Prime Corner 8-Family in Bed-Stuy Closed Last Week: 1 MacDonough Street

One of Bed-Stuy's most prime corner 8-Family buildings closed last week at 1 MacDonough Street in an off-market transaction for $3.5M.  This hefty 27' x 95' building weighs in at over 10,000 square feet no matter how you slice it, and with over a dozen windows per floor, it is stacked with 3 and 4 bedroom apartments.  The group "1 MacDonough Street Partners LLC" purchased the property and plans to develop it into 8 condo units.

We were bullish on the place since the day we heard about it last year, when Platinum Members had an accepted offer at $2.9M and the owners were pushing for more.  It later appeared on HomeCanvasr.com for higher just about a year ago.  But you won't find this deal on StreetEasy, no matter what their corporate counsel might say.

No stranger to making off-market moves in Bed-Stuy, our main man Paul Gooden is the agent who put the deal together at 1 MacDonough.  And the buyer group, who also picked up 479 Clinton Avenue last week for $5M...

... they demonstrated a unique understanding of a landmarked block's potential in Bed-Stuy.

The interior of 1 MacDonough obviously will undergo rehab, but we were curious to get a first peek at the bones...

Early last year we were closing 8-Family's (though about half the size) for over $3M in Prospect Heights, but obviously the market's changed since then, particularly in areas like Bed-Stuy.  Getting what will likely be $8M-$10M worth of condos for $3.5M ain't bad.  Especially as $300 per buildable square foot pushes its way east, $350/sqft for good bones is even better.  Can't go wrong when you "get it for the low".  The price is also impressive considering the Aussies just resold nearby 75 MacDonough Street for $4.175M.  Although that's a more grand property, its value isn't as poised to be unleashed as 1 MacDonough's.  Or compare to another corner big-boy 8-Family right next to it at 231 Hancock Street, reportedly in contract off-market for $3.5M cash as well with the same broker, and seen only on HomeCanvasr.com for over a year.  Hancock, however, comes with plenty of rent regulation in place, so MacDonough vacant for the same price looks even more attractive.


While tons of ground up construction goes up all over Brooklyn - the quality, style, and aesthetic of which many groan about - these early 1900's gems were built better, withstood over 100 years of mixed-bag maintaining, and are here to stay.  They will command a different clientele than the boxy glass condo.  Also, you can't build box glass condos on these landmarket blocks if you wanted to.  Plus quality condo product on the prime brownstone blocks will command that much more of a premium since not everyone can afford prices over $1.5M for a fixer-upper townhouse, or $2M+ for a finished one (or worse).  So don't be surprised when the people who can afford the ~$1M condo show up on the brownstone blocks too, even in Bed-Stuy.  Not everyone grasps the nuances of the "you build it, they will come" potential of Brooklyn like the buyers of 1 MacDonough, and we're looking forward to seeing these condos when they "bring 'em out, bring 'em out".


Pro's: corner, size, windows & BR's for days, delivered vacant, not outrageously bid up on market, buy & hold or condo potential right out the gates

Con's:  price bubbled up, top line number may sound high if you dunno what you're looking at, not on everyone's radar, very difficult deal to navigate, will take lots of money to maximize

Ideally: one of the most desirable canvases to renovate and restore in line with today's market

Bed-Stuy Stunner with Open House This Weekend: 806 Greene Avenue

When you're asking $2M+ in Stuyvesant Heights, you'd better have "one of those" houses where the renovation is butter.  And with an asking price of $2.375M, 806 Greene Avenue doesn't disappoint.  The modest brownstone exterior belies the stylish, decked out reno inside.  The listing says, "The owners combined their world renowned architectural and design skills to create a utopic home with a desire for simpler, fuss-free living."  Full of brand name fixtures, this house has high end retail finishes throughout at high end retail pricing.

$2M has been touched and surpassed a few times before in Bed-Stuy and Stuyvesant Heights, and for houses not quite as stunning as this.  Platinum Members hit the off-market asking price of $2M this summer on the 200-block of Jefferson for a house with more original detail, but not quite all the modern pizzaz -before the owners opted to rent instead.  The buyers now have a contract out in Stuyvesant Heights over $2.2M on another house before it even hit the open market.  All on the same block where yet another house closed for over $2.2M.  And don't forget 391 Macon Street, which closed for $2.2M in June to buyers from more prime Brooklyn.

