do with purchasing a fixer-upper for $1M in Clinton Hill in this market?

Oh, here's something basically in Clinton Hill (or a block across Atlantic from it) for a million!  A new construction condo!  It's 925 Pacific Street, #401 which just closed for $995K to a buyer from everyone's favorite block in Fort Greene, South Oxford.  Almost $400K down?  Ouch!  $200K down isn't even moving the needle on condos in Clinton Hill, y'all!  This is why the fixer-upper just ain't in reach in that neighb'.

Everyone's salivating over 1388 Union Street in Crown Heights south, a no-brainer Corcoran listing for $1.695M, styled to the 9's for all to see and gush over.   But when that house was selling for $999K earlier this year, so was nearby 1348 Carroll Street, a nice single-fam that went for $1.165M.  Yet again, farther than the masses wanna go, no rental income, and more than that $1M budget.  Numbers don't lie.

Back on the north side of Crown Heights, 1290 Bergen Street was a 3-story barely on the market.  $999K cash closed it last month.  Another far cry from Clinton Hill, and not even "close to Franklin", but a totally nifty deal.  The latest thing to close near Clinton Hill for under a million was off-market, all-cash, 16' wide, on the Bed-Stuy end, and has a registered sex-offender at the premises.  Probably not what the masses had in mind.  But we're sure they'll pile in for 40%+ more when the reno's done and the open house trumpets blare. 

The crown jewels of Bed-Stuy just keep going higher and higher.  We told ya months ago that the stunning 260 Decatur Street was in contract above its asking price of $1.85M.  Well, the closing has been recorded for all to see.  It closed last month for $1.95M with roughly $600K down.  Yowza!!

"Oh, but the schools!"  - You think these people don't care about their kids?

"Oh, but the lack of amenities!"  - You think these people don't want or can't afford fawncy places to go?  Or that places that suit them won't strive for their business?

"Oh, but the crime!"  - You think you know what the crime is really like in neighborhoods you never even go to?

Here's a thought that occurred to us... what if your perceptions about crime & safety in these neighborhoods that you CAN afford are just as bologna, self-concocted, and unrealistic as your expectations for pricing in the neighborhoods that you CAN'T afford?  If you don't even know what live-able fixer uppers cost in your own hood, how the heck do you know what crime is actually like in the neighborhoods you never go to?  As the NYPD tweeted, someone was shot on our block a few nights ago.  Not a very savory welcome to the neighborhood.  But the next day, the sun was shining, grandmothers sat on their stoops with their grandbabies, bikers were on their bikes, children played ball, cops patrolled, students went to school, people went to work, hair was braided, loosies were sold, crack was dealt, apartments were rented, lattes & hamburgers & IPA's & jerk chicken & cuban sandwiches were cooked & consumed... life goes on.  If you want low prices and zero crime, you're in the wrong city, yo.  But feel free to tell us what city that is!


"Well, at least there's always Lefferts..."

Right, like the decked-out 219 Fenimore Street which listed for $1.175M and closed for $1.3M.  A 3-story in Lefferts certainly doesn't cost what it used to.  Buyers from DC, not known for being the safest or cheapest town in the country either, took it down.  With $400K down, this is a far cry from the Clinton Hill live-able fixer-upper for a million with $200K down.

Or maybe you're more of the detached Victorian type, where across the street 214 Fenimore Street listed for just under $1.6M and just closed for $1.475M.  Wanna-be's are huffin' & puffin' about nothin' with million dollar expectations in neighborhoods where that was barely barely possible during the largest financial crisis in our lifetimes, while buyers from Park Slope are putting $1M down on houses in Lefferts for $1.5M and up.

On Platinum Member radar months before it came out, 104 Rutland Road was asking the local rowhouse record of $1.85M.  A "mere" 18' wide, the house got full asking price last month from a buyer from Park Slope with $500K down.


But they don't hear us, though!

Listings: Stuyvesant Heights Duplex Rentals - 890 Lafayette Avenue

[Now updated with pics of the renovated baths...]

New to the Listings section of the blog, it's a garden duplex rental in a brownstone full of original details.  890 Lafayette Avenue has an open house this Thursday evening.  Original parquet floors, ceiling medallions, mantles, molding, pier mirrors, wood shutters... all in great shape!

Then you throw in the updated kitchen and a deck to the backyard...

You'd be pushing prices too if you had product that cleaned up this nice.  Sure, the closest train is the J/Z.  But $1,000+/BR rentals are popping up deeper into Brooklyn than anyone expected.  We're told you can rent the entire house for $8,000/month, the 4BR/3 bath upper duplex for $4,500/month, or the 3BR/1.5 bath lower duplex for $3,500.  Leave your NYTimes misleading "Is it better to rent or buy?" calculator at home!  They even got the most out of the attic-like top floor...

