Another Grand Renovation Sells for $4M+: 162 Bergen Street

It's official, another project from Brooklyn's general contracting firm "Grand Renovation" has sold for $4M+.  You may remember co-founder and President of Grand Renovation, Cousin John Buchbinder (AKA "The House Whisperer") from his renovation on the high profile, much published former house of Jenna Lyons at 178 Garfield Place in Park Slope.  Cousin John has been the skipper on some of Brooklyn's best projects.

Jenna's house stunned everyone when it sold over asking price for $4M just over 3 years ago.  Since then, even less stunning homes have traded over $4M on that block.  So was it any surprise to see another stunner at 162 Bergen Street hit the market for $4.95M at the end of last summer and close for $4.375M not long after?

This 22' wide four-story brick building was a design-build project completely gut renovated from top to bottom in prime Boerum Hill in 2009.  Modest & handsome federal brick on the outside belies the "rococo" renovation packed with bells & whistles on the inside...

Despite the moans and groans of people who couldn't even afford $2M purchases around here, no, the nearby Gowanus Housing projects ain't stopping the 4-millionaires from descending on this neighb'.  As they didn't stop another high-profile sale one block away from fetching $8.8M a few months ago.  As we've seen over & over, one man's "deal breaker" is another man's "I'll gladly pay 4 times more than you can afford for it."  Before prices over here took off into the stratosphere, we got to check out 162 Bergen Street mid-renovation years ago back when we rented around the corner.  It was the project where we first learned about the marvels of radiant floor heating while a high efficiency boiler roughly the size of a backpack was being installed in the basement.

But amazing mechanicals, while extremely comfortable and efficient, aren't what people come to see in a house like this.  It's shiny pics of "original" details and staged rooms...

Blending old & new at this level in a house from the 1800's is no easy task.  Original wide plank floors refinished and heated with radiant tubing, exposed brick in a double-height south-facing atrium that reaches some 20' high, 5-floor elevator installed, multi-zoned central A/C, soapstone counters, custom-made cherry wood cabinets that by themselves can cost more than many folks spend on their entire kitchens.  All finishing touches which weren't designed by a developer to flip a property; they were tailored for the owner's own taste.  But that doesn't stop the peanut gallery from having a field day on the gawdy plaster work, or the owner's decision to put an elevator in the building.  Not everyone grasps why certain owners choose to put elevators in their homes.  Good news is, when you have $2M+ for a shell and over $1M for a renovation, you can decide what you'd like to put in your house too!  Cousin John points out that with a fully finished cellar and laundry space in the basement, an added bonus of the elevator is not hoofing down 4 flights of stairs from the bedroom (where most laundry is created) back downstairs where the laundry is.  Others opt to put laundry on the top floor sometimes.  Cousin John has since installed another elevator in one of his renovation projects in Prospect Heights.

You can't please all the people all the time, so not every renovation is going to appeal to everyone.  However, when you're doing a design-build job for one client, there's only one person to please - the client.  This isn't the way we would've done the bathroom, but it's certainly a nice one...

And luckily when it's our house, we get to pick out our own fixtures & finishes.  Exposed beams on the garden floor are a nice look with the wide plank floors (and working fireplace!)...

Cousin John has made an Ikea kitchen look like a million bucks before, but the custom look here at 162 Bergen Street was a bit different...

The incredibly detailed plasterwork seen today in the house, with its signature gargoyle faces, mostly isn't original after all.  Cousin John tells us that the house started out federal in the mid-1800's, and as Italianate became more the style in the early 1900's, more ornate plaster was added.  However, after another ~100 years, "85% of the original plaster had to be removed.  Our craftsmen then set about making new moulds for some of the pieces and re-imagining other plaster details to recreate the seamless appearance of an historic brownstone.  The decorative painting of the plasterwork served to further highlight the marvelous intricacies of the work."  Cousin John tells us, "Anything you can imagine and draw on paper, can be built in plaster."  So this is really new plaster replicated to mimic the old in its shape and paint treatment...

And the custom-made moulds for the archway & doorframes...

Cousin John tells us, "This is the original ceiling medallion that was removed, stripped of all paint and reinstalled.  It was comprised of 36 separate pieces and reassembled on site."

Cousin John is a fun guy, but when it comes to restoration details, he is no joke...

On the top floor, 5 new skylights bring sun into the north and south bedrooms, as well as the interior bath on this otherwise not-that-sunny tree-lined block.  The skylights have remote controlled shades, open and close by remote control, and even have a rain sensor that closes them automatically if you leave them open on accident.  Blue stone lines the front and back yards, with a fountain, winding path, and separate elevations in the rear...

Renovation work of this caliber doesn't come cheap, but it doesn't sell for cheap either on the open retail market.  "Numbers don't lie - check the scoreboard."

 

Pro's:  totally finished house with modern fixin's and original & restored details, several custom & unique touches, 22' wide, rare elevator, light years better than run of the mill reno's that trade for almost this high

Con's:  certainly not for the faint of wallet, plethora of pictures still don't capture all the looks of this house, renovation isn't everyone's taste - especially the ornate plaster, gone already

Ideally:  top notch flagship house over $4M and still less than half what a neighbor just paid.  Not too shabby.

