Defending the Eight-Figure Price Tag
We’ve already covered the record-setting price of Brooklyn Height’s 70 Willow Street (above), the $25 million asking price of the Dumbo Clocktower, and the $12 million price tag on Bay Ridge’s Gingerbread House in recent months. As the New York Observer notes this week, these are the only three residential props on the market in…
We’ve already covered the record-setting price of Brooklyn Height’s 70 Willow Street (above), the $25 million asking price of the Dumbo Clocktower, and the $12 million price tag on Bay Ridge’s Gingerbread House in recent months. As the New York Observer notes this week, these are the only three residential props on the market in the borough with eight-figure price tags; by comparison, Manhattan has 288 (and another 54 already in contract). Is Brooklyn really ready for this price strata? Well, the brokers with the $10-million listings certainly think so–if you’ve got something unique. “It would be almost physically impossible to have anything like the Gingerbread House in Manhattan,” said BHS broker Bill Radtke. Of course, a little old-fashioned chutzpah doesn’t hurt either. As Asher Abehsera of Two Trees who’s the pitchman for the Clocktower says, “It’s ballsy to come out in Brooklyn and say, ‘I’m going to price this at $25 million,’ but we were confident about it because there’s just nothing like it.
Why Three Brooklyn Listings Dare to Ask $10 Mil [Observer]
70 Willow Street Hits the Market [Brownstoner]
All About the Clocktower [Brownstoner]
The Gingerbread House Hits the Market [Brownstoner]
I think that the one thing that separates these properties from all others is the fact that they are totally unique. That is the value and there is probably some one out there that will pay that price for that reason. Is a wealthy person a “sucker” for buying a Picasso or a VanGogh when they could get something almost as good for a fraction of the price? I think these kinds of properties echo the art market. Many people couldn`t care less about a certain work of art, but if one person does that`s all that matters.
I’m not so sure that I can fully accept that, because there are only 3 such listings in Brooklyn, this only reflects “the audaciousness of the broker’s who pulled these prices out of their asses.” Manhattan prices, including those in the 8 figures, were not always what they are now. Someone, at some time, was first. Before Manhattan got to the prices it commands/demands now, there must have been a point when there were only a handful of high priced properties. To say that because Brooklyn currently only has three doesn’t seem dispositive to me. This isn’t of course to say that these prices are right, but I need a better reason as to why they aren’t.
As Asher Abehsera of Two Trees who’s the pitchman for the Clocktower says, “It’s ballsy to come out in Brooklyn and say, ‘I’m going to price this at $25 million,’ but we were confident about it because there’s just nothing like it.”
And here is the only quote any rational person needs to read – because it tells you that the pricing is pure B.S. – of course there is something like it – there are 100’s of loft style apartments with killer views (in Brooklyn and elsewhere – how about the clocktower apt at WSB for 1) and there are tons of beautiful 19th Century Mansions all around NYC….
Sure none of these other places are EXACT clones of these but then again EVERY apartment/house is unique using that definition….
In Manhattan there are 288 listings with 8 figure price tags – i.e. there is a market, there is a comparative value (not saying any are ‘worth’ it) but if you want a grand penis-extending place, you have 288 active listings to compare and likely thousands of previous sales to determine if when you go to sell will their be any reasonable chance of buyers at or near what you bought at.
The very fact that there are only THREE such listings virtually EVER in Brooklyn reflects that there is NO market and that they are just fishing for ‘suckers,’ who are willing to buy at a price that has no basis in economics at all. This does not reflect the true ‘uniqueness’ of the listings, but rather the audaciousness of the broker’s who pulled these prices out of their asses
Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron BUBBLE.
I should have clarified, any house’s final contract price depends on the buyers. As DH pointed out, a seller can ask whatever they want. Getting it is another story.
Whether or not Brooklyn is ready for the eight figure pricing depends upon buyers. Any house price is all about what someone is willing to pay. For me, if I were to hit the lotto, you couldn’t show me anything in Manhattan regardless of its size, amenities, etc. I love Brooklyn and the day I leave Brooklyn is the day I leave NYC all together. And as far as I’m concerned, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx don’t even exist. So, bottom line, find some wealthy buyers with my mindset and the answer to your question is a resounding “YES.” Alternatively, if you go on the idea that there are properties in Brooklyn that simply cannot be found in Manhattan (Ginger Bread House) and that is what the wealthy buyer wants, again the answer is “YES.”
“Is Brooklyn really ready for this price strata?”
The cluelessness never ceases to amaze. The appropriate question: Is Brooklyn ready for ‘half off’? That would be a ‘no’.
***Bid half off peak comps***
Widget said $14.055MM for 70 Willow. So it’ss go for $15MM+
Whatever the widget says +10/15%, dh.