it can be HARD to determine value / 12 E 14 drops again

I hit this one a month ago when it came back to market after a 6 week hiatus (Oct 10: still trying to give that loft away at 12 E 14 (if you buy terrace)) and again when it came back to market in June after a month away (June 5: 12 E 14 St terrace $1.25mm — free loft attached).

why bad prices happen to good lofts
You never know from the outside in a situation like this if the seller was pushing a very unsuccessful price (if so, the agent accepted the listing at that price) or whether the agent proposed a very unsuccessful price (if so, the seller agreed to it). In law and in fact, it is the seller who sets the asking price, although rumor has it that some agent’s advice about worth is awfully insistent. (Indeed, there is a rumor that agents have been known to buy listings by promoting an unreasonable price, but I would not know anything about that.)

The fact that the seller dropped one Corcoran agent for another after one month, then dropped that second Corcoran agent after three months in favor (eventually) of a Halstead agent does not tell me enough to even guess about who was driving the pricing strategy. But the price history is clear that the strategies have not worked.

Not even the latest strategies have worked (yet), with Halstead, as yesterday’s price change lopped 16% off the Halstead price of a month ago.

pain or hubris?
I like to think that it is more difficult to price lofts than apartments, mostly because most lofts are (say it along with me…) unique. Especially lofts with roof space (uniquer, if you will indulge me). Roof space on a 5-story building is clearly different from roof space on a 25-story building.

With #5A, the it factor is the private roof space; otherwise it should trade in line with lower floor units in the building. Those clearing prices are not very encouraging.

#2C as said to be “1,500 s ft” when it sold in February for $1.03mm. #4F was said to be “900 s ft” when it sold 15 months ago for $720k. It appears as though #4A also sold 15 months ago, “750 sq ft” of “architectural gem” for $725k. (That one was marketed without a floor plan on the web, so I can’t tell how closely that “750 sq ft” foot print matches the “900 sq ft” footprint of #5A.)

Let’s just say that the past sales history does not support a valuation of $1,000/ft in this building without considering private roof space.

finding bottom, finding The Market?
Any buyer will be tempted to look at the price history for #5A and conclude that the seller should be prepared for more discounting – even if the sales history in the building suggests that $999k for “900 sq ft” of interior space and “1,200 sq ft” of roof space is a reasonable asking price. So reasonable that – my guess – if they had come out at that price in April (instead of at $1.395mm) they’d have closed by now. But buyers like the momentum of serial price drops, and will push for a bottom.

As I said, with #5A as a guide (warning), anyone with knowledge of what has happened in the building will be loathe to spend anywhere near the asking price for #5D. Time, of course, will tell. I will try to listen when it does, and report back.