don't sneeze at 130 West 17 Street contract

[

The original post:

]

it was going for it
I hit on (picked on?) # 9S at 130 West 17 Street when it was new to market in September (130 W 17 9S is new + really going for it), asking $3.2mm (since dropped to $2.995mm) for "2,000 sq ft" and the "possibility" of buying roof rights. I wondered then — out loud, as is my wont — if there was enough of a Manhattan loft plus factor here to justify a pretty large premium over past building sales.

For buyers to pay the primo premium asked for 9S, there’s gotta be something special about it. The other sales in the building indicate that location is not the plus factor here. The views could be a plus factor, but they appear not to have helped 9N much. The "possible" roof deck should not be a plus, since (a) you’d still have to pay for it, and (b) it is merely possible at this point. (Out door space — especially private roof space — can be a significant plus factor, I just don’t think this possibility qualifies.) Perhaps it is the finishes and fixtures.

For finishes and fixtures to be the plus factor driving an atypically high price, they have to overcome the buyer’s mental math how much would it cost me to build out my dream loft? and it has to match the buyer’s tastes. So the market of really interested buyers shrinks as the finishes and fixtures become more (personally) stylish. The seller wants a buyer whose taste exactly matches theirs, or else the buyer won’t be willing to pay a premium.

did it get it?
Well, the chickens are near home and ready to roost. They have had the chickens warming up before (twice came back to market this year following accepted offers) but it is in contract as of yesterday’s market updates.

Props to Deborah LaChance of Corcoran for getting this far at this price. Can’t wait to find out the trading price….

[Update 12.14.08: the deed was filed June 5 with a clearing price of $2.85mm; my conclusion is that, yes, they did get it; even after taking 10% off the original asking price, they got a significant premium over past building sales]

© Sandy Mattingly 2008