Since we have been looking at the shell market in Harlem this week, we decided to check back at 265 West 131st Street which will be going into its third year on the market. The story starts back at the end of 2005 when a buyer purchases the property for $650K (from the asking of $750K) and then proceeds to place it on the market soon after. Six months after the original purchase, the building exchanges hands for $950K in May of 2006 at the height of the market. After not much of anything going on the land for a couple of years, the property appears again in February 2008 for $1.1 million which, after sitting on the market over a year, was reduced to $489K in July 2009. By September of last year, the price went down to $449K and finally to $399K in December. The building is literally just the facade standing on an empty lot so a real experienced developer would have to have taken this project on to make this happen. Even with the grand scope that the renovations would entail, the Central Harlem location that sits in front of a major housing project might have been the one thing that steered future investors from the property. As of mid February, the house has been removed from the market. The nearest train to this location between FDB/8th Avenue and ACP/7th Avenue is the B,C at 135th Street. Check out the building that did sell on this block recently: LINK. Photo by Ullyses.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
☞ DWELL: 265 West 131st Street Brownstone
Since we have been looking at the shell market in Harlem this week, we decided to check back at 265 West 131st Street which will be going into its third year on the market. The story starts back at the end of 2005 when a buyer purchases the property for $650K (from the asking of $750K) and then proceeds to place it on the market soon after. Six months after the original purchase, the building exchanges hands for $950K in May of 2006 at the height of the market. After not much of anything going on the land for a couple of years, the property appears again in February 2008 for $1.1 million which, after sitting on the market over a year, was reduced to $489K in July 2009. By September of last year, the price went down to $449K and finally to $399K in December. The building is literally just the facade standing on an empty lot so a real experienced developer would have to have taken this project on to make this happen. Even with the grand scope that the renovations would entail, the Central Harlem location that sits in front of a major housing project might have been the one thing that steered future investors from the property. As of mid February, the house has been removed from the market. The nearest train to this location between FDB/8th Avenue and ACP/7th Avenue is the B,C at 135th Street. Check out the building that did sell on this block recently: LINK. Photo by Ullyses.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
My rule of thumb is take 65% off the highest priced comp. In this case I might go up to 70% off because of being across from the housing projects. That means I'd say it'll sell for $285K. But there's a lot more that goes into it than that. It's going to need a $600K renovation (bare minimum) and there was a nicely renovated one down the block that was having problems selling at $950K (if I remember the price correctly). So really you can't justify the risk of the renovation to then have something that's above market value on a block that few people want to buy on. So my gut tells me it's only worth in the low $200s at this point, and even there it will be hard to find a buyer given the location.
ReplyDeleteYes, the one at the end of the block was going for $995K and sold for $845K. It was a two family, move in ready townhouse with lots of original details. We will add a link to that one in the post since we mentioned it was in contract a few months back.
ReplyDeleteI knew the one down the block went into contract but I missed the fact that it closed. If it went for $845K then this one will sell for pretty close to $200K, maybe slightly lower. I personally don't see it as being an owner occupied building. In this market owners want better blocks if they're going to go through the hell of renovating a shell. So you'll get a small developer who wants to turn it into rentals, which is a perfectly viable option (it's just a 7 min walk from the ABCD). Given the block they won't be luxury rentals so we're talking about a pretty basic reno. If the building were in better shape you'd be looking at maybe $350-400K, but given the structural work the buyer is looking at $500-600K for the renos (if they do a good job of controlling cost and it'll probably be closer to $600K).
ReplyDeletewhoever owns this is fucked, hope they didnt pour their life savings into this "investment"
ReplyDeleteProperty Shark says the owner is Douglas Davis. IMHO, there's a good chance that's the same Douglas Davis that purchased 432 West 1622 - over by Jumel Mansion (they were both purchased in 2006). If that's the same owner then we're talking about the rapper Doug E. Fresh.
ReplyDeleteI've been inside the one on 162 (didn't like the location, but it was a wonderful building) - it's also for sale and is a short sale situation. I heard he had 3 properties that were in short sale. He (or the bank) will loose about $750K (plus sundry expenses on this place), and they'll lose probably $900K on the other property, and presumably the story is repeated on the 3rd property - so I'd say it's a pretty grim situation...
