What does it cost to own a Bed-Stuy townhouse?

Eye On Real Estate

January 11, 2017 By Lore Croghan Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Bed-Stuy townhouses cost a pretty penny these days — for instance, 114 MacDonough St. (second from the left) sold for $1.85 million. Eagle photos by Lore Croghan

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Do well-heeled homebuyers love Bedford-Stuyvesant as much as nerdy preservationists like us do?

The prices paid for properties in the historic Brooklyn neighborhood suggest that the answer is Yes.

Though the days when institutional investors waged frequent bidding wars for Bed-Stuy townhouses are over, homes “on great blocks” are selling for around 10 percent more than their asking prices, Ban Leow, an agent at Halstead, told the Brooklyn Eagle.

A couple years ago, the neighborhood was a magnet for institutional purchasers such as Dixon Advisory USA, which has a property fund listed on the Australian Securities Exchange that owns Brooklyn rowhouses and other metro New York residential real estate.

Dixon was in the habit of outbidding other contenders for Bed-Stuy buys. But now institutions “are more selective” when making neighborhood purchases and “more into the negotiating game,” Leow said via email.

Townhouses in Bed-Stuy sold for $1.2 million to $2.6 million in 2016, he said.

Pricing varies block by block.

Homes in Stuyvesant Heights and west of Malcolm X Boulevard command higher prices, he said. Proximity to the A and C trains makes a difference.

“Bed-Stuy East will see a surge in pricing as some of these prime areas … are not affordable anymore,” Leow predicted.

Sales activity in the Bed-Stuy townhouse market slowed a little in the summer, Leow said. Now that the election is over, “consumer confidence is back,” he said. He expects a “stable” Bed-Stuy townhouse market in 2017.

One of his listings is a Bed-Stuy mansion with a $6 million asking price — 247 Hancock St.

The freestanding 1880s-vintage house, which was designed by preeminent Brooklyn architect Montrose Morris, is located in the Bedford Historic District.

“We do have an active deal at hand, but [are] waiting for more paperwork from the purchaser,” Leow said.

Lena Horne’s house is in contract

Here’s a sampling of Bed-Stuy deals that were done — or lined up — in 2016.

* Members of the Calcott family of Berkeley, California bought 114 MacDonough St. for $1.85 million, city Finance Department records indicate. The French Neo-Grec house was built in 1890.

The city Landmarks Preservation Commission’s 1971 designation report about the Stuyvesant Heights Historic District, where the property is located, says it was probably designed by prominent late 19th-century Brooklyn architect Amzi Hill.

* In December, an LLC with Junhui Jia as authorized signatory paid $1.5 million for 103 Hancock St., Finance Department records indicate. It is located in the Bedford Historic District. The architect, builder and original owner of the 1880s-vintage Neo-Grec brownstone was Susanna Russell. See our recent story about this trailblazing female architect and builder.

* The brownstone where actress, singer, dancer and Civil Rights activist Lena Horne lived as a young child, 519 Macon St., is in contract.

The asking price had been $1,899,999, according to a posting on listing broker Corcoran’s website.

The combination Romanesque Revival and Queen Anne-style house was built in 1890, according to the 2013 designation report for the Bedford Stuyvesant/Expanded Stuyvesant Heights Historic District, where the house is located.