Join us December 6 for “An Evening at Mr. Wolfe’s.”
Brennan Realty Services is proud to sponsor a literary evening held at author Thomas Wolfe’s former Brooklyn Heights home. Part of the Brooklyn Heights Association’s “Celebrating a Century” series, the event will feature brief selections from Wolfe’s writings from the late ’20s in Brooklyn, as well as his other well-known works.  For more information, log on to the BHA web site.
At our recent “Let’s Talk Real Estate” event, we spoke in-depth about the improved livability of Brooklyn and New York City as a whole. Over the years there have been so many positive trends in our neighborhoods: crime is lower, schools are better, there are more parks and amenities, residents are active and involved, and families are staying here to raise their children rather than moving to the suburbs. All this of course bodes well for property values, since residents are more likely to invest in and own homes. And this applies not only to neighborhoods like Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill, but also those like Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights.
Recent news reports touted New York City’s low crime rate–#269 on the list of “unsafe” cities. This is great news. In looking at the actual report, which ranks 400 cities according to FBI crime statistics from 2009, it looks even better. New York City’s crime rate gets a “negative” score—meaning it’s below the national rate. Check out the list here and see all the places that New York City beats out!
Check out the new “My 2 Cents” column from Donald Brennan. He presents unbiased, hands-on evaluations of properties on the market that he’s visited and examined inside and out. You’ll find out about often-hidden details like what you’ll really see when you look out the bedroom window and how the building’s long-term value will change when the lot next to it is developed. Here’s the first article in the series. Watch for more coming soon!
I recently took a buyer client of mine for a tour of this property–a recent rehab of a two-family brick rowhouse (upper three-bedroom duplex over a garden level one-bedroom) at the eastern end of a line of houses sharing a similar style, size and vintage. Curb appeal is above average.
Local Externalities – While the southern part of the stretch of Degraw Street is very residential in nature and has not been disturbed by non-contextual new construction or rehabilitation projects, the northern side of the street is a lot less residential in nature—but I don’t expect it to change much as it is built out. One of the biggest question marks, and potential impact to long term value on this property, is what will happen to the commercial lot adjacent to the eastern lot line of this property. It is currently used as a partially open air parking lot but has a good chance of being improved with a multi-family residential structure, of which style, bulk and use are not known.
Rehabilitation – The upper duplex is well configured with an open kitchen/dining room arrangement at the parlor level. The upper level contains three bedrooms and one four-piece bathroom. There’s a fair amount of closet space at this level.  The garden level one-bedroom unit is spacious and well organized with a rudimentary kitchen set up. The bathroom was not updated. This one-bedroom probably supports approximately $200,000 of value at current interest rates. The basement was clean and well lit but head height was under 5’6”.  Overall the rehab was done well with the selection of building components, fixtures and hardware suited for the location.
My rehabilitation suggestions – The garden level bathroom should have been updated. Any inferred sense of nostalgia is overruled by my concern that corners may have been cut when I see scope-of-work decisions like these.
Marketing –All of the necessary marketing take-aways were available on site and the online listing contains the expected photos, floor plans and descriptive text, which was slightly over-reaching and not exactly accurate – i.e. I don’t think the original fireplace was decorative. Also not sure why listing is noted as being in Cobble Hill when it is clearly in Gowanus. That said, the listing broker was enthusiastic and knowledgeable and represented the property well.
My marketing suggestions – Clean up the rear yard, provide an alternative plan for the lower level if it were to be converted to single family, and refine the staging.
For additional insight and my thoughts on price, contact me at
917-568-6525 or dbrennan@brennanrealtyservices.com.
If you are in the market to buy and would like to learn about my buy-side services please give me a call or send me an email. If you’re thinking of selling your home and would like to learn more about my sell-side services—plus receive a complimentary comparable market analysis, give me a call at 917-568-6525 or send me an email at dbrennan@brennanrealtyservices.com.
