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Open House Insider: 3 Apartments With Price Drops to See This Weekend

By Amy Zimmer | March 10, 2016 6:37pm | Updated on March 11, 2016 6:22pm
 Each of these apartments has two bathrooms and a recent reduction in price.
Open House Insider: 3 Apartments with Price Drops to See This Weekend
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MANHATTAN —  As we head into the spring buying season, brokers are paying close attention to pricing, recognizing that last year’s frenzy subsided a bit and that the sky is no longer the limit for sellers. Hence price drops have become more common. These three apartments — a one-, two- and three-bedroom all with unique pre-war details and two bathrooms — all had recent price adjustments.

296 Sterling Place, #17, Prospect Heights
Three-bedroom/one-and-a-half bath
Approximately 1,400 square feet
Co-op
$1.65 million
Maintenance: $1,337 a month
Open House: Sunday, March 13, 2-3:30 p.m.

Lowdown: By ripping out the dropped ceiling of this top-floor unit in a six-story elevator building, the owners turned a prewar co-op into something that feels more like an industrial chic loft.

“It’s like a SoHo/TriBeca/West Village-kind-of-vibe in the heart of Prospect Heights,” Sean Sasso, of Compass, said of the three-bedroom unit with 13-foot-high exposed beamed ceilings. "It’s a special place: the light, the views, the airiness of a loft.”

Sasso’s team played up the home’s loft feel by inviting a top designer to stage it with art by local emerging artists, he said.

The triangular-shaped corner building, the Sterling Arms, is a neighborhood “icon,” Sasso noted. “It was built shortly after the Flatiron in Manhattan and mimicked that look.”

Because of its corner perch, the apartment’s 14 oversized windows have direct views of Manhattan and Brooklyn that are protected since the low-rise buildings surrounding it are landmarked, Sasso explained.

Prewar details like hardwood floors, exposed brick and a classic claw foot tub in the full bath mix with modern touches like an open kitchen and in-unit washer/dryer.

There’s also a crawl space for extra storage in the ceiling tucked between the living room and first bedroom as well as 9x4 basement storage space.

After hitting the market a few weeks ago at $1.799 million, the price dropped this week to reflect the “shift in the market,” Sasso said.

Even $1.65 million, though, would be a record for a co-op in the area, he noted.

Location: The Sterling Arms, sits at Sterling and Butler places, just blocks from Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Museum. It’s around the corner from the 2/3 trains at Grand Army Plaza and a short walk to the B/Q trains at Seventh Avenue. The shops along Vanderbilt Avenue and Washington Avenue are close, as is the bustling Flatbush Avenue.

Why put it on your open house agenda? “It’s one-of-a-kind,” said Sasso, stressing the apartment itself and its prime location.

 

164 Sterling Place, #3B, Park Slope
Two-bedroom/two bath
Approximately 700 square feet
Co-op
$799,000
Maintenance: $637 a month
Open House: Sunday, March 13, 1-3 p.m.

Lowdown: This co-op, also on Sterling Place, but on the Park Slope side of Flatbush, is a compact pre-war two-bedroom that’s unique for the area since it has two full bathrooms and is priced below $800,000.

“In this type of pre-war architecture, it’s uncommon to have two bathrooms, and it’s certainly uncommon at this price point,” Corcoran’s Katie Feola said.

And both bathrooms of this third-floor unit have been recently renovated, Feola noted.

With exposed brick, hardwood floors and moldings and a kitchen with cherry cabinets and stainless steel appliances, Feola said the unit has "a classic New York feel." 

The 15-unit self-managed building is “impeccably maintained,” she said. There's a common backyard garden (with some plots residents tend and a shared grill) and a common roof deck with “spectacular” views of Manhattan. There's basement storage and laundry room though in-unit machines are allowed upon approval.

The co-op's underlying mortgage is paid off.

Though off of bustling Flatbush Avenue, the block is not only quiet, it’s surprisingly lush, Feola said, noting that it’s been a finalist for several years in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s “Greenest Block in Brooklyn” contest.

After being taken off the market around Thanksgiving when it was listed at $840,000, it returned this week at a lower price.

Location: The building is around the corner from the B/Q train at Seventh Avenue and two blocks to the 2/3 trains at Grand Army Plaza. It’s near an array of shops on Seventh Avenue and on Flatbush, including the popular Franny’s.

Why put it on your open house agenda? “As of now, we’re the best priced for Park Slope,” Feola said. “There may be equally priced two-bedrooms, but nobody has two bathrooms.”

 

133 E. 15th St., #3A, Gramercy
One-bedroom/one-and-a-half bath
Approximately 575 square feet
Co-op
$640,000
Maintenance: $942 a month
Open House: Sunday, Mar. 13, 12:30-2 p.m.

Lowdown: This one-bedroom duplex on the fourth floor of a prewar walk-up has a working wood-burning fireplace in the living room on the main level and an exposed brick wall lining the bedroom upstairs.

Both floors have bathrooms, with the full one in the bedroom.

“People say it feels like a small home,” Halstead Property’s Bryan Tomczuk said.

The kitchen and bathroom were recently renovated, and the 9-foot-tall ceilings make the unit feel expansive, he added.

The hike upstairs may a deal breaker for some, but that climb is built into the price, which dropped from $675,000, Tomczuk said.  

Though the self-managed building has few frills, there is a live-in super, and the maintenance is relatively low because there’s no underlying mortgage.

The unit faces south, overlooking 15th Street. It gets sun, but there's also a tall Con Edison building across the way.

Location: Conveniently situated on East 15th Street between Irving Place and Third Avenue, the building is steps from the transit hub at Union Square, along with Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and the offerings of the East Village.

Why put it on your open house calendar? “The apartment is really charming,” said Tomczuk.