Jun. 3, 2009 - at 65 West 13 Street, 3 years = off $20,000, but last year ...?

how they could they not regret?
If you drew a line between the fair market value of the Manhattan loft #8D at 65 West 13 Street (The Greenwich Condominium) from the sale in May 2006 at $2.22mm and the sale in April 2009 at $2.2mm, the line would be essentially straight. But that straight line would hardly accurately reflect the change in values over those three years, as the substantially similar #10D sold for $2.71mm as recently as September 2008 (that unit's line would look very different, as #10D sold in January 2005 at $2.075mm).

The Greenwich Condominium conversion of a former department store in 2000 - 2001 brought a level of luxury and amenities that this micro-nabe had not seen in a loft building before. Concierge services, beautiful roof deck (gas grill!), and real volume in these high-ceilinged spaces. The "D" line overlooks 6th Avenue (high enough on the 8th floor that, with thermopane windows, should reduce most of the ambient noise there to a hum), with very good light and those "city views". This "1,898 sq ft" unit was said to have been newly renovated when it came to market in July 2008 at $3.2mm, almost immediately after their upstairs neighbors in #10D went to contract quickly (4 weeks) off an asking price of $2.95mm (without a new renovation of 7 year old space).

I suspect that the #8D sellers did not view themselves as stretching the market on July 23, 2008.

market trajectory = rapid decline
The #8D sellers assessed the change in market after Lehman's Labor Day fall, and dropped to $2.995mm by late September, and again to $2.85mm in November. Our inter-firm data-base shows this was technically 'off the market' after December and that a contract was signed in March 2009, so maybe they were already negotiating with the eventual buyer in December, or maybe they did a very soft form of marketing in early 2009. Whatever, the March contract resulted in an April 21 closing at $2.2mm -- a rather large discount from the last asking price (23%), a very large discount from their original July 2008 asking price (31%), and what must have been a disappointing essentially flat (gross) 'loss' of $20,000 from their purchase in May 2006 at $2.22mm -- especially in view of #10D's clearing price of $2.71mm in September.

sometimes you just have to sympathize
Even assuming that the newly-renovated #8D and the (probably) 7-year-old-original-condition #10D were truly similar, the change in value between #10D's September 2008 and #8D's April 2009 of 19% is dramatic (more so, if the #8D renovation was significant upgrade). How could they not be thinking 'if only we had gotten our act together 3 months earlier ...' ?

With two units so close together, I can't think of a better (in this case, poignant) illustration of the turn-of-market that occurred with the AIG + Lehman + Associated Fall-out in the Manhattan loft market.