huge premium for condition, light + views for this 20-26 N. Moore Street loft

what a difference a day makes (+ light + views + renovation)
Let’s stay near the corner of N. Moore and Varick Streets, just above my favorite Tribeca bar, Walkers. Yesterday we stopped on the 5th floor of the western half of the two-building coop 20-26 N. Moore Street (20-26 N. Moore Street loft sells quickly if you don’t count 2008 and 2009), where #5W sold for $2.5mm in July, after a quick successful campaign in 2010 and a drawn-out unsuccessful campaign in 2008 and 2009. Today’s visit is to look at #8W, which sold for $3.6mm on August 2 after a public campaign that StreetEasy missed. How to account for that huge spread?

#8W looks to be a little wider than #5W, with “glorious lights and views” south, east and west (“glorious” is not a word you hear every day in this business) and is described at a whole ‘nother level than the likely-to-be-gutted #5W, in sum: “masterfully renovated and in mint move-in condition”, with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, and central air. Those differences in width, condition, light and views earned a nearly 40% premium (assuming “2,700 sq ft” for #5W, for $926/ft, compared to “2,800 sq ft” for #8W, for $1,286/ft).

filling in the StreetEasy gap
The inter-firm data-base shows that #8W was marketed from February 15 at $3.95mm until the contract by March 30 at $3.6mm. The Tabak listing description is still live on their website as a closed sale here (scroll down, and down), with the pictures here and floor plan here. No idea why StreetEasy didn’t see this.

Dept of Redundancy Dept
Again: these lofts directly competed with each other. Same building, almost the same footprint. #8W followed #5W to market by 9 days and found a contract three weeks sooner. It is hard to imagine that everyone who saw one unit did not also see the other, in the 6 weeks #8W was available. The Market did not just prefer the one with more light in better condition over the other; the spread was 40%.

every picture tells the story, sorta
The comparison to the condition of #5W is evident in the #8W pictures, but I wish there were pictures of the view. At this height, the south windows clear the roof top (barely, but still) of 156 Franklin Street, so #8W is laid out opposite to #5W: living area is at the back (south), bedrooms in front (north), facing the Atalanta at 25 N. Moore Street.

Depending on water tower and nearby building angles, there might be angled views of the Woolworth Building, the north end of Battery Park City, and (soon!) the World Trade Center towers. There should certainly be great light south and west from the living room. But there are no pictures to tell that story. Sigh.

from the Department of Picky-Picky
With so many rooms, it takes a long time for the loft to open up when you get off the elevator. (See that second picture.) And I don’t get the point of the “den” / living room wall; it would have a much more open feel if there were visual access to that third south window. But with 4 real bedrooms plus a den plus an “additional room”, this was built for quite a large brood. If the buyers have fewer kids and/or a different life-style, I expect some of those walls to come down. Opening up the den and removing the “second” bedroom would go a long way.

But this is mere quibbling, given the 40% premium over #5W.

[UPDATE 9/30:

well, this is embarrassing
i should always check that well-known source for information about Manhattan lofts before writing about a specific loft or building … Manhattan Loft Guy. I knew this loft sale was familiar, as I hit it soon after it closed, in my Aug 11, 20-26 N. Moore loft clears at $1,286/ft with no frills. Fortunately, this new post uses the actual listing photos and floor plan (i.e.,thre’s added value, while the Aug 11 point was:

I can’t think of another loft in a similarly classic small Tribeca coop with no amenities that has cleared recently at as high a price-per-foot as #8W.

At least I wasn’t totally redundant.]

© Sandy Mattingly 2010