As long as buyers with $500K+ downpayments are willing to go further and further into Brooklyn, these price points are achievable.  But they do get you top of the line product, instead of what shells and what generic reno's and 3-stories go for $2.5M and over in Fort Greene and Park Slope.  So while the price proximity between such perceived-as-different neighborhoods may surprise you - heck, it even surprises us - the market comes down to a decision for the home owners and home buyers.

806 Greene Avenue's yummy pics will have those tippy top buyers gushing...

Even the baths look magazine quality...

And you've gotta have that yard.  $2M+ Manhattan condos won't come with that.

When you could find bones this nice for $1.4M-$1.5M, but would have to spend $400K+ and many months to make it right, you can see why handfuls of people opt to "overpay" for finished product that couldn't've produced themselves even if time & money were no object.  For $2.3M+ you might've wanted at least one of the 6 fireplaces restored to functional, but doing that part yourself won't break the bank.  At least it has 6 of 'em.  As high end double-duplexes go, this 806 Greene Avenue is top notch, and probably won't be undersold.  But with an open house this weekend, it's easy to come see for yourself.

Pro's:  totally lux reno, stylish & unique interior, many original details intact, double-duplex set-up, finished cellar, barely more than worse on & off market deals in the high-end range of Bed-Stuy, great pics up and open house to come

Con's:  special pricing, pretty standard curb appeal, further northeast than most people wanna be, would like a working fireplace at this price

Ideally:  top of the line house for a top of the line price whose sale will still probably shock thousands, even though it makes perfect sense for a dozen or so buyers

Bed-Stuy Mixed-Use Available Only on HomeCanvasr: Gates Avenue & Nostrand Avenue

Available only on HomeCanvasr.com, it's a mixed-use property in Bed-Stuy that's asking $1.25M.  This building has 2 turnkey apartments and a commercial space currently used as a trendy gallery.  One of the apartments is a true 2BR with a balcony over-looking the garden...

The other apartment is a 1BR plus office.  Market rents between $1,750-$2,000/floor for the apartments, and the gallery on the ground floor is pretty sick...

With a new roof, tenants paying their own heat & hot water for each unit, and the gallery doing some landscaping & coy pond to come in the backyard, this building is optimized for hipster "set it & forget it" status.  Low ball cash offers under $1M were already shot down, and the owner wants a high number in this frothy market, but who can blame 'em?  We've got another one off-market on the corner at this same pricepoint in Bed-Stuy with 2 garages.


Pro's:  totally turnkey, Nostrand isn't too far anymore, lots of amenities nearby on Bedford, tenants pay all utilities, almost fully optimized, full sized 20' wide, no big broker commission on the scene

Con's:  not much value-add left at these levels, 3-stories not 4, won't settle for $1M anymore

Ideally:  if you want an easily finance-able buy & hold or a live-in investment at a relatively low pricepoint for the area, this could be the one

Bed-Stuy Rental Also Available for Sale: 203 Kosciuszko Street

203 Kosciuszko Street is a renovated 3-Family rental building pretty north in Bed-Stuy closer to the G train.  A cute brick bowfront on the outside built pretty full at 20' x 55', with floorplates chopped into as many as 3-4 bedrooms on each floor.  The rentals are up in a few places and the building went up yesterday on HomeCanvasr.com for sale at $1.6M.  Not long ago the house sold with Corcoran who hadn't even bothered with interior pics.  Now we can clearly see they threw some fairly nice & serviceable kitchens together in the interior...

New floors, new windows, baseboard heat...

A gut reno on the generic side may not wow you, but as turnkey townhomes with rentable bedrooms go, this house is fairly maxed-out.  Rentals are currently asking $2,250-$2,700.  If this house can truly gross $8K/month, that certainly establishes a healthy value on it.

Around the corner from the park, and what listing in Bed-Stuy isn't "located near popular jaunts like Saraghina, Peaches, Black Swan..." ??  Whether you pronounce Kosciuszko like "kuh-SHOOS-ko" or "KASS-kee-AH-sko", this is a 3-Family that hundreds of Bed-Stuy buyers can actually afford.  Sitting a price just under another renovated 2-Family like 174 Macon Street.  By no means as fancy as the all-cash purchase at 96 Decatur Street, but in need of much less work.  And we've seen off-market offers almost $2M for generic renovations on those blocks, and in addition to similar 3-Families trading off-market as high as $1.7M and as far north as Kosciuszko.  Platinum Members are making off-market offers 20% higher than this for similar rental-style properties in slightly & much better locations from Fort Greene to East Harlem.  So we'll see what the market has to say...


