56 East 11 Street loft was hot in 2005, sold again in 2010

those were the days!
When the Manhattan loft on the 8th floor at 56 East 11 Street came to market at $1.899mm way back on November 11, 2004 it was a hot, hot, hot listing, finding a contract within two weeks at $2.005mm. Five years later, those January 2005 buyers offered the loft for sale at $2.495mm, but they did not get anywhere near that kind of premium over their original purchase price. They did get a contract within 3 months without having to drop their asking price, though they did have to swallow a big discount, closing on June 16 at $2.1mm.

ugly math: 2010 – 2005 = 4.5%
The gap between the bidding war price in 2005 and the tough negotiation from $2.495mm in 2010 is a mere $95,000. That tough negotiation off the $2.495mm asking price ended up 15.8% off the ask, making me wonder if they would have done better at a lower asking price. But that is idle speculation….

published loft, with some issues
At first blush, the very enthusiastic recent listing description suggests that the "meticulous renovation" and "finest materials and craftsmanship" were added since 2005, making that 4.5% gain over five years more than evaporate. But the 2004 listing description is perfectly consistent with the 2010 description, with many of the same proper proper names, so it is pretty clear that the 2010 sellers bought the loft in published form in 2005.

The pix show the high quality finishes, fixtures and mill work. The footprint is a Long-and-Narrow that is pinched a bit in the middle by the building’s common stairway. With the master suite across the back, the second (interior) bedroom is only 10 x 12 feet, tucked behind that (pinched, but) beautiful hallway woodwork. Despite being "2,000 sq ft" and 23 feet wide, there is little flexibility to the current floor plan without significant renovations of those beautiful finishes and woodwork. A master suite, an interior bedroom, and a small office … it is easy to see how one could grow out of space like this, despite the overall size.

floor plan goof
There has to be a door somewhere from the master bedroom to the closets that lead to the master bath, but none is shown on the floor plan. I am 101% sure that the way to get to the master bath does not involve the fire escape.

© Sandy Mattingly 2010