was there a million dollar renovation at 195 Hudson Street?

I doubt that they (much) improved on state-of-the-art
The “3,227 sq ft” Manhattan loft #5B at 195 Hudson Street has had a rather … dynamic … pricing history, leading to an unanswerable conundrum for me: how much of the increase in value of 34% from December 2006 to August 2011 was because the space was improved, and how much because The Market improved? Here is the 4-step sales history from condominium conversion to last month:

• June 10, 1999 $1,286,500
• Aug 17, 2005 $3,265,000
• Dec 19, 2006 $3,725,000
• Aug 18, 2011 $4,995,000

This history shows that — so far — everyone has been happy to buy and happy to sell. You don’t see that history often.

That first buyer did a lot of work, as the lofts were sold by the developer in white box condition (notes in our system say “semi-raw condition”, with a Certificate of Occupancy, a bath and a kitchen). The result, according to a listing that does not survive on StreetEasy but is available in our data-base, was a

[f]abulous state-of-the-art corner loft with 3 bedrooms, library & den, open separate kitchen, dining room, fireplace, and elegant foyer. Huge expansive living room best for entertaining. 122ceilings, 4 1/2 maple plank floors, closter of maple wood with edged glass around living area; library with sliding Bendheim glass doors, solid maple 8 ft high doors; Philippe Stark hardware & Waterworks bathrooms, glass tile & slate, steam shower in master bath. Wired for stereo & DHL.

(I bet that bit at the end should have been DSL.) That first buyer got paid a lot of money for being the first buyer, and for building it out so nicely. The price multiplier of 2.5 from 1999 to 2005 should be offset by a large construction budget, no doubt, but not by that much. If that first buyer spent as much as $700,000 (not likely, in those days), that is still a 60% gain in 6 years.

There is no floor plan from this listing in our data-base, so I cannot say how (or whether) the loft has changed since 2005. And there is no listing data at all for the 2006 sale in our data-base (or in StreetEasy), to account for that $460,000 (14%) gain in 16 months.

if we had a real Multiple Listing Service
Gaps like this in a history make comping Manhattan lofts unduly difficult (it is a hard enough process as it is). Maybe one day the local Real Estate Industrial Complex will fix this, to make our brokerage business more like it is in this mythical place, America. In that America, all members of the MLS have access to complete sales histories, with detailed descriptions, floor plans, and photos. So that we could tell if that state-of-the-art condition (3 bedrooms, library, den) in 2005 was changed before the recent sale at a huge premium to the 2006 sale ($1,270,000, or 34% in almost five years).

The most recent broker babble is enthusiastic, but claims no “recent renovation” and is not inconsistent with the former description:

corner 4 bedroom, 3 bath …. A large living dining room with 11’ 3’’ ceilings and warm decorative fireplace looks into a sun-lit corner eat-in-kitchen featuring Poggen Pohl Cabinetry, Ceasarstone countertops, Wolf oven, Kitchen-Aid stovetop with Miele exterior venting hood, Sub-Zero refrigerator, Miele dishwasher and built in espresso machine. There is also an InSinkErator and a full-sized wine refrigerator offering storage for over 180 bottles. The large master bedroom features a plethora of storage space by way of a walk-in, linen and an entire wall of closets. The spa-like master bathroom is finished in slate and glass tiles and has dual sinks, bidet, soaking tub and extra large separate steam shower. Two more roomy bedrooms are connected by a Jack and Jill bathroom. Enjoy a maid’s room, maple flooring and millwork, and 16 large windows.

(If one man’s “library” in 2005 could be another man’s “maid’s room” in 2011; note especially the sliding door in the current floor plan’s maid’s room and the 2005 “library with sliding Bendheim glass doors”.)

Whether or not the loft has been dramatically improved since 2006, The Market loved the recent asking price:

comping remains hard
The clearing price of $1,548/ft for #5B is especially impressive compared to the recent sale down the hall of #5D, quite a bit smaller at “2,299 sq ft” and built out as a minimalist 2-bedroom 2-bath with “good light [but] no views”. That one took nearly 8 months to sell, at a dramatically lower price-per-foot than #5B (where any views are only from the kitchen or bedrooms): it sold on June 23 for $1,875,990 ( funny number that by itself implies a difficult negotiation), or $816/ft.

The only other sale in the building this year was the “2,436 sqft” #2C, which also took a long time to sell on February 25 at $2.425mm. That was $995/ft.

Did I mention that comping is hard? Loft #2C earned a significant premium over #5D four months later (22%), but that may have been earned by that particular renovation:

Designed by Moneo Brok Architects using materials that both compliment and embrace its industrial past, this outstanding residence is an entertainers dream featuring vast open spaces with superb luxury finishes throughout.

I still cannot account for the recent #5B value of $1,548/ft. There is simply no other sale in the building remotely close to that value.

The (prior) building record looks to be the near-Peak sale of the “2,312 sq ft” “exquisitely renovated” #4A on August 17, 2007 at $2.9mm, or $1,254/ft. Still a long way from #5B last month. Whether #5B was merely in its state-of-the-art condition, circa 2005, or has been seriously upgraded since then.

© Sandy Mattingly 2011