market cruelty or mean streets? gut renovated sundrenched 347 West 39 Street loft closes at $675/ft, unadjusted for terraces

John McCain was right
No, John McCain was not talking about Manhattan lofts, but is there anything more cruel than the history of the “2,000 sq ft” Manhattan loft #8E at 347 West 39 Street? To market on August 11, 2011 at $1.945mm, 4 price drops to a contract in February, and a closing at $1.35mm on April 28. That is 30% off the first ask and $675/ft before considering 250 sq ft of terraces. C. R. U. E. L. Value the outdoor spaces at 25% of the value of the interior space (at 4’ and 4’6” “wide” they are not as useful as deeper space) and you get $654/ft. Even more cruel.

Here is what it looks like in cold blood print:

(*Sales price is not yet publicly available, but it is a Corcoran listing, with that closed price in our system.)

If you’re not getting teary yet, check out the money quote from the broker babble:

Fabulous light from sunrise to sunset. This Fully gut renovated sundrenched loft shows sprawling Tribeca loft finishes. Soaring eleven foot beamed ceilings and natural oak floors …. SOUTHERN, NORTHERN and EASTERN windows with open CITY views. The chef’s kitchen … is fitted with a Wolfe professional range with SIX burners, griddle and a magnificent double oven, side by side Sub Zero refrigerator, two drawer miele dishwasher, open shelving and ample cabinets. Both bathrooms are beautifully renovated with every modern finish and exquisite elegance.

You have to go back to November on the Master List of Manhattan Lofts Sold Since November 2008 to find as many as ten lofts that sold for a lower price per foot, and I am 99.44% sure, even without looking further, that none of those ten was gut renovated, with fabulous light.

a neighborhood problem?
Of course comping is hard, and harder still in a building in which there have been no sales since The Peak. Judging solely from the distance from the initial asking price ot the closing price, the seller and agent were surprised that loft #8E was so bruised by The Market. But it may not simply be a cruel market that is to blame for an outlier.

There are not many lofts in this stretch of the West 30s that have been converted to coops or condos, so there are not many comps even nearby. I see no other West 39 Street coops or condos on this same block between 8th and 9th Avenues, none on West 40 Street in the 300 block, only 335 West 38 Street and 344 West 38 Street to the immediate south, none on this block on West 37 Street, and five loft buildings on the 300 block of West 36 Street.

The most interesting recent nearby sale was the “2,600 sq ft” 11th floor loft at 335 West 38 Street, which cleared at $2mm on February 7. Bragging there was limited to the “professional chef’s kitchen” and “authentic loft details”, yet that one closed at $769/ft, a 14% premium to #8E at 347 West 39 Street on an (unadjusted) price per foot basis.

Even the “3,100 sq ft” (true) artist’s loft on the 10th floor of 361 West 36 Street sold for a higher value than #8E, clearing at $2.25mm ($726/ft) in September 2010.

The “2,825 sq ft” loft #6N at 360 West 36 Street was sold on March 19 with no bragging about finishes or condition, yet even that sold for $1.9mm, or $673/ft, just above #8E after any adjustment for the two #8E terraces.

Can we agree that these blocks are among the most authentically gritty Manhattan blocks with residential lofts on them? Unlike the blocks to the immediate west, these lofts do not typically have the benefit of open vistas over the Lincoln Tunnel spillways (such as from the Glass Farmhouse, 448 West 37 Street).

Net-net, lofts on these gritty blocks are subject to a significant discount in The Market, but #8E at 347 West 39 Street seems to have been unusually discounted even in comparison to its neighbors. Perhaps not to the level of Mccain cruelty, but gut renovated lofts with fabulous light feel as though they should be worth more than $700/ft even in Grit Land.

© Sandy Mattingly 2012