May. 6, 2009 - pretty efficient (depressed) market at 505 Greenwich Street as both 6F and 7F sell, off 25%

compare and contrast, upstairs and down, now and then
Here's another take on the theme of my neighborly competition thread (more links below): two all-but-identical Manhattan lofts at 505 Greenwich Street had overlapping marketing histories, prices and success, suggesting that even in this thin market The Market can be relatively efficient (if cruel).

This 2004 newly constructed condo is that oxymoron that loft-snobs like Manhattan Loft Guy just have to get over: yes, with no history of a non-residential usage (or any history at all), it is more accurate to say that the units are "loft-style", but no one else cares. It features open kitchens, big windows, (largely) open floor plans, and it is in a formerly non-residential micro-neighborhood, so The Market thinks it is a loft.

The "812 sq ft" "F" line is as big as some new condo 2 BR "apartments", but the layout is otherwise pretty conventional. The fixtures, finishes and amenities are consistent with the arm's race among new developments, circa 2004 (pet spa!). It is on the 'wrong' side of Canal Street to be in Tribeca, but it is hard to call this block Soho with a straight face.

the 3% difference
Neither #6F nor #7F seems to have been significantly upgraded in the brief history of the building. They have parallel recent listing histories:
 

I find that small difference in price to be remarkable in a noticeably thinner market than a year ago. I wonder if the #6F buyer had been in the market during the ten weeks #7F was being actively marketed....

Please don't worry that the #6Fsellers did not do as well as their upstairs neighbors. To the contrary: the #6F sellers were December 2004 buyers at $645k, while the #7Fsellers were January 2005 buyers at (ouch ahead!) $915k. (No consolation, of course, but the #7F sellers had no capital gains tax liability.)  Indeed, the "F" line original sales suggest a bizarrely inefficient market, presumably because the contract dates varied widely:

off 25% since Summer

Continuing the sale history of this line presents an interesting market perspective:

One little thing and one big thing jump out of this history: (1) The Market was both robust and efficient right around The Fall of Lehman, and (2) the recent sales of #6F and #7F are off almost 25% from the Summer sale of #5F.

other neighborly ruminations

April 17, break away to win the neighborly competition / so many lofts, so many dollars ... but no sales (yet)

January 7, are they fooling only each other? / 3 neighbors push, 1 smiles

December 12, more unintended consequences in petri dish of Tribeca neighbors

December 7, selling the neighbor's loft / unintended consequences in a Tribeca petri dish?

November 30, neighborly competition leads to neighborly mistakes? the laboratory at 24 East 22 Street