137 Duane Street loft sells after falling off peak

one child, two posters
The first time the Manhattan loft #2A at 137 Duane Street (Diamond Duane) sold it was auditioning as a poster child for Lofts That Sold At The Peak. (The sponsor sale was April 25, 2008, off a contract signed on March 29, 2008.) When it re-sold on March 4 the ad for the audition read Just How Far Off The Peak Have We Fallen? There’s no satisfaction (and a lot of pain) in representing two such extremes, but the captions on the two posters would read “April 25, 2008: $2,469,256” and “March 4, 2011: $1,725,000”.

That’s off 30%.

This “2,251 sq ft” loft has a puzzle-piece layout that is dramatically inefficient. Given the window and plumbing placement, the current 2-bedroom floor plan represents the maximum number of legal bedrooms, without breaking into the front wall of windows. While it is rather long, and consistently narrow (at some points, very narrow), the offsets around a courtyard make it far from classically Long-and-Narrow. (Those offsets also permit there to be bedrooms, as their windows are into tehat that courtyard.)

Those front windows may well present “beautiful, sunny views of Duane Street and its landmarked buildings”, but those views are a long way from the kitchen. There are 13 foot ceilings, but the jewel of the place has got to be one of the more masterful master suites that you will see. The bedroom measures at 27 x 14.5 feet, with a walk-in closet, and a bath that is bigger than many 2nd bedrooms. So all that zigging and zagging may be worth it, if your life fits in just 2 bedrooms and a home office.

Obviously, the demand for this unit was greater at The Peak than since. Props to the sellers for being modest in pricing and ruthless in negotiating. Note above their purchase price, then scan this quick and brutal listing history:

That’s off 30% from The Peak. O. U. C. H.

[UPDATE: when I posted about this sale on NearSay I added information about a nearby comp. Note to self: talk about NearSay….]

© Sandy Mattingly 2011