141 West 17 Street gets huge premium for sparing no expense

it’s nice when it works
I hope the new owners of the “2,500 sq ft” Manhattan loft #6W at 141 West 17 Street got the mortgage they want (if they want a mortgage; nothing’s been recorded yet), but I have my doubts. Not because the loft is not worth the $3.4mm they paid on January 26, but because (you know) comping is hard. I will show you just how hard in a minute, but here’s the thing about the marketing campaign for this loft: they claimed a big number and a top renovation, and The Market agreed.

The loft came to market on September 17 at $3.75mm (remember that date, please) and found a contract by November 25 at $3.4mm (a reasonable, if round-numbered discount). No caps were spared in the broker babble, as this jumps out at you: “NO EXPENSE HAS BEEN SPARED”. See the babble for the (many) details, but this is a nice touch about the varied hidden controls, often implied but rarely stated, “all of which is carefully detailed in the architect’s Treasure Map which transfers with the sale”.

specific utility can be limiting
When lofts are so extensively renovated, they are what they are: this “2,500 sq ft” classic Long-and-Narrow footprint is plenty wide enough to provide flexibility (27’ wide in the more narrow rear), especially with 4 windows on one long side, but there are exactly 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, an office, and a media room. Chances are, changing any of this utility in any any would involve demolishing something lovely and well-designed. For most buyers, it is emotionally very expensive to buy someone’s beautiful work only to rip it out (not to mention, expensive in dollars, as well).

Sadly, there is no “click for large photos” feature on StreetEasy or the Corcoran website, but the pix are a little better from Corcoran here. As you would expect, they support the babble; if anything, they (and the oh so detailed, proper naming babble) suggest the loft looks better in real life than it does in pictures. I will restrict myself to two comments: the columns! and the elevator doors!!.

lovely loft, aggressively priced
When loft #6W came to market in September (did you remember that date?) nothing in this 12-unit coop had changed hands since 2006, when a 4th floor loft and the other 6th floor loft sold in a narrow range. The “2,450 sq ft” loft #6E sold on February 10, 2006 for $2.35mm, claiming a “beautifully renovated space” with 3 bedrooms, a new kitchen, and 2 new baths. The “2,450 sq ft” loft #4E sold on March 13, 2006 at $2.4mm with 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, in “exquisitely renovated“ condition with a “gorgeous and grand professional gourmet kitchen”.

Sometimes, comping is not so hard. The Market at the turn of 2006 valued well renovated lofts in this building at something less than $1,000/ft.

Pricing #6W in September at $1,500/ft was aggressive, counting more (most likely) on the quality of that renovation even compared to #4E and #6E than on overall Manhattan residential real estate market trends at +50% in 5 years.

Indeed, there is reason to believe that the hyper-local loft market at 141 West 17 Street has not increased in value by even 25% since 2006. (Remember that #6W came to market on September 17, 2011 when you click here.)

Sometimes it is hard, without having studied the comps in real life, to tell the difference between the condition of lofts babbled as “beautifully renovated” or “mint” and lofts babbled as having a no-expense-spared renovation. The Market had a (nearby!) alternative to loft #6W from September last year. The fact that #6W closed at $3.4mm (at least a 15% premium to that nearby alternative) is a loud statement by The Market about the value of that #6W renovation.

If I had room on my wall for another Manhattan Loft Guy poster, #6W would be a poster child captioned Agression, Rewarded. I would have to hang it next to my Field of Dreams poster. (Though I still wonder if they got an appraisal to support a mortgage.)

© Sandy Mattingly 2012