497 Greenwich Street sale was off a low ball? : Manhattan Loft Guy

Manhattan Loft Guy

Apr. 29, 2009 - 497 Greenwich Street sale was off a low ball?

Page Six thinks so

The Manhattan loft #7A at 497 Greenwich Street closed on April 16, just less than a month after going to contract. Not many Manhattan residential real estate agents make Page Six (I hope), but that august source seems to think this sale happened after a low-ball bid by a pair of married agents:

We put in [low] offers on about eight units in different buildings," said ..., who bought their $2.9 million TriBeCa condo at 497 Greenwich St. sight unseen. "I knew the building, I knew the line, and it was in the neighborhood we wanted ." There was also a rush to get the deal done: ... is pregnant with their first child and due in mid-May. [brackets in original]

(h/t Curbed.com, yesterday) (We will have to trust the editorial policies of that august source for the validity of adding "[low]" to modify the 8 offers.)

Since the most recent asking price was $3.2mm, I am not sure that buying at $2.9mm indicates a true "low ball" offer under current market conditions. But I quibble .... What's really interesting is the history before the most recent asking price stimulated a contract.

shooting for the moon, hitting a street light

There was not a long history for this listing, but there was some drama: it started at $3.8mm on December 2, then took off two weeks leading into Christmas, then dropped to $3.5mm on January 21, and to $3.2mm on February 18. That is a pretty serious set of drops in only 11 weeks -- 15.8% -- compounded (if that's the right word) by a negotiation ending in yet another 9.4% off the last list.

Net, net, the sellers took $900k less than where they started, a 24% 'discount'. But that is still not the most interesting discount in this loft's history.

2005 all over again (more or less)

The sellers also took a 6.6% hit off their original purchase price of $3,105,662, which was the first sale of this unit, in January 2006. (This loft must have been one of the later ones to close in this new development in which closings started in October 2004.) If both sales of this loft were market-appropriate (rather than being anomalous), that would put the current value of the loft (expressed in calendar terms) as late 2005, or so.

These sellers are my Sellers Of The Day for having (1) dropped nearly 16% off ask in 11 weeks, then (2) negotiating another 9.4% off the last ask, all after (3) having paid more than $200k more in January 2006 than they got in selling in April 2009. (Sorry sellers: there is no actual 'prize' for being the MLG SOTD, but you did move on with your lives.)

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Apr. 29, 2009 - 497 Greenwich Street sale was off a low ball?

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