For those of you who dream of rehabbing a neglected piece of American brownstone history here’s a video of the This Old House gang fixing up a real beauty from 1904.
Don’t kid yourself though, even a brownstone like this one which has fallen into disrepair is still likely to run close to a million bucks – or more in Brooklyn’s rather insane housing market. Those looking to snatch up a real bargain may fair better setting their sights on considerably cheaper properties in markets like Philadelphia and Chicago. While these cities aren’t known for their brownstones the way that Brooklyn is there are some real good deals that you can find in these parts. In particular, the Rittenhouse Square and Fairmount neighborhoods in Philly offer opportunities for brownstone ownership at a fraction of the price of what can be had in NYC.