I'm not sure who convinced Doug E. Fresh to get into real estate, but the timing was horrible.
Harlem real estate selling prices during the run up is combination of "The Great Fool
ReplyDeleteReminds me of our dear friends, Emily Eakin and Ellen Jane Patton who sold a four-bedroom, two-bath condo at 100 W. 119th St. in Central Harlem to Gareth R. John and Carmen V. Melendez-Vasquez for $725,000 on May 19. Eakin and Patton paid $1.125 million for Unit #6A in 2006.
Harlem real estate during the "run up" was basically founded on "The Great Fool
Theory" + "Musical Chairs". You had to believe the hype (Harlem Park, Macy's, Bed Bath & Beyond, MLB, etc), that mortgages would always be cheap and endless to anyone with a pulse, and basically that the sky was falling, buy now or be forever priced out.
I fully expect to buy a nice condo at 110 CPN for about $750K - $850K in 2011 or 2012. Of course this unit probably had an original '07 selling price of $2.5M or so.....just watch!
People who bought for the long run based on what they can afford are living a better quality of life than most others in manhattan. The ones who wanted to strike it rich quickly are the ones that lost out at the end.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous - I gotta disagree with you... Take a look at Brownstone Brooklyn, pretty much every week there's a brownstone that's STILL selling for over $2M. I really believe Harlem's redevelopment will "stick" in the next upswing and it will be more like Brownstone Brooklyn. The problem up till now is the infrastructure for the people who can pay crazy prices. They need top notch public schools to send their kids to and gourmet grocery stores to shop at. Harlem doesn't have enough of either one.
ReplyDeleteTake a look at the NY Times article on the changing demographics of Harlem and I think you'll see things are changing in Harlem in a very real way. It wasn't enough to weather this economic storm, but I'm pretty convinced things won't be so bad for Harlem the next time there's a downturn.
I love it when people post on blogs anonymously with grand proclamations of how they are going to score incredible deals by sitting around and waiting whilst slamming anybody else who has had the nerve to get into the market. I genuinely believe that Harlem is one of the last neighborhoods in Manhattan/Brooklyn with great deals to be had and the potential for growth. Listings at $400-500 sq. ft., close to excellent transportation, wonderful parks and fascinating walks. Yes, there is still room for improvement, however, development on FDB and recent grass roots business growth on Lenox is an indicator of where things are going.
ReplyDelete@Chris - Don't worry - they're the same ones who didn't buy Harlem townhouses when they were $50K and they'll be the first to complain when they can't afford Harlem anymore...
ReplyDeleteThere's been a 65-70% reduction in the prices of Harlem townhouses and they're talking about waiting another two years to buy something... Good luck with that...
All comments are basically the same:
ReplyDeleteDon't buy on speculaton to make a quick
profit. Buy for the longer term. Something my grandma could have told you.
As far as Harlem is concerned long-term. It can only go up...it's a small island. As far as Brooklyn goes...it will always be Brooklyn.
Hit the nail on the head there. We have been at our place on 122nd for three months now and plan to be here for at least the next five years. Just to add, has anybody been out today in the snow? Walking around Mt. Morris Park is like taking a step back in time. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteBy the most recent DOB report, the house was illegally demoed and someone reported it last August. They tore down the roof, all the floors and the back wall without any of the proper paperwork. The violation is still open against the owner.
ReplyDeleteChris, you fail to appreciate the key factors that weigh Harlem down. Poor schools and high density of entrenched generational poverty with secured housing (public/sec 8) that cannot be uprooted or displaced. I note your comments of those of a single person not mindful of family interest, matters, & concerns. In the futuristic theoretical pie in the sky models of Harlem in 10 or 20 years, people always fail to note how poor the schools are, and how decent schools are critical for the pie in the sky hype to be realized. People tend to forecast sans accepting crummy schools will always prevent significant upscale gentrification. Gentrification will always be spotty at best.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone invest in Brownstones together? I currently live on W 119th st and want to buy something. I could afford a condo, but I hate the idea of paying common fees. I woulde love to buy a brownstone, but I want to split it with someone else. Is this common? Is it done by jointly signing a mortgage? or does the brownstone become two seperate condo units? Just wondering how this works and if it is possible. Thanks.
ReplyDelete