Saturday, May 22, 2010

☞ DWELL: 139 West 129th Street Brownstone



OPEN HOUSE: Sunday, May 23, 1:00-3:00 PM. The 16.67 foot wide brownstone at 129th Street, between Lenox and ACP/7th Avenue, just arrived on the market this month. Apparently the building (brownstone at far right) that's asking for $1.349 million was newly constructed in 2002, has an owner's triplex plus a floor through rental and a total of 3,068 square foot of space. Everything is modern and up to date with a pretty nicely renovated yard out back. As far as the block is concerned, there's still a couple of boarded up buildings to be found and one of those abandoned fit-a-condo-on-top-a-brownstone developments is just a couple of buildings west (at right of photo). Location wise, 125th Street and the 2,3 express at Lenox is only four blocks south. The brownstone is no frills but completely updated, so does $1.349 sound about right? For more information, contact the broker/owner through their website: www.burkesworksproperties.com. Current house photo by Ulysses

15 comments:

  1. Very reasonable asking price. Should get 1.3 easily.

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  2. That is a descent list price. If anyone is interested offer 1.1 they will take it.They might even take a million.the house would probably appraise for 1.2 but they would be using comps from a year ago. This would have been smarter as a 3 family. Also the blocks closer to Lenox tend to have more problems.The residents on this block are great but they are all dealing with the same "teen violence hot spot".

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  3. I wouldn't take 1.1 mil. The least is 1.25 mil. Just wait another year or two and you could possibly get 1.5mil. Housing will recover substantially in hot neighborhoods like Harlem when job growth starts to really kick in. This is NYC, not the Midwest.

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  4. 1:07, quite an arrogant and ignorant statement on your part. Most studies I see look like this,
    http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/mint-map-where-the-jobs-will-be/?display=wide

    The drivers making NYC a critical location are no more. I know a dozen or so financial services workers that have been relocated to Stamford and the like in that past few years, I know a dozen or so more that lost their well paying jobs entirely. This is a common observation many people can share.

    I don't know a single person who's located to NYC due to landing a well paying job (in the last 3 years). Saying "This is NYC" assumes a model and metrics of yesterday are the same today, as if nothing's changed. It has no credence, much has changed. It's simply not critical to be in NYC and most companies are bending over backwards to reduce their NYC presence to a bare minimum, especially their well and high paid NYC staff.

    Oh yes...the new jobs in NYC? The ones I see are most filled by illegal immigrants, not sure how much they pay or if they can shift the tide of NYC real estate. Lastly on a NYC scale Harlem is considered to be on the fringe, fragile, and needed the loose lending practices of the recent past to enable developers to borrow money, and buyer. The game is entirely changed today. Most people fail to accept Harlem as a market that was last to rise, first to fall, and will be the last to recover. Oh sure, we'll see prices of 2006 and 2007 in Harlem again, it just might take a dozen plus years.

    The thing that bugs me the most about the comments on Harlem real estate values is people mistakingly link them to Manhattan jobs. The real link is to Harlem public schools. A continuation of crummy schools buyers don't want their kids attending and Harlem will never really blossom. Yes, I know of Brownstone owners in Soha that simply sold out (in the past couple of years) and moved to Long Island and NJ as their young children approached school age. Why? The Manhattan private school cost is a obscene. Riverdale for example...a good school most all Harlem residents would be comfortable sending their kids to, and I mean ALL. Only problem? Riverdale is about $37,000+ other costs. What if you have 2 kids? I am talking for the first grade. If you have kids, it's so much cheaper and wiser to relcote to a good public school area elsewhere. This for Harlem equals limits to growth and family home values....

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  5. Anon 3:10=pot meeting kettle

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  6. 3:10,

    If you left your little world, you would come across plenty of people who relocate to New York from all around America and the world. Where are you living? You probably missed the article that reported the population of the Financial District tripling in the last decade. New York City is constantly growing and reinventing itself.

    Was it just last quarter that Goldman Sachs reported their largest profits and largest bonus payouts? NYC is the financial and fashion capital of the world. It is the world's melting pot. There will always be something to drive people in droves to come to NYC. It's unfortunate that you feel NYC is losing its edge to Stamford, CT. Have you ever been to Stamford? You're a joke!

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  7. OK, OK. . . no calling people ignorant or calling people a joke.

    Respect. Not just a song by ReRe

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  8. Um, back to talking about the house... Fairly priced (although I'm just going by the photos.) The final price will really depend on how hungry the sellers are. I'd say at $1.1M the buyer got a bargain. At $1.25M and the seller got a decent price in this market.

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  9. I'd say it moves slightly below $1MM. Several boarded up houses and more apt buildings than townhouses on the block. Overall, its priced to sell - I would bid $975K.

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  10. I do agree that the school issue has to be addressed for an overall picture of Harlem real estate and its value. But not everyone buying a condo, co-op, or brownstone has children or wants children. Also many people may be buying after their children are grown. The problem of good schools is an issue in many NYC neighborhoods. I know parents in Williamsburg, Fort Greene, and the LES who have struggled to find good schools for their children. It is more a city wide problem than we know - hence the proliferation of "school within a school" programs, charters, and home schooling - all answers for people who can't afford private schools.

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  11. I was informed that the house has an offer for 1.35 and has been accepted. It goes to show how much you bloggers know about NY real estate.

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  12. Anon 12:17, we were having a discussion, not a competition.

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  13. A lot of absolute nonsense posted here (anon @3.10pm...wow you really spent a lot of time on that post trying to convince people not to buy in Harlem eh.) I have to co-workers who relocated to NYC within the past 6 months, so right off the bat you do not know what you are talking about.

    As Sanou's Mum states, this is not a competition and sometimes I just wonder why people want to talk Harlem down so much (getting more and more like Curbed).

    Anyways, the price is spot on as is and will likely sell at asking.

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  14. I agree, 3:10 IS totally clueless

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  15. That may be but I believe 1:07 PM is probably the broker so its good to get some balance. I see the house is still on the market 4 months later. So much for the accepted offer of 1.35.

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