But there may be workarounds, like Concord Village, a seven-building complex along Adams Street, near the Brooklyn Bridge and close to Brooklyn Heights. The monolithic red brick co-op, which began life in the urban renewal era as a rental, offers apartments like 225 Adams Street, No. 10B, a studio with a windowed kitchen and a walled-in sleeping area for $330,000.
Far more options, though, exist in neighborhoods further south, like Sheepshead Bay, where subway access is limited and cars are common. A one-bedroom prewar co-op at 2241 Plumb First Street, No. 5K, on the border with Gerristen Beach, was listed for $199,000 in July, with sofas, wardrobes and tables included.
When an apartment in this price range pops up in a premier neighborhood, it may be wise to look the gift listing in the mouth. Consider 300 Eighth Avenue, in Park Slope, a co-op comprised totally of studios where units routinely trade for around $250,000. The reason? Three decades after the building converted from a rental into a co-op, fewer than half of its 94 units, or 45, have sold, brokers say, which means it still has not hit the key 50 percent threshold preferred by lenders. Buildings below that threshold, with many occupants who are renters, are too transient, the thinking goes, putting the building’s upkeep at risk.
Among the apartments in the Gothic-accented 1920 building for sale last month was a sponsor unit with inlaid floors and original molding, No. 2L, asking $265,000.
“It would be cheaper to buy this and pay the maintenance than it would be to rent it,” said Hal Lehrman, the principal broker of Brooklyn Properties who has sold sponsor units in the building since the 1990s. “And there is nothing else available in the neighborhood like this. Period.”
Besides, Mr. Lehrman added, with the sale of just three more sponsor units — which is expected to happen this year — the co-op will finally cross the halfway mark, likely sending values skyward.
Source link
