Saturday, April 6, 2013

Off-Market Gem In Contract: 76-82 St. Marks Avenue




Rumor has it that one of Brooklyn's most stunning Montrose Morris buildings is in contract off-market for well above its asking price.  Don't try this on your StreetEasy, or your Zillow, or your LoopNet, or your New York Times.  And don't say we didn't warn you many months ago.  Yes, 76-82 St. Marks Avenue on the primest Park Slope & Prospect Heights border with its stunning 3-4BR 1,300 sqft apartments, some top-notch commercial destinations, Barclays down the hill, Prospect Park up the hill, and the 2/3 trains steps away.  Can you say "curb appeal"?




And the inside ain't too shabby either.  High ceilings, bay windows, great hardwood floors, moldings, pocket doors, updated kitchens, baths, and laundry in some units...






 
It's not like this building hasn't been covered over & over for its beauty & history alone.  Brownstoner had their take.  "Save the Slope" did as well - although we still don't know what anyone's saving the Slope from exactly.  Heck, some of you are still just waking up to Brooklyn, but they knew this bad-boy was a beast way back in 1885, y'all!




But when it comes to scrounging the market for that undercover product, who keeps ya laced like BK to the Fullest?  The owners wanted a number that sounded high to novices and even experts alike.  The asking price wobbled between $12M & $12.5M.  There was little-to-no marketing.  But we thought we'd try our hand at it

Afterall, we've been right before.  We had the right read on the deal & everything it took to get 96 St. Marks Avenue across the street (except a phony cash offer), which sold for $999K total and now has multiple condos around that price.  No one wanted to pay a penny over $1.275M for the 5-story Prospect Heights gem around the corner at 181 Park Place, and it was up for grabs off-market between $1.4M-$1.6M for months, but it wasn't until Elliman dropped it on ya that they get a contract at $2M.  Or when it was pulling teeth to get an offer over $1.2M on 308 Clermont Avenue just last year, before bids gradually topped $1.7M.  Or when buyers balked at a contract below $1.6M on Park Slope's 352 4th Street, which later closed above $1.8M.  Or when it was pulling teeth to get a bid above $750K on 22 Arlington Place, which closed with not $200K, or $300K, but $400K upside in the deal!  (The neighbor a few doors down is recently in contract over $1M, by the ways.)  How you gon' act like we don't have Brooklyn on lock?

Yes, you can lead a multi-millionaire horse to water, but you can't make him drink.  Accordingly, when we got our hands on the deets for 76-82 St. Marks Avenue, even off-market, the offers flew from $9M to as high as some $11.5M.  But by then the owners were really feeling their oats and negotiations broke down.  So while scores of developers, even those known for throwing their money around with no plan for the building they purchase, were turning down the chance at $12.5M for this thing - the rumored contract price now is $15.5M.  $3M in upside on a platter for some 6 months?  You're welcome.

We'd been screaming that the no-brainer comp for valuing St. Marks anywhere above $12M was the Triangle Sports Building's high-profile sale at $4M.  And there's at least 3 triangles in St. Marks.  So just who do you think the buyer is?


Pro's:  it doesn't get any more prime than this, curb appeal, huge apartments with killer rental income potential as-is, condo conversion anytime you want

Con's:  gone already, seriously undercover, not for the faint of heart or the faint of pocket, hit an amazing 20 GRM!

Ideally:  they told us it was over-priced at $12.5M - go figure


3 comments:

  1. jonathone_

    I like reading your blog but sometimes I have no idea what you are talking about. Why is everything is coded? You say platinum members had the inside track on this one and many others but it's not clear if they closed the deal. It always sounds as if they get close but no cigar.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Platinum Members lay huge eggs from time to time like everyone else. Inside track is what counts. We can only lead the horse to water.

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