May. 5, 2009 - is Chelsea Mercantile off 25% since 2007?

one data point says 'yes'
I have long believed that the Chelsea Mercantile conversion of the old Veteran's Administration building into residential lofts on Seventh Avenue at 24th and 25th Streets 'created' a new market for (lower) 'north Chelsea'. (From back in the day, when I talked about active listings, see my August 21, 2007 new at 150 W 26 / one of the Merc's children and my March 30, 2007 Chelsea's Merc merchandise / 5 open houses.) When that building succeeded from its opening in 2000 with a high level of services and its (then shocking) prices, the micro-neighborhood gained Manhattan loft competitors (neighbors) such as 245 Seventh Avenue (Chelsea Atelier) and 213 West 23 Street (the venerable "Y" of ancient song), and services such as Whole Foods. Hard to believe that we would have an Onyx (261 West 28 Street) or a Chelsea Stratus (101 West 24 Street) without The Merc.

There goes the neighborhood, indeed.

So I noted with interest the most recent sale at The Merc. #9U closed on April 22 after a long slog. This "1,665 sq ft" unit was originally 2 bedrooms plus (interior) office, but was opened up to a 1 BR + office layout, permitting dinners for 24 (at one table; did they leave the table behind??). The "U" line is south-facing, though some (direct) view south is blocked on this floor by the Chelsea Royale across 24th Street (blame the success of The Merc on that), though there's still lots of sky from here, plus angled views.

slog this!
It took these folks a year to sell from when they came to market in April 2008 at $2.5mm. Back in the day, that asking price was pretty reasonable, considering that #11U had closed on February 19, 2008 for ... $2.5mm. (That one must have an interesting story: there were 8 months between that contract and that closing.) Turns out, of course, that April 2008 was very close to The Top of The Market. So not only did they not get $2.5mm, as #9U got, they did not get $2.395mm (the June price), or -- seeing the handwriting on the wall -- $1.975mm (the price as of February 2009). That February 2009 price drop did the trick however, generating the contract that closed on April 22.

The #9U clearing price of $1.875mm is 25% off the (delayed?) price of #11U from February 2008, not to mention barely $1,125/ft. How the mighty have fallen....

getting the memo, or not
StreetEasy has the data on the current inventory at The Merc. You will see that quite a few sellers are priced within spitting distance of $1,125/ft, though some have taken some pains in getting to that neighborhood. Others have not gotten the memo (yet).