Washer/dryer in the place to boot!  Pics of the renovated baths came in too...

Worth a look-see if you want a slice of a whole brownstone in great shape.


Pro's:  original details for days, modern upgrades, lots of BR's, deck & garden, washer/dryer, either unit or the whole house available, open house makes showing a cinch

Con's:  not the first block people think of when they want Bed-Stuy, top price per bedroom for the area

Ideally:  makes us think we should step our game up on our 3BR garden duplex rental!

Rolling Out the Red Carpet in Lefferts: 17 Chester Court

We'll never forget a few holidays ago, making small talk with an uber-liberal hipster friend of the family from a west coast town known for its smugness.  The girl's attention span was pretty selective.  When we said, "So I was playing Xbox the other day..." the gal immediately rolled her eyes as if video games were the mindless fodder of plebian rubes and most certainly beneath her and anything in her world view.  But when we corrected ourselves, "No, no... I mean, they were talking about Xbox on NPR the other day..." her eyes immediately lit up and we had her undivided attention, as if some exalted revelation about the human condition was about to rain down from the high-brow heavens.  Try it on your intelligentsia friends!  Talk to them about something mainstream and accessible like rap or McDonald's from a first-person perspective, and watch them sigh at the perceived low-brow topic.  But if NPR, or the NYTimes, or some other elite-approved outlet talks about rap or McDonald's, it suddenly becomes high-brow food for thought.  It's human nature that some people need the red carpet rolled out for them before they'll accept something as up their alley, or even palatable.  And real estate is nothing more than human nature, only set to 11.  Which is why readers send us satire like this, which is startlingly almost more spot-on than it is an exaggeration to prove a point...

So while dozens of e-mails still pile in monthly from would-be buyers who can list off the best neighborhoods in Brooklyn with ease, but couldn't afford them even if they were half-off today's prices, the neighborhoods that these same folks actually CAN afford get pshawed and dismissed as something far beneath them.  That's until the NYTimes writes an article about that neighb, or until a big broker rolls out the shiny red carpet and blesses the block with their presence, pictures, and marketing.  Ok, some off-the-charts interior design never hurts either.

Yes, on a small block of Tudor homes in Lefferts, 25 Chester Court got a mere $928K in February of 2013.  The buyer came from one of the most stunning blocks in elite-approved Park Slope.  While some folks on the Brownstoner comments section actually had some informative critique to add, the usual hacks from the peanut gallery put their dismissive 2 cents in:

"This is one of those poor little blocks squashed up between a noisome, kinda-crappy stretch of Flatbush Ave. and the ever-lovin’ Q tracks? A whisker under a million seems not to acknowledge 'location, location' etc…."

Great use of "noisome" where a simple "noisy" would suffice!

Then Corcoran got their hands on one at 30 Chester Court, listed for $829K and closed for $875K in November 2013.  The buyers?  From Park Slope.  But by then, in December of 2013, 18 Chester Court sold for just over $1M after listing for $865K.  Those buyers?  From Park Slope too.  But feast your eyes on the latest one at 17 Chester Court, where Corcoran got over the asking price of $1.4M, closing for $1.5M last month...

 
Ok, to be fair, the interior here is on another level & the house speaks for itself.  So there's more going on here than just the Corcoran story.  But they're the best outlet to bring it to you.  The same way NPR and NYT can bless mainstream and mundane topics and elevate them to a level fit for consumption by the elites, the big brokers can bless the perceived-ghetto with the nicest homes on the block and bring the top tier clients to them for top dollar.  Once upon a time, local brokers couldn't bring $850K for a little Crown Heights gem on one of the cutest blocks at 10 St. Charles Place.  When Corcoran rolled out the red carpet, bids soared over their higher asking price, and buyers floundering for years low-balling in BoCoCa pushed the price over a million.  Nowadays, even FSBO's get bidding wars over asking price on these blocks, and dozens of buyers e-mail us looking for houses just like that one off of Franklin Avenue that are no longer affordable at the pricepoints in their heads.


Even if 17 Chester Court is too flowery, too gaudy, and not your style, there's no denying the stylishness here on a par with Cousin John's renovation of Jenna Lyon's old house in beloved Park Slope.  If 17 Chester Court went for half a million more than any other house on the block, it's also more pimped out than 98% of end-users could muster with a half a millie and many months to do it with.  When someone does a reno you not only didn't have the time to do yourself, but couldn't even duplicate if you tried, that's when the profit margin premiums get pretty high.  Is that a powder room in Soho or a bathroom in the ghetto?  You decide!

