unrecognizable 505 Greenwich Street loft sells up 44% over 2005, but that's no big deal

not a word you see babbled every day
They wanted the world to know that the “1,819 sq ft” Manhattan loft #12A at 505 Greenwich Street that just sold has been dramatically changed since it was purchased from the sponsor 6 years earlier, in addition to using one of the customary modifiers of “renovated” (“meticulously” ), the broker babble for this loft leads with “[u]nrecognizable from its original finish-out”. I love that “unrecognizable”, in part because it is so unusual, but also because it communicates quickly how radically the space — one of the luxury condos of its day — has been changed.

Speaking of change … loft #12A was sold by the sponsor on March 22, 2005 for $1,807,393. The Market recognized that this loft was priced right by those original buyers when it came back to market, transformed, on August 16 at $2.75mm and found the contract by September 19 that closed on December 13 at $2.6mm. That was a very successful campaign, taking 5 weeks to get a contract at a modest 5% discount, nearly $800,000 above the original purchase.

I will address below just how that positive result compares to other resales in the building, but not until trying to recognize the scope of the changes in loft #12A from as-built to as-sold. I had to click back and forth between the before and after floor plans to appreciate the structural changes:

• replacing the 2nd bedroom wall with those floor-to-ceiling glass doors is obvious, as is the now-missing bathroom in that room (they might have re-measured);
• closing off the kitchen is the first indication of how different the new kitchen is;
• I could not figure out from the plan what that new “U” space is that was carved out of the (former) 2nd bedroom until I marveled at the last (colorful! playful!) photo of a home office;
• the 2 little closets opposite and alongside the master bath are new, but they probably don’t replace the (former) entry closet that was sacrificed to give the (former) half-bath a shower

(That was the last changed I noticed, and did so only after wondering ‘who takes out a full bath in Manhattan?’ and checking the new bathroom count of 2, not 1.5.)

Structurally, what had been a 2-bedroom + 2.5 bath loft with an open kitchen and more private space than public has been transformed into a very adult One Bed Wonder with a closed kitchen 2 baths, and much more public space than private. (And no door to the master suite?) Beyond the fact that the kitchen has been closed off, you need to compare the listing photos to, for example, the loft that sold next door that sold a year ago with original kitchen finishes. You will see similar kitchen finishes and flooring in the listing photos for loft #5D, which also sold about a year ago.

Loft #12A, with sliding glass dining room doors, big open spaces, closed white kitchen, and very light floor finishes used to look like #12B and #5D, with a darker palette throughout, more hallways, and an open kitchen. In other words, you would not recognize the ‘after’ #12A from its ‘before’ pictures.

so what?
Leaving the world of aesthetics for the more tawdry talk of money, I was surprised that the 2005-to-2011 gain was only 44%, after I looked at other 2011 public sales in the building without outdoor space, compared on a $/ft basis and to their sponsor sales.

(*There was an intervening sale of #7B, ignored for present purposes.)

By comparison on the basis of gain over the sponsor sale, #12A ranks a weak 4th out of 5; on a price-per-foot basis, #12A is a very close second to #10C and only 3% above #9F, but both #10C and #9F are relatively small units and quite recognizable (i.e., not improved, let alone meticulously renovated).

Aesthetically, I love what the #12A seller did to the place. Financially, it appears that she did not improve the market value by transforming the space and (of course) she spent a fair amount of money to make that transformation sparkle.

I am not saying it wasn’t worth it, because only she can say whether her dollar investment was worth her enjoyment. I am saying that The Market did not think her sophisticated 1-bedroom light and airy loft was worth as much as in its former darker configuration. Did I mention that The Market can be a cruel, heartless female dog?

archives … we’ve got archives
Regular readers know that we have been here before (often!), and not just to complain that the glass walls of 505 Greenwich Street limit the eastern view from the Urban Glass House (see my December 17, New York Post scoops ACRIS with 330 Spring Street loft sale and December 31, yes, the sales dam is finally broken for Urban Glass House lofts at 330 Spring Street).

Prior Manhattan Loft Guy posts have hit some of the other 2011 sales noted above (marveling at the gains since 2005), noting a certain neighborly dynamic, and precisely measuring the value of a water view from here:

• February 1, 2011, 505 Greenwich Street loft is up 8% since 2004, down 12% since 2006 (about #7B)
• February 4, 2011, these water views from a 505 Greenwich loft are worth $370,000 (really) (about #12B, compared to #7B)
• February 22, 2011, 505 Greenwich Street loft wonders "what slump?" after closing up 61% since 2004 (about #5D)
• November 9, 2010, another neighbor extorted, as Queer Eye tires of "Soho", leaves 505 Greenwich Street loft for Chelsea (about the private sale of #14C, and comping it to 9 other sales in the building in 2010)
• June 9, 2010, the vultures next door / 505 Greenwich sells to neighbor (about #8C, another private sale, with the opposite result)
• May 6, 2009, pretty efficient (depressed) market at 505 Greenwich Street as both 6F and 7F sell, off 25% (about #6F and #7F and depressing efficiency)

© Sandy Mattingly 2012