set price off low comp or high comp? too pushy (or not) in Tribeca gets neighborly

comping is hard
Fascinating new listing for a Tribeca loft in a fairly recent high-end Manhattan loft conversion. They are asking above $1,250/ft for space that sold in the conversion at around $850/ft, probably with many of the same proper proper names (and other indicia of bling-bling) with which it is offered now. But that original sale price is not a particularly useful benchmark. The interesting (and perilous) question is which neighbor’s 2007 sale is the better benchmark — and the question is perilous because the two sales (the most recent in the building) were at such different levels.

comping is scary
One sold for nearly $1,400/ft; the other for under $1,150/ft. The latter was described glowingly (even gushingly) as a gorgeous space with ooh-la-la finishes, so there is not likely to be much difference between those two spaces in level of finishes. Perhaps there is a low-floor discount for the lower-priced unit, but I find it hard to believe that this accounts for much.

The other sale in the building in 2007 was also in highly praised condition and sold quickly above $1,300/ft. So … which sale is the best indication of current value in the building? The new sellers are counting on the two high prices, obviously, arguing that their asking price (below either of those two sales) is not pushy at all. Any potential buyer will bang on the lower one, equally obviously, arguing that the sellers are too pushy by $100/ft even using 2007 valuations straight up.

Fascinating, indeed (from a bystander’s perspective). From the seller’s perspective, perilous.
 

© Sandy Mattingly 2009