2 tiny drops / 354 Broome Street #5G closes down 12% : Manhattan Loft Guy

Manhattan Loft Guy

Nov. 12, 2008 - 2 tiny drops / 354 Broome Street #5G closes down 12%

hardball, anyone?
This one is interesting from a negotiating perspective. The Manhattan loft at 354 Broome Street #5G closed (deed filed September 24, but the clearing price was unknown for a while; it was $1.85mm) after having been on the market since January. They started at $2.2mm and -- while they were willing to come down -- they were not willing to come down much. At least formally.

They dropped $5,000 in March and $50,000 in April, then held on until finding a contract (the contract date on StreetEasy and in our database must be wrong, as it is September 17, a virtual impossibility for a closing 8 days later; so the contract came somwehere between April and August; darn those agents who screw up the data!!).

triple mint but double height = challenging layout
The StreetEasy link to the PruDE listing is here. As you will see, they do a lot of bragging about finishes (starting with "triple mint architectural renovation") but the layout is, well ... a challenge. At "1,700 sq ft" but no dimensions on the floor plan, they took advantage of the 18 foot ceilings to add that mezzanine with bedroom and bath, but that "room" does not close to the space below. Moreover, the second "bedroom" is aptly described as "bedroom / den / home office", as it lacks a window. In fact, there is only one window in the place!

back to those negotiations
The seller gave only the most prefunctory nod toward being "negotiable", despite offering the highest price to date in the bulding (the Ice House, which sits pretty far east to be "Soho"), with a $5,000 and another $50,000 price drop. Nonetheless, the deal was struck at $1.85mm -- a full 12% "discount". I can only imagine where they started that discussion ... $1.7mm?? And I can only speculate about the seller's reaction to what may well have seemed like the proverbial low-ball offer.

Whatever ... props to the seller for getting a deal done at the point The Market provided, in not such a long time at that.