Same house, same original architect as all the other Chester Courts... just a way snazzier designer spin on the interior and staging - and a big broker's top-notch exposure.  Mind you, half you clowns wouldn't know Chester Court from Chester Cheetah if it wasn't for Corcoran rolling out the red carpet and capturing the place with stunning pics.

The peanut gallery said, "seems very much 'off' in comparison" to the other sales on the block.  But a buyer from the Upper East Side (no less!) dropped over half a millie down to snag this little gem.

But don't worry, there are 3 story homes over here without Corcoran exclusives in all-cash bidding wars way over asking price too.  Often, Corcoran and their peers bring the Manhattan buyers, even if they didn't have the exclusive, as long as they can cop their minimum 2.5% for their side.  Once the elite-approved outlets give a neighborhood the "all-clear", then the masses are free to start piling in.  Lefferts is among Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy with the top-tier homes approaching $2M (and surpassing it at times).  Even at 50% more than its neighbors, 17 Chester Court still looks like a relative deal compared to record-breaking neighbors like 55 Rutland Road & 36 Rutland Road.  And don't get us started on what this same house or interior would go for anywhere in Manhattan or what piddly places $1.5M gets you over there.

Big real estate brokers have got even the savviest off-market players salivating over other stylish listings in "emerging neighborhoods", some asking 50-70% more than properties typically trade for in those neighborhoods, and sometimes that much more than the owners just paid for the house a few months ago.  Barely more than 12 months ago, no one wanted to touch 22 Arlington Place with a ten foot pole over $750K, and now it's reportedly cruising over $2M.  Trust us, if you wait until something is so nice and so obvious and so risk-free... if you won't take a house or a block or an entire neighborhood seriously until a big broker bops you over the head with it... then get ready to pay top retail prices.  If you only go for something once the elites are in the room, get ready to have to compete with the elites.


Pro's:  completely pimped-out ride, the stuff fawncy interiors magazines are made of, slays any condo in Manhattan, leagues better than even what trades for $1.3M+ cash in this same neighb! , took "only" half a millie to close it, adorable tudor on a great block, best of breed for its price, couldn't get interior this juicy anywhere else in NYC for less

Con's:  over asking price, 50% over the neighbors' sale prices, over the top interior that's not everyone's taste, won't be undersold when the big boys are on the case, call it a bubble if you must

Ideally:  if you think a neighborhood is nothing but the hood, the big brokers will disabuse of that notion in time.  Try taking someone else's word for it sometime for even greater values!

Big Piece of Park Slope: 567 10th Street

With $3M prices coming fast & furious in the best parts of Brooklyn, seeing a full-sized building with good details this close to the park asking $2.895M actually screams value.  567 10th Street was asking $3.1M, but has now dropped their price.  Almost 20' wide and an extra-deep 65', this 3-Family is a hefty piece of Park Slope at a not-that-hefty price.  Perfect for all those price-per-square-foot heads out there!

Some original details in good shape.  Some generic upgrades.  Probably a new kitchen is on deck for any new owners...

In locations this prime, ballers pretty routinely pay this price or more for something they plan on putting another $600K-$700K into.  So it's actually a better value to get something under $3M and do your own work than to pay up for original details or other people's work you're going to rip out or try & tip-toe around anyways.  This does offer a totally turnkey potential, and extra-deep size, whose trade-off is a small backyard.  But in Park Slope, who's counting?

"Can be delivered with tenants in place" offers a certain flexibility for some buyers too.  All in all, a price drop in Park Slope under $3M for something this big should not go unnoticed.  Even if the curb appeal is lacking to you because the facade says "mint chocolate chip", that didn't stop the pink house from going over $4M!



Pro's:  huge Park Slope 3-Family under $3M, totally live-able, can come with tenants, extra-deep, original details, nice back deck

Con's:  this is a lot of money even if it's a relative value, dated upgrades aren't everyone's taste, small yard is a trade-off, not what you wanna pay if you wanna do a ton of work - but it happens

Ideally:  this is definitely a best of breed for the certain buyers in this price range.

Closings of Note: Did Somebody Say $3M?

Did somebody say three million dollar homes in Brooklyn??  Try four million!!  Park Slope's mint, stylish restoration & renovation at 505 1st Street with a Corcoran listing asking $3.995M had no problem going over asking price.  Buyers from Manhattan closed on it this month for $4.11M.  Took over $1.2M down to get it.  Musta felt like a high price to pay when it was picked up for $2.3M in the doldrums of 2009.  Looks like a nice turnaround today for sure.  It's not like this is the only outlier either, 309 State Street also got over $4M this month.

