A FEW WEEKS AGO, I got a fascinating flyer in the mail from the Corcoran Group. The 156398-0center spread showed a collection of brownstone facades representing 3- and 4-family building sales in Brooklyn for the second quarter of 2010 (presumably a third-quarter flyer, for the period ending September 30, is coming soon). Surrounding a map of Brownstone Brooklyn and grouped by neighborhoods, there were 33 sales (not all by Corcoran) in that three-month period: 2 in Prospect Heights, 2 in Gowanus, 2 in Clinton Hill, 3 in Boerum Hill, 3 in Cobble Hill, 5 in Fort Greene, 7 in Carroll Gardens, and 8 in Park Slope.

The priciest of these were upwards of $2million, but my bottom-fishing eye sought out the least expensive properties. My mind began buzzing with questions: How long was this on the market? What was the original listing price? What condition was it in, and on how lousy a block?

Some answers:

78 Adelphi Street in Fort Greene, right, fetched $574,000. Originally listed at 669K, with a not-enormous 22′x35′ footprint, and described as a ‘shell,’ it was snapped up within 4 months on the market. Its dire condition + it’s location — between Park and Myrtle Avenues, a few houses from the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway — are why it sold as (relatively) cheaply as it did.

112 Ryerson Street in Clinton Hill, below, is a 20′x40′ house that brought $1,000 above its asking price of 699K, after just a couple of months on the market. Also between Park and Myrtle Avenues but not on top of the BQE,  it looks to be a solid building with good rental potential, at least.

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455 Union Street in Carroll Gardens, below, was advertised as a ‘handyman’s special.’ A small three-family (17×38) near Bond Street, it sold for $700,000 after almost a year on the market, and no wonder: the original asking price was an over-reaching 950K.

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It’s the old lesson: if a house is priced right, it sells, even in this down market.


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