Back to the "Stash Spot": 560 State Street, #7D

As 2BR condos go, it doesn't get more centrally located than 560 State Street.  Made famous by Jay-Z's song "Empire State of Mind", where he raps, "Took it my stash spot, 560 State Street".  The Jigga-Man's own former 2BR unit listed for $870K a few months ago and just closed for $930K.  So it's no wonder that another 2BR in the building is hitting the market this week for that same price, this time 560 State Street, #7D with its first open house this Saturday afternoon.  Now that the Barclays Center is here across the street, seen here out the window of the master bedroom...

...the neighborhood is a far cry from what it was in those days.  Young Hova's view don't come as cheap as it used to.

Located at the apex of the top brownstone Brooklyn neighborhoods of Park Slope, Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, and Prospect Heights - the condo game over here is no joke.  These particular condos are an interesting blend - one part brownstone, one part mews, and one part new development.  Located directly across the street from 1 Hanson Place, where condos have surpassed $3M at times...

And one door down from the typical rowhouse look of the rest of Boerum Hill's State Street, where fixer upper townhomes have gone over $3M...

You walk up the front entrance of 560 State Street into this huge common courtyard with benches, two grills & a fridge, and gas-lit lamps attached to red brick fronts to all the apartments around the courtyard...

 

This unit #7D is a 2 bedroom & 1 bath laid out on one floor, rather than some of the other duplexes in the building.  It's got 9 windows facing south east onto 4th Avenue and Atlantic Avenue.

Considering the proximity to the street, the apartment is surprisingly quiet with its double-pane windows.  And Cousin John says installing triple-pane windows or other solutions is pretty affordable too.  The apartment's in totally turnkey condition...

 

 

We've seen condos go for more undergoing renovations to personalize the finishes, but this one's totally good to go out the box as well.  New heat & A/C unit and a new water heater were installed about 2 years ago.  With a kid & grown-up friendly courtyard, affordable monthly costs, and a tax abatement available for owner-occupants, this is a great alternative to condos with higher maintenance in the Toren or 1 Hanson going for much higher than this.  Rental income potential at 560 State Street is over $3,500/month these days too.  If you want to be in prime Brooklyn, don't want a 1BR, and don't have well over a million for a fixer-upper townhouse... the 2BR under a million becomes appealing again.

Pro's:  centrally located turnkey 2 bedroom with low monthly costs, close to all top neighborhoods & transportation, sunny with 9 windows to the south and east, huge common courtyard with grills, kid-friendly building, preferable layout to the duplexes in the building, townhouse feel makes it more than just a bland condo

Con's:  2nd bedroom is smaller, finishes are generic and commodity grade in some people's book, no additional half-bath

Ideally:  a prime slice of Brooklyn under a million.  Easy to mosey on over after brunch or the Brooklyn Flea on Saturday to take a look-see.

Have the Bears Descended on Brooklyn??: 374 Pacific Street

When the New York Times called us "bullish" on Brooklyn, we couldn't help but smile.  Is there any other position to take in this market?  But a recent contract signing in Brooklyn could spell doom and gloom for all those bulls out there.  Perhaps we were wrong all along, and it's the bears who are controlling this market.  The market must be cooling off, right?  A stunning 5-story brownstone, renovated from head-to-toe, drops its asking price one million dollars after flailing on the market for months.  Then, it goes into contract for a price that's over a million dollars less than its latest price!!  In Brooklyn, the land of buyers still searching for million dollar brownstones, a house has to drop its price by over $2M just to sell?!  Is this the canary in the mineshaft for the onset of the bear market??

374 Pacific Street is a killer house to be sure.  Feast your eyes on what 26' wide and the best natural light in a brownstone money can buy actually looks like...

The listing has the house "boasting almost 7,000 square feet of interior space", Smart Home technology, zoned central A/C, and a 35' atrium.  The list of bells & whistles goes on.  So why does a home this huge and this gorgeous have to undergo a 30% price cut to get a contract??

Well, like many things, it's all a matter of perspective.  Can we really say it's "bearish" when a house first listed just under $8M goes in contract for well over $5M?  Is the glass over $2M empty?  Or over $5M full?


Just what is a bear anyways?  "Contrarians" in markets pride themselves on taking a position opposite to everyone else's.  You can read lots of contrarian "investors" who hate on Wall Street's bull market cycles.  They're kind of like the proverbial broken clock.  They're basically wrong all the time, holding out for that one time every 10 years or so when they're actually right.  Take a look at the 100+ year chart on the Dow, and you'll see how rare the bearish times really are and how short they last...

