After reports surfaced of a two-family townhouse being sold in Red Hook for $1.06 million, the NY Post had to find out who would pay that much - and why. It turns out that East Village residents Frank and Tina Dituri bought the house because it "reminded [them] of how the East Village was 15 years ago: Young people coming in doing interesting things and putting their own stamp on it." And the space was a factor - the house is 2400 square feet, so the Dituris got a good deal if you're thinking just in terms of price per square foot (Manhattan prices start at $1000 per square foot) and in terms of the taxi fare they'll have to give their Manhattan friends to visit. The Post gets some color from the broker:
Marsha Yarde, a broker with Fillmore Real Estate who arranged the sale, called it a "record-breaking price for a two-family home" in Red Hook.
Real-estate agents estimate the same property would have sold for only about $350,000 five years ago and $150,000 a decade ago.
"Red Hook is the new 'it' community - it's like SoHo 30 years ago and the Meatpacking District 10 years ago," Yarde said.
Red Hook is certainly hip and "it"-like, but we're afraid that calling it SoHo and the Meatpacking District is like a death knell - do Red Hook residents really want their neighborhood turn into a big mall (okay, strip mall) or afterhours destination? If anything, Red Hook seems more a magnet for people wanting to settle down and nest, versus party hard every night - unless Fairway's cafe stays open until 1AM..
In other Brooklyn real estate news, Billy Joel and his wife reportedly looked at a $12 million house in Brooklyn Heights, which makes us worried for anyone walking on the sidewalk, as the Piano Man has had problems controlling his car.
Postcard heralding "record-breaking" sale from brownstoner