Did somebody say $3M?  Fort Greene's 185 Lafayette Avenue lists for $2.99M and closes last month for $2.9M to buyers from Paris.  Even while it propels further as an international destination, the Brooklyn doubters are still scratching their heads.

Since prime Park Slope is still no stranger to the three million dollar mark, even the fixer uppers on the best blocks can fetch close to that price.  595 5th Street is a limestone in need of work on a park block that listed for $3M and closed for $2.887M without a flashy big broker on the case.  The limestone cousin to this house in Crown Heights is in better shape, like 255 New York Avenue, still goes for basically half the price.

Platinum Members passed on both iterations of 78 Fenimore Street in Lefferts Garden.  You can lead a horse to $200K-$300K worth of water, but you can't make 'em drink.  The property closed in March just under its latest asking price of $1.4M.

Call it a quick flip.  Call it a Bed-Stuy/Bushwick tweener.  Call it a generic renovation.  But 780 Madison Street, asking $1.325M, closes for $1.2M this month.  Buyers from Williamsburg picked up this huge 25' x 60', 5,000+ sqft. 3-Family with windows on an unattached side and way-rentable units.  Between Ralph Avenue and Patchen isn't where the masses who want a Brooklyn brownstone are necessarily running to, but this is a pretty sweet turnkey purchase even at that price.  If you've got a bigger, better 3-Family out the box for $1.2M, we're all ears.

Stunning historic houses with curb appeal, amazing original details, in need of gut rehabs, way out in Stuyvesant Heights, trading for over $1.5M??  You're damn right!  259 Decatur Street was a quick flip, but a gem.  It got $1.65M cash this month.

Everyone still wonders why the emerging parts of Brooklyn have houses consistently selling above $1.5M, but look at what that much money gets you on the outskirts of the beaten paths.  In Windsor Terrace, the estate sale at 17 Windsor Place came out asking $1.695M and closed for $1.58M this month.  A vinyl-siding 3 story in estate condition?  Check, please!

Platinum Members got the word when the narrow-but-stylish 3-Family brownstone at 497 Franklin Avenue was available again for under $1M.  But gems can't stay a secret forever in this market.  Buyers from Brooklyn Heights took it down this month for $1.1M with just about 30% down.  One of the niftiest purchases in the area!

Crown Heights for over $2M?  760 Eastern Parkway is a 30' x 65' house on a 40' x 120' lot with a driveway.  Closed for $2.1M this month.  A lot of money to expand a library.

There were various rumors that the prime Bed-Stuy fixer-upper at 272 Putnam Avenue couldn't even get over $1M, even with many people wanting it for more than that.  By the time folks were stepping up to the plate, the contract was locked in.  Even at barely 17' wide, not bad for a 4-story just off Nostrand.  The building closed for $999K this month with a mortgage even higher than that.

Even between 4th & 5th Avenues, Park Slope has generic condos that go higher than that.  675 Degraw Street, #1 closes for $1.45M with half a million down.

Nearby 728 Sackett Street, #4L closes for $1.195M this month.  Buyers from the Upper West Side dropped half a millie on that.  Oh, and don't forget other condo trades in the past few weeks like in 414 Hicks for $1.1M, 75 Carroll Street for $1.449M, 230 Ashland Place for $1.075M, 1 Hanson Place for $1.1M, 645 Warren Street for $1.28M.   Where are all those Bed-Stuy Chicken Littles to cry, "The sky is falling!" when these generic condos are trading well over a millie just a few miles west?

The renovated frame house on the north edge of Fort Greene at 179 Park Avenue closes for $910K this month.  Like we said, great condo alternative for the right buyer.

Speaking of condos, how about 25 Bergen Street, #3A?  Totally generic didn't stop it from getting $1.9M from buyers from lower Manhattan.  Over asking price and over $1,000/sqft again in Brooklyn.

Or how about a $2M+ condo?  Park Slope's 133 Sterling Place, #4C got $2.26M, people!  $1,400/sqft, people!!

No wonder we were so bullish on the off-market flip at 29 Lincoln Place anywhere under $2M.  Closed for $1.75M cash last month.

Platinum Members had their doubts, but the flip is complete at 1222 Carroll Street.  A buyer from lower Manhattan picked up this little Crown Heights south gem for $1.4M this month.

Market deaf developers wanna tell us Clinton Hill condos can't command $800/sqft.  Meanwhile, pretty far north in Bed-Stuy, another 315 Gates Avenue condo goes for over $800/sqft.  Corcoran ain't playing no games when they list this 1BR for $525K and get $590K for it.  Oh, and guess where the buyer's from?  Clinton Hill!