28 East 4 Street loft closes up 9% over 2006, at 5% discount to ask

what took so long?
Can we agree (just between us) that a Manhattan loft that sells at a 5% discount from first listing price has been priced right? Can we also agree that a Manhattan loft that has not sold or reduced its price in 4 months is probably over-priced?

I had to insert that weasely “probably” because the Manhattan loft #5W at 28 East 4 Street closed on April 29 at $1.8mm off an asking price of $1.895mm but it took that (obviously right!) asking price from September 30 to the February 14 contract to work its magic. Weird set of circumstances, as I’d be tempted to call those sellers “stubborn” for holding to the original asking price so long, and the market “thin” for taking that long to hit the right price.

I don’t know anything about these sellers, of course, but I do not consider the recent sales volume as indicative of a thin market. Weird.

The fact that the recent sale was at a 9% premium to the prior sale on March 20, 2006 at $1.65mm is not weird. To the contrary, that spread going back 5 years seems within a normal range of 2006-to-2011 resales. (Manhattan Loft Guy note to self: check that supposition … some day.)

no change in plan, just palette, but no huge profit, either
What do you think of the brown walls in the living room? They look pretty dramatic to me, and I had to closely parse the before-and-after (2006 vs. 2010) photos to see that the loft is in essentially the same condition in the recent sale as it had been when these sellers bought it 5 years ago. Floor plan is exactly the same; some light fixtures have been switched, but the formerly blonde-on-blonde mix of light finish on the floors, light neutrals on the walls throughout (from 2006) was changed (only in the living room?) from neutral walls to brown. Make that: brown!

I am surprised at how much I prefer the ‘pop’ of the brown to the former (classic) color scheme. Not that this simple change generated a huge return (as seems to be the case with the penthouse-with-fresh-paint that I hit on May 13, 43 West 21 Street penthouse loft dresses up (a little) to close up (a lot: $1.1 million) since 2007), but it does look nice.

© Sandy Mattingly 2011