108 Wooster Street lofts clears at $826/ft, pines for The Peak

those were the days
When the Manhattan loft #2D at 108 Wooster Street sold on February 3 for $980,000, that clearing price was a discount of 18% off the asking price, not to mention 22% down from peak pricing in this small loft building in prime Soho that was converted to residential ownership in the second era of local conversions (circa 1982). If the StreetEasy building description is accurate (“built for small manufacturers in 1880”), one of those small manufacturers was a Jersey boy, T. A. Edison, who had a business here in 1881 “for the manufacture of dynamos, underground conductors, sockets, switches, fixtures, meters, etc.” But I digress…

#2D is said to be “1,186 sq ft” and (reading between the lines of the babble) is in somewhat primitive condition (“[c]lassic old-style features throughout [with] … [m]odern updates include stainless steel kitchen appliances, a washer/dryer, modern bath, and contemporary cable lighting”). Back in the day, #5E was in no better condition (probably even more primitive) when it sold nearly at The Peak on July 1, 2008 for $1.15mm ($1,008/ft for “1,140 sq ft”).

egg on Manhattan Loft Guy face?
Very (very) long-time readers may remember that I hit #5E twice, once beating it up for a peculiar floor plan as an active listing (October 16, 2007, all feet at 108 Wooster are square but not equal), once acknowledging that The Market judged that layout differently (January 31, 2008, who laughs at 108 Wooster deal?). Suffice it to say that #2D has a much better footprint than #5E (and ceilings 2.5 feet higher and that “updated” kitchen), so that the Peak-to-now natural spread is probably greater than the simple arithmetic (down 22%).

an odd duck of a building
With maintenance for #2D of $970/mo and income from the commercial rental of $18,000+ per year, this loft is essentially “rent” free. A reader on that #5E thread suggested that this building was not created as a traditional cooperative housing association, but as an S Corp. If so, this probably involved clever lawyering 30 years ago around the (former) 80/20 rule problems from all that rental income.

© Sandy Mattingly 2011