The Q at Parkside

(for those for whom the Parkside Q is their hometrain)

News and Nonsense from the Brooklyn neighborhood of Lefferts and environs, or more specifically a neighborhood once known as Melrose Park. Sometimes called Lefferts Gardens. Or Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Or PLG. Or North Flatbush. Or Caledonia (west of Ocean). Or West Pigtown. Across From Park Slope. Under Crown Heights. Near Drummer's Grove. The Side of the Park With the McDonalds. Jackie Robinson Town. Home of Lefferts Manor. West Wingate. Near Kings County Hospital. Or if you're coming from the airport in taxi, maybe just Flatbush is best.

Monday, December 29, 2014

Flipping Out

The Q's neighbors are flipping out.
In Flatbush, Apt 3F at 41 Clarkson Ave., was bought in May for $202,800 and unloaded in September for $360,000. The 77.5 percent profit made it the second highest Brooklyn flip. It had been on the market for 33 days.
And I didn't even have a chance to bring by a plate of cookies.

I have a hunch that the reason for the enriching flip was that we put some planters out near the curb along Clarkson from Flatbush, spaced evenly to provide maximum effect. Despite a couple rounds of vandalism, I suspect that the apartment in question increased in value due to our floral capital improvements. I do believe I'm entitled to some of the profits? Those planters - hand-me-downs from a neighbor on Ocean - were damn heavy and barely fit into the elevator, but clearly were worth a hundred grand.

Never, ever, ever, in my wildest imagination did I see this one coming. I thought the heavily Section 8 building would gradually turn from poor to middle. When the management told me they were going condo I laughed at John, whom I got to know through a serious of complaint calls, and wished him a facetious 'good luck.' They warehoused the apartments long enough to sail through the conversion process, the economy assisted, and now the building is likely worth ten times what it was when I moved to the block 11 years ago.

The gold rush is on. The speculators are back! Move over '49ers. The '15ers are here.

8 comments:

roxv said...

Completely insane! The most shocking part is how small the apartment actually is. My 1 bedroom on Lenox is fully twice the size, maybe slightly more. Do I have a "luxury" kitchen? No but at least it's all new.

Maybe the most shocking part is that whoever bought it went well above asking on the already inflated price.....

Unknown said...

Well damn. I should start packing then.

Alex said...

Unless asking prices are really unreasonable, coops and condos have been selling for over ask for several months now. It's all relative - PLG is still affordable for people priced out of Clinton Hill (to name one neighborhood) and want good subway access. 10%+ over ask is not uncommon. 1brs in the Clinton Hill coops, which, if you ask me, are nondescript, institutional, and sort of poorly laid out, are selling for close to $500K. Closest subway is also the G.

The condos on Clarkson may have been under-priced. Prices will stabilize, but they are very high in today's market. With the Fed keeping interest rates low, the high prices are within reach for a lot of buyers, putting a strain on supply.

MikeF said...

These apartments will be cheaper than those coming to the site of the Sea Crest Laundry site:

http://www.brooklynian.com/discussion/comment/556692#Comment_556692

FlatLen said...

41 Clarkson is an existing building, now can you imagine what is going to happen with respect to the new buildings going up from the tear downs?

I was walking on Lenox, from Flatbush down to New York, the stomping grounds of the Lenox Road Block Association Alliance. By the way, are they even active anymore? Their website hasn't been updated since September.

In any event, the foundation is going in at 180, 271 Lenox bought the blue house next door at 279 (for $2,000,000 back in June) and it has just been torn down. CPEX has 309 for sale, 345 is under construction, and so it goes....

FlatLen said...

41 Clarkson is an existing building, now can you imagine what is going to happen with respect to the new buildings going up from the tear downs?

I was walking on Lenox, from Flatbush down to New York, the stomping grounds of the Lenox Road Block Association Alliance. By the way, are they even active anymore? Their website hasn't been updated since September.

In any event, the foundation is going in at 180, 271 Lenox bought the blue house next door at 279 (for $2,000,000 back in June) and it has just been torn down. CPEX has 309 for sale, 345 is under construction, and so it goes....

jessica said...

And some more movement on Nostrand:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/31/realestate/commercial/recent-commercial-transactions.html

rjm said...

I’ve had multiple conversations with different folks considering a move to Lefferts. We all know the price per square foot is perceived as a “bargain” when compared to other hoods touching (or a relatively close) to the park. But figured I’d post the most recent sales data from Zillow/Trulia, just for reference. This is as of November.

Park Slope - $990
Prospect Heights - $845
Greenwood - $754
Windsor Terrace - $722
Crown Heights - $702 (properties closer to park obviously skew significantly higher
PLG - $526 (in January 2014 it was around $315)

The property mentioned at 41 Clarkson sold for $753/sqf. This is nuts. In October, unit 2A in 35 Clarkson (another 1 bedroom in the same building) sold for $365k but at $594/sqf.