Pro's:  curb appeal, turnkey & renovated, large floorplate, lots of bedrooms & income potential, can be delivered vacant or with any units rented, floorplans up in this!

Con's:  no original details, not the exact corner of Bed-Stuy that everyone covets, recently traded much lower

Ideally:  G train owner-occupant investment opportunity not on market with a big broker

Bed-Stuy Fixer-Upper Closing this Week: 96 Decatur Street

On Platinum Member radar for over a year, and on HomeCanvasr.com since last June, it's another fixer-upper in Bed-Stuy closing this week for over $1.5M.  96 Decatur Street is full of original details, in need of a ton of work, sourced for an insanely low price, and has been been all over the map the past year.  It was in contract over $1.6M at the end of the summer, then poised to renovate and hit the market for closer to $1.8M-$1.9M, and now closing for over $1.5M cash.  This is just another reason everything live-able wants $1.65M or higher.

Wood everywhere, mantles for days...

Healthy 20' x 50' on 4 stories with a bay window in the back...

Some buyers complained they could see/smell the McDonald's out the backyard.  One man's "I'm lovin' it!" is another man's "deal breaker".  If the "tons of details but basically a gut" condition of this house and its closing price remind you of 259 Decatur Street, that's because it basically is the same deal all over again.  Buyers and sellers are on "rinse & repeat" in these neighbs.


Pro's:  full sized house full of details on a nice block, at an even lower price than previous contract, unattached on one side, worth well over $2M when all fixed-up, around the corner from the subway

Con's:  plenty of work to be done, deal done off-market, all-cash, chipped paint facade is no biggie, McD's proximity

Ideally:  just another fixer-upper trading off-market at the new normal prices.  Or is this the sign that things are slowing down 'cause the contract price took a haircut from this summer?

Renovated Bed-Stuy Double-Duplex Hitting the Market: 174 Macon Street

As seen on HomeCanvasr.com since last June, when it was available unrenovated pre-market for $1.2M-$1.3M, this 2-Family double-duplex at 174 Macon Street is finishing up its renovation and hitting the market for $1.65M.  Yes, months before it was tested momentarily on StreetEasy pre-reno, we had it on HomeCanvasr.com.  Now that Bed-Stuy's best fixer-uppers are fetching $1.5M or higher here, and even off-market gems are getting that much like 54 Macon Street, the $1.65M asking price for 174 Macon - for even a generic modern renovation - is sounding like a relative value.  Across the street from the playground, we thought this house would've been swooped up already.

Bed-Stuy prices have been giving us "altitude sickness" for almost a year now.  But compared to what else is out there, this one's not shooting for the moon or anything.  The pics won't wow you, the reno isn't finishing up until this week or so, but it's a decent sneak peek...

And we're told it's available for showings already.  They ripped out old carpeting, kept the mantles, put down new floors, kitchens, baths, eletrical & plumbing.  We might've restored the parquet on some floors, but it's still underneath if you really wanna.  The work looks like pretty bare-bones stuff that novices could've done themselves, but may not have had the funds to after dropping the downpayment.  So the owners did build some value into the building.  This ain't no 101 Hancock Street, but it's also asking almost a million less.  By the time it's staged out the wazoo (if that ever happens), it could be a no-brainer.  But we see something happening sooner if the price is right.



Pro's:  renovated double-duplex, not too far into Bed-Stuy, delivered vacant, no big broker on the case yet, beats many $1.5M condos, maybe not the way you woulda done it - but lots of time & money you don't have to spend in updated

Con's:  may not be your style, pics aren't super deluxe or anything, reno not completely done until this week or so, not dripping with original details, feels kinda bland & chopped-up

Ideally:  if you're looking at fixer-uppers that command almost this much and you're not a nut for original details, this could be your renovated dream boat

Listings: Open House for Bed-Stuy Reno Under a Million: 13A Dewey Place

New to the Listings section of the blog, it's a renovated house in Bed-Stuy that's only 15' wide, but asking well under a million.  And every house, regardless of condition, wants to be a million in Bed-Stuy now, no matter where it is.  Which is why even a 3-story shell like 109 Malcolm X Blvd was able to sell for $725K cash basically sight-unseen.  But 13A Dewey Place, asking $799K with an open house this weekend, is no shell.  Dewey Place is fresh off a serviceable gut reno that adds value to it on the retail market for buyers looking for some rental income and a duplex at condo alternative pricing.  Whenever you buy a renovated home for the price of a condo, you've gotta manage expectations...

