Sales: 146 Sterling Place Fetches $2,730,000
It took a little longer than they had probably hoped and they ended up having to do a deal at about 10 percent under their original asking price, but the sellers of 146 Sterling Place still must’ve done pretty well considering they bought the place back in 1998. This go-round, they put the three-family house…
It took a little longer than they had probably hoped and they ended up having to do a deal at about 10 percent under their original asking price, but the sellers of 146 Sterling Place still must’ve done pretty well considering they bought the place back in 1998. This go-round, they put the three-family house on the market for $2,995,000 in November 2007; they reduced the price to $2,875,000 in April of this year before accepting a bid of $2,730,000 in June. Does that price surprise anyone or does it sounds about right?
Open House Picks 3/14/08 [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark
146 Sterling Place Sale [Street Easy]
Pluses:
Great woodwork
Exposure on three sides
Nice proportions
Minuses:
Major facade work needed (entire back facade needed repointing)
Kitchen sucked
Horrendous, cheapo “pueblo” style “spa” for master bath
No yard
No basement
North side of block is basically a dumpster for Flatbush storefronts
Charmless garden rental
Broker is a complete a*hole (wonder how he functions, even where standards are as low as in PS)
Net:
Some sucker overpaid, big time!
Uh… this price is incredibly high by any realistic valuation method. Does anyone seriously believe that it would cost $15k/month to rent a comparable place, or that it would be impossible to build similar sized and quality housing for this price, or that the normal rules of the market have been repealed? The bubble still has a long way to deflate.
If this sale is indicative, the adjustment looks like its going to happen the same way as after the (much smaller) late 80’s bubble: by relatively flat nominal prices until real prices drop back to trend. That route, with current inflation, implies a flat or slowly declining (in nominal terms) market for the next decade.
Unless, of course, enough sellers get tired of waiting or want to go on with their lives or lose the jobs that were paying the mortgage. This market is so small that it wouldn’t take many sellers who don’t want to wait a year to change the tenor quite quickly.
10% percent off asking is pretty damn good. 8 months to sell. Ok not great, but selling a house for this much dough takes a little time.Gee NY is finally acting like the rest of the country. I think this is a good sign. No more silly stuff.
11233 – i’m with you. there really has not been one satisfying thread on this blog since the “no guest” policy was passed. I still compulsively check it, but it’s more out of habit (or lack of a replacement addiction/procrastination method) than anything else.
I am the comment quoted by 11217. I’d like to add that the house WAS move-in ready. The garden level is an abomination in that it is UGLY and had been recently renovated on the cheap, but it is totally livable and was set up as a garden rental. The house didn’t need any work at all. It is move-in condition.
this is a real nice place. i walk by it all the time. That short strech on 7th avenue up to about Lincoln really have a distinct feel. Assuming I had this kind of bread, I personally prefer the streets between 6th and 7th ave’s, like park place or berkley. regardless, cool spot
11217 – re “well below ask” – I agree 10% is not a huge price cut, but when you’re asking 2-3 mil, 200-300K is also not chump change (I’m in the market to buy a house, so that’s a *very* meaningful difference to me! But what I meant is that this house did well to *only* suffer a 10% drop, since it seems some sellers are now having to take a bigger cut. But really, 200K less in your pocket (if you’re a seller) or out of your wallet, is still very signficant.
Dave: The what IS the (Throop) stoop pooper!
“Seems the trend now is price cuts, followed by sales well below ask”
First of all, I don’t call a 10% price cut, “well below ask” but we don’t need to argue about that.
Secondly, if by trend you mean that pre-housing boom (2001-ish?), it was quite common to give a property a price cut and/or accept a lower offer, then yes, it’s a trend.
It amazes me how short the memories of many Americans are. Good thing when it comes to 9/11 etc, but not good when it comes to economic trends, etc.
I do think prices are just beginning to fall here, but keep in mind that the U.S. housing market has dropped 17% or something (on average). The huge portion of those drops are in South Florida, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Sacramento, etc etc etc…all places where land is cheap and not an island.
Having said that, I think prices could certainly fall 10-20% here, but I also think it’s possible that the really nice areas/houses just stay sort of flat for the next few years.
Like I said though, low inventory is helping us here. There are currently about 7200 homes/apts on the market in Manhattan. There are currently about 40,000 on the market in Miami. See the difference here?