The chart on real property in NYC in the past 100+ years doesn't look too different.  The fabled million dollar brownstone is becoming almost a thing of the past in New York, including Harlem and the rest of upper Manhattan, and of course Brooklyn.  That still doesn't stop novices from looking for them in the most no-brainer neighborhoods.  However, back in 2009-2010, you could actually find them.  Perhaps back then you were among the many watching their net worth evaporate by as much as (or more than!) half during the financial lows of 2009.  The financial crisis created opportunity for savvy buyers poised with the capital to pick things up in prime areas north of a million, and sell them for much, much more today.

Cue 374 Pacific Street, whose most recent list price of $6.95M reflects over a 500% increase from the $1.335M it was purchased for in 2010.  Many covered the story of neighbors receiving a million of that, from Curbed to The Real Deal and beyond.  We tend to focus on the fact that this is another house (as "far east" as Bond Street!) selling in Brooklyn for over $5M.  That's bullish activity in our book.  Although, don't over look, this house sells for closer to $10M anywhere in Manhattan.  And it's still just over $800/sqft for a huge, unique house in a neighborhood where condos sail above $1,000/sqft.  So let's keep it all in perspective, people.




Pro's:  curb appeal, size, totally renovated, immense price flexibility, unique width, tons of natural light, price per square foot almost isn't even shocking (comparatively), high-end end-users dream of this

Con's:  well over $5M ain't cheap, renovation isn't everyone's taste, certainly doesn't qualify as an "investment" per se, where were you in 2010??

Ideally:  not what we'd spend this kind of money on, but it still beats the Triangle Sports Building any day.  If you had this kind of money to invest, we'd lean towards buy & hold properties grossing well over $200K/year that still sell for less than this.  But there are $5M+ condos in Manhattan that would drool over this house.

Boerum Hill Beauty Sold: 230 Bergen Street

A 4-story beauty on one of BoCoCa's favorite streets sells last week to Platinum Members.  Another Corcoran listing not to be written off.  230 Bergen Street is a quintessential 3-Family with an owner's duplex and 1.5BR rentals.

Original details?  Check!  Modern kitchen & baths?  Check!  Central A/C?  Check!

The house is very reminiscent of our favorite off-market townhouse in Prospect Heights, but when the seller got cold feet, Platinum Members couldn't wait for the pricepoints to go north of $3M.  Oh wait, they already did!  105 St. Marks Ave should be blushing selling for $300K more than this finished product at 230 Bergen Street.

Oh yeah, can't forget the yard...

$4K/month in rental income on top of a price per square foot that beats most condos in this area??  Looks like another relative value to us.  Even if this price isn't for everyone, it's still bargain basement compared to Manhattan.


Pro's:  curb appeal, original details & modern upgrades, great block, great rental income

Con's:  off the beaten path by some accounts, many will want to personalize further, not everyone's pricepoint

Ideally:  another solid purchase in our book, even if it is Corcoran again

Has This Boerum Hill Sleeper Awoken?: 82 Dean Street

On and off the market for years, 82 Dean Street in prime-time Boerum Hill is a 4-story brick building that's been trying to find its way.  We covered it some years back, and it was an old listing even then!  Well, what's changed?  Besides the market, we're told there's a Certificate of Non-Harrassment now for this SRO.  Which was the game-changer that made deals like 138 Prospect Place and 660 St. Marks Avenue fetch higher prices than they otherwise could have.  We're told that SRO properties are mortgage-able once they've got the C of NH, and we wouldn't believe it unless we saw it with our own eyes.  So what's with 82 Dean Street?  We were first inside it 2 years ago with some wanna-be developers who were looking the steal the place.  Then we heard a few months ago it was fielding offers above $1.5M.  A few weeks later, we heard it was going into contract for a stunning $1.9M.  Now, one of the busiest brokers in town is telling us he's still got it available for $1.7M.  Our main-man Gavriel Drew at Fillmore is all over town with some of the best on and off-market opportunities.  He says 82 Dean isn't sleeping anymore, it's alive & kicking.

The building's still small, it still needs a gut, it's still barely got a yard... but we're told the zoning issue from before has been resolved too.  The peanut gallery will say, "Over a million and a half for that?!"  And you can't blame them.  However, it's not like there's a ton of product over here either.  Even if you're ready to spend well over $2M, it's slim pickens in BoCoCa these days.  But don't take our word for it.  Walk into any real estate broker's office on Smith or Court Street, and even if you're a cash buyer up to $5M, ask them if they've got any townhouses available.  Then watch them roll their eyes and tell you they have nothing to sell you, with a disinterested glaze over their faces.  It's why brokers get a bad rep and why even fuzzy deals like 82 Dean Street start to look appealing; if not in pictures, then certainly in context.

If a gut like 270 Dean Street in a less desirable locale can fetch $1.55M, and a 3-story around the corner like 200 Wyckoff can get $1.4M last year in a flash, and anything decent over there can command in the high $2M's... only time will tell what 82 Dean Street can do now that it's out of its slumber.



Pro's:  top notch location, delivered vacant, 4-stories, got C of NH now, mortgage-able, finally ready for a deal?

Con's:  small, needs a ton of work, ain't cheap, not much yard

Ideally:  it won't take another 3 years before this is the pimped-out single family of someone's dreams