Although they did go with a dishwasher on one of the kitchens, which is more than we can say for another deep Bed-Stuy 3-Family like 459 Lexington Avenue, which later sold for $950K after betting us they'd sell for $1.1M.  13A Dewey Place is only 15' wide and it is only some ~1,500/sqft, but well under a million is harder and harder to come by.  Nobody's running towards baseboard heaters and generic renos by choice, but these are the compromises we make to be in the one of the most coveted cities in the country.

The Ralph Avenue C train is more than halfway to Brownsville, or just one stop past Utica, depending on how you look at it.  But it's certainly not the end of the world, as we saw on nearby 992 Herkimer Street, which by the way later dropped to $790K and delisted.  Call it Ocean Hill, call it Bed-Stuy, but someone's going to call it home for the right price.



Pro's:  could be a great little starter home 2-Fam condo alternative at the right price, within budget for hundreds of Brooklyn buyers, totally renovated, open house

Con's:  narrow, generic, tweener block, far east, ppsf

Ideally:  $500/sqft townhomes aren't happening here so far, but there's a nice deal to be made at the right price

Mismarketed Bed-Stuy Fixer-Upper Over $2M: 158 Hancock Street

For a few months now, one of the prettiest houses on one of the nicest blocks in Bed-Stuy, 158 Hancock Street, is available for all to see, but in a place where hardly anyone who cares about this type of product ever looks.  Sure, Massey Knakal (now Cushman Wakefield) may be "NYC's #1 Building Sale Firm", and they can sell $40M packages, but that still doesn't mean they know what to do with a fixer-upper townhouse like 158 Hancock Street.  For example, don't try finding this on your StreetEasy, because that's a site one of the partners at Massey Knakal would tell you no one searches on.  Consolidating this nonsense could probably happen in a day and be much easier than merging MK & CW, but for whatever reason, still hasn't happened.  With a monkey-see/monkey-do asking price of $2.1M on 158 Hancock, Massey still slaps adorable pro-forma numbers together on their set-up of $3,000/month per floor, even though they probably couldn't show you a single living-breathing rental on that block for that price.  Rents have certainly come a long way, but isn't this the cutest thing you ever did see...?

And what they don't show you on the one pager is anything anyone might actually care about, like the interior condition, albeit unsavory at times.  And that's just part of why offers won't come in at their maximum potential.  Although it does show we've come a long way from when Platinum Members were picking up the barely-marketed 160 Hancock Street next door for $1.1M cash.

For interior pics of 158 Hancock Street, you've gotta go to the 16-page offering memorandum, a pomp & circumstance hallmark of the large brokerage firms which is usually pages of white noise with a lil' data.  Hats off to them, though, for actually getting some telling interior pics in there.  Wood details & drapes, anyone?

Working live-able spaces and original details...

We've seen this movie before.  When commercial brokers get their hands on rezi pieces and don't necessarily have the patience or care or strategy to get tippy-top end-user dollar out of them. How many people are kicking themselves they missed some of the lost great Clinton Hill fixer-uppers for $1.5M at 108 & 148 Gates Avenue?  Savvy buyers don't care who has the listing.  They just want the best house for the best price.  Nowadays on Hancock, there's another even more stunning house that's an SRO available on this block with a large commercial firm not being marketed openly, asking $1.5M.  158 Hancock could cruise to that number in its sleep with the right treatment.  Just ask 204 Jefferson Avenue.  Hancock is probably a much better buy than 204 Jefferson and only time & the market will tell if it can surpass that price.  Another day, another couple of million dollars in inefficient brownstone Brooklyn.



Pro's:  great west Bed-Stuy fixer-upper, curb appeal, may not sell at full market price, some original details in great shape, updated mechanicals

Con's:  price is reaching, robotic commercial listing treatment of a great rezi listing, tenancy? 

Ideally:  a relative steal at $1.5M and a joke at $2.2M, but there's plenty of arbitrage to play with in between