Here are Donald Brennan’s thoughts on this big Carroll Gardens sale, as discussed on Brownstoner:
There are not many finished/new housing units of this size in Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill. Unit 1 at 192 sold for $650 psf and unit 2 sold for $854 psf, or $753 psf on average. Most single or multi-family properties in this area that are being marketed as delivered vacant are asking at least $700 psf – for space that is not new and modern like 192 President or 100 2nd Place (one of the nicest units I have seen in a while). The cost to update and modernize space in a brownstone property is significant – averaging $225 psf. Much more than the implied margin of $50 psf using these sales and the handful of listings I am currently tracking as an example. So putting aside your point of shared ownership these President Street deals are looking pretty good for the buyers right now if the asking prices for outdated space hold at the current asking level.
There is also significant upward pressure on pricing in parts of Carroll Gardens due to the demand of PS 58 – one of only 3 dual language, French/English, schools in the 5 boroughs.
I will be talking about these recent deals and other local real estate related topics tonight at the Brooklyn Wine Exchange.
lumierefl/Flickr
The L Magazine wrote up the 50 best blocks in Brooklyn this week, and while it’s a little Williamsburg-heavy (that makes sense, since it is the L mag, after all), Brooklyn Heights does get a nod. Montague Terrace between Remsen and Pierrepont Streets is noted as the “Best Block For Historical Significance” thanks to the 1776 Battle of Brooklyn “that George Washington staged [to evacuate] his army to Manhattan, allowing it to survive for another day, insuring that we’d one day drive on the right side of the road.” Our 24 Remsen Street project looks out onto this block.
Brooklyn Heights is also home to one of the best blocks to live on, according to them: Columbia Heights between 
Pierrepont and Clark, which happens to be home to one of our potential opportunities, 183 Columbia Heights. As they put it, “Hard to argue with the views from the western side of this heightiest of Brooklyn Heights streets. Seriously, how do these people get anything done?”
The NY Fed released data analyzing the mix of housing types in New York City by borough, which The Matrix picked up: owner-occupied, co-ops, condos, rent-regulated and other rentals. You’ll notice that in Manhattan, owner-occupied is a tiny fraction of the overall stock, but it’s fairly significant in Brooklyn, at 21%. Many of these owner-occupied and multi-family units are in the brownstone Brooklyn neighborhoods we often concentrate on, neighborhoods like Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens and Boerum Hill. For us, this data backs up our assertion that that our model of development and the kinds of properties we list continue to be popular. For help in finding these homes, contact us.
24 Remsen Street, Unit 4
Gorgeous 4-bedroom parlor duplex!
Brooklyn Heights
4 Strong Place
Single-Family Custom Townhome!
Cobble Hill, NEW CONSTRUCTION
4A Strong Place
Two-Family Custom Townhome!
Cobble Hill, UNAVAILABLE
One Hanson Place, 17B:
Loft Style One Bedroom Plus Home Office
Fort Greene, CLOSED & SOLD
128 Willow Street, 4E:
Spacious & Bright 1-Bedroom Co-op
Brooklyn Heights, CLOSED & SOLD
36 Cambridge Place:
Historic 19th C, 2-Family
Clinton Hill, SOLD & CLOSED
RENTED-- 439 and 441 Henry Street, Cobble Hill:
Large one bedrooms,
newly renovated!
220 East 73rd Street, Apt. 3F:
An Exquisite One-bedroom Co-op
SOLD and CLOSED
Shopping Around of the Best Deals in New York Real Estate 
Brooklyn's Priciest Townhouses 
New townhouses are rising in Cobble Hill with Manhattan pricing
Brownstone Brooklyn gets new batch of townhouses
Strong Place Parking Lot Will Become Rowhouses
Strong Place Townhouses Construction Blog: Intro
Hills & Gardens: Townhouse Plans Win Praise
New Development: Strong Place and Kane Street, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
Three Custom Townhouses.
CG Patch: Public Spaces Add to Home Value
Read Donald Brennan’s latest “Local Voices” blog post on Carroll Gardens Patch--and find out about the importance of outdoor public spaces in your home search.
Full article here.
