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Manhattan Loft Guy

New York, New York

on matters of interest to Manhattan coop or condo loft apartment dwellers, buyers, sellers, and others, especially about New York City real estate

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Recent Comments

RE: 73 Worth Street closes by biting a very large bullet in one bite
I'm thinking the recent assessment won't help matt...
RE: what a difference a year (and a view) makes, as 161 Grand Street closes
sandy - just want to add that the other factor is...
RE: 73 Worth Street closes by biting a very large bullet in one bite
I wonder why almost half the building was on the m...
RE: open houses in the 3s
after real estate closeing deal with dimola bros d...
RE: tales of Olde Tribeca / 1980s nastiness at 151 Hudson Street
 I used to frequent the club and remember how...

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Manhattan Loft Guy

73 Worth Street closes by biting a very large bullet in one bite

Jun. 26, 2009
I wish I had a transcript for the negotiating that resulted in the June 12 closing of the Manhattan loft #4B at 73 Worth Street. The 'simple' facts are that it had been asking $3.2mm and the deal was done well south, at $2.69mm. $510,000, or 16% -- that's

ending up where they started / $4mm closing at 99 Jane

Jun. 9, 2009
The Market just proved that the Manhattan loft #10A at 99 Jane Street is worth $4mm, as that is the clearing price just now publicly available from the May 30 closing. That strikes me as at least a bit odd, as this loft started to market a year ago at tha

4 months to close, 4 years to zero out at 260 West Broadway

Jun. 5, 2009
The Manhattan loft #5G at 260 West Broadway (the American Thread Building) slid through The Market this year, starting on January 8 and finishing on May 6. (Not as fast as the ten week close at 155 Hudson Street that I hit on May 28, but almost as quick a

644 Broadway loved that first bidder: sells within 15 weeks, contract in 6, 1 price, 14% discount

May. 29, 2009
Categorized in: Psychology of the market
Agents often tell sellers "your first buyer may be your best" -- I certainly have told Manhattan loft sellers that. It is one of those pieces of accepted wisdom (at least among agents) that seems to me both valid and impossible to prove. (We are never lik

how to get cash in 10 weeks / negotiating to close at 155 Hudson Street

May. 28, 2009
How's this for a lovely trajectory in a challenging market? The Manhattan loft #4N at 155 Hudson Street came to market on February 20 at the wrong price ($2.395mm) but they (apparently) really wanted to sell and they knew what to do: they dropped the pric

into the way-back machine to close at 42 East 20 Street, down seven figures

May. 15, 2009
The bloom is definitely off the bull at 42 East 20 Street, a/k/a the Bullmoose Condominium, which was a huge success in the wave of Manhattan loft conversions in 2003. Another candidate for how the mighty have fallen.... Two recent sales suggest values he

497 Greenwich Street sale was off a low ball?

Apr. 29, 2009
Categorized in: Loft neighborhoods / SoHo
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 l

price of 'museum quality' in Noho = $1,000/ft / 644 Broadway closes quickly

Apr. 27, 2009
Categorized in: loft neighborhoods / NoHo
In the (entirely fictional) Manual of Style for real estate agents, the phrase "museum quality" is used because (I guess) "quadruple mint" just does not zing. (The fact that few people actually want to live in a museum may mean it is used ironically, but

how to be happy selling for $1mm+ off at 43 West 64 Street

Apr. 24, 2009
Categorized in: Market Trends
Of course, I have no idea what this seller's actual emotions are, but the fact that the March 2009 seller at $2.55mm was a buyer in the original conversion in February 2004 for $1,970,314 suggests that this seller may be a little chagrined at not getting

10 Bleecker remarkable space holds value remarkably well

Apr. 14, 2009
Categorized in: loft neighborhoods / NoHo
You might look at the successful 9 day marketing campaign (NINE DAYS!) a year ago of the Manhattan loft #7B at 10 Bleecker Street as a marvel of timing, in the sense of how marvelous (for these sellers) to time the top of the market. After all, they got

am I a coward? assessing + bearing risk in a risky world

Mar. 25, 2009
Categorized in: Psychology of the market
I noticed a Manhattan loft recently to market that (a) is a pretty spectacular loft, (b) in a building I am pretty familiar with, (c) in which there is a fairly timely and extensive set of market inputs (i.e., closed sales), (d) that is offered through a

50 Walker Street closes well off August ask after being publicly negotiable + serving bourbon

Mar. 19, 2009
Categorized in: pricing analysis
The full history of the Manhattan loft #6A at 50 Walker Street will reveal just how different this marketing campaign was from the loft addressed yesterday (why be that negotiable in secret? 25 Ann Street closed nearly 25% off ask ), but for now (before t

why be that negotiable in secret? 25 Ann Street closed nearly 25% off ask

Mar. 18, 2009
Categorized in: Psychology of the market
Using this painful Manhattan loft story as a jumping off point, this scenario shows the danger of coming to market at a price far removed from where buyers are: you don't get any offers and you probably get little or no open house traffic or phone call in

worse than bandages? painful for sellers to rip the calendar

Mar. 4, 2009
Categorized in: Market Trends
It is very challenging for most sellers to understand just how much The Market has shifted. Most sellers will acknowledge that they won't sell now near peak prices, but they are reluctant to 'give back' much more than that. That's why I find some of the

2 tiny drops / 354 Broome Street #5G closes down 12%

Nov. 12, 2008
Categorized in: Loft neighborhoods / SoHo
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 starte

buyer’s tango for one: buy it, but without overpaying

Mar. 31, 2007
what’s The Market Price if you set the market? The dialogue with Larry this week in Jagger’s Law of Imperfect Lofts / life is compromise (sigh) and a buyer’s experience this week... [Read More]
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