the history
first offered for sale on March 26, 2007 for $6.2mm (and $3,600/mo in taxes and common charges)
price drop that May to $5.995mm
another price drop in October to $5.8mm
finally! a March 2008 contract
closed June 26 at $5.735mm

the goods
This "4,800+ sq ft" architect-designed no-detail-overlooked loft looks and sounds spectacular, down to the 1,000 bottle wine cellar and media room with drop down screen (suitable for screening all Hillary Swank films). The 12 foot ceiings and "50 feet" of mahogany windows give it max loft cred, while the wood-burning fireplace is an unusually homey touch for a loft. Teh long-and-narrow layout is classic (windows only front and back, bedrooms in back, plumbing on both long walls), though with 4,800 sq ft that is rather long and not very narrow.

The building was converted to condos only in 2003, but it is unclear if the architect doing the no-detail-overlooked design was hired by the first owner or by the developer.

the impetus?
Interesting that unit #2 sold March 9, 2007 (see any connection?) for $5.07mm; that one took only 3.5 months to get into contract off an asking price of $5.4mm. Interesting that the second floor is not quite the same size as the fourth floor (the second floor 'lost' a room-sized space off the stairwell) and that the layout and finishings for the second floor are very similar to those on the fourth floor (so maybe the developer did all the no-detail-overlooking).

That pretty quick sale on March 9, 2007 may have induced the 4th floor owners to go for it on March 27, 2007. At the end of the day, the 4th floor owners got nearly $650k more than their former neighbors on 2 -- but that day (a full year before a contract) may have been much later than they anticipated when they started. (By that point, they obviously did not mind a 7.5% discount from their original asking price.) I wonder whether the Hillary Swank movie was being filmed before or after they decided to sell?

© Sandy Mattingly 2008

"gimme a 4!" ... OK, then please give me a 3 (pretty please)
#10C at 66 Leonard Street was offered for sale in January 2007 at $4.295mm. Our listing history shows a contract signed in February last year but that must have fizzled (no deed was filed) and it was noted as Permanently Off the Market in October. The same agent brought it back to market this past January at that same price, then within six weeks of the March 28 price drop to $3.995mm they had a signed contract, with a closing noted as of last week.

No clearing price available yet, but it looks as though the change from a price starting with a $4... to a price starting with a $3... did the trick. Funny how simple it can be (in retrospect). Well, not so funny, in fact.

psychology
We'll know more when the trading price is public, but at every Major Round Number there are buyers who will not cross a threshold. In this case, that appears to be what happened with this Manhattan loft and the $4mm threshold. That's not to say that $300k is chicken feed, but 7% is hardly a huge discount. Depending (of course) on how close to $3.995mmthey actually got, this may simply be a case where a buyer would not even consider a "4" but went for the top of the "3"s. After all,the place had been on the market a long time in both 2007 and 2008 without a deal off of $4.295mm but got one within six weeks of the 7% solution.

lovely loft, BTW, with hefty monthlies
The space is said to be "2,914 sq ft", set up as 3 BRs + 3.5 baths, with 3 exposures. The common charges of $2,209/mo support a health club with steam room, a residents lounge and roof deck, and not only a doorman but a resident manager -- a lot of overhead for a 44 unit building.The taxes of $2,518/mo support ... the city. (The turn of the [last] century building was converted to condo in 1999, obviously without a tax abatement.)

your friend, and mine
Follow along with sales in this building through StreetEasy, here.