Infinity Flats loft needs ultra refinishing to break even since 2007

but out-performing 2010 resales
I noted a week ago one new development in which at least one resale was a positive outlier (July 30, why did 263 Ninth Avenue loft resale kick some serious butt?). Every coin has two sides, and the Manhattan loft on the “4,109 sq ft”  3rd floor of 24 East 21 Street (Infinity Lofts) falls that way: it sold as a new development on August 31, 2007 for $4,312,500 (per The Shark, not on StreetEasy) and just re-sold for $4.3mm. Looks like a wash, right? Uh, not so much.

In between, the loft got a renovation of the “no detail nor expense was spared” variety, with details I cannot hope to do justice to in a summary, so:

Living room/Dining room has all Venetian plaster walls, tri color ceiling gold leaf stone gas fireplace with all baseboards and trims finished in a gloss mahogany and gold leaf accent. Media Room; Antique cabinet made in Asia. wet bar and full media surround sound system with hydraulic lift for screen and speakers. Master Bedroom: Artist Ivo Ivannov, renown Spanish painter, hand painted this design accented by all silver leaf. The Kitchen: Red lacquered walls and two color ceiling has Sub Zero Viking and Bosch appliances

(Sorry about the punctuation [lack thereof] but that is the way it appears on StreetEasy and on the Corcoran site; ouch.) You get the idea: lots of colors, lots of (leafy) precious metals, lots of textures, lots of colors, lots of … lots!!!

Whatever it cost, it generated a flat sale from 4 years earlier, unlike the 3 other resales in the building, all from last year:

I banged that drum in my October 8, 2010, the limits of Infinity (Lofts) / 2007 new development trades 15+% off at 24 East 21 Street, with that headline telling that story.

These are all large lofts (“4,109 sq ft”), so there are a lot of details not to be spared in a significant renovation. Is it possible that they spent a half million or more on precious leaf and other finishes on the 3rd floor? The Market seems to have valued the upgrades as at least $500,000.

With the re-sellers getting creamed (so far) after 4 years, the developer must be happy to have taken the money and run.
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* per Property Shark; not on StreetEasy

© Sandy Mattingly 2011