Petersfield loft at 115 Fourth Avenue asks for big gain over 2011, market refuses

data points tend to scatter

One of the great fascinations for me in looking at deed records as downtown Manhattan lofts sell is noting sales that deviate from the narrative for the overall residential real estate market on The Big Island. Many examples are listed at bottom, but today’s case in point is the “1,000 sq ft” Manhattan mini-loft #3G at 115 Fourth Avenue (The Petersfield), which was bought in June 2011 at $1.28mm by folks who went for the moon in trying to sell in 2012 but who succumbed to gravity (and, perhaps, bad karma), eventually selling at a tiny premium. Here is the full sequence for this “flawless … loft [that] merges comfort with style”:
 

(The sale is not very recent. but the deed was filed only on March 19; it has been sitting in my Bright Shiny Object pile ever since.)
 

I am not sure what is more remarkable about this sequence: that folks who paid $1.28mm thought The Market might reward them in the 30% range after 14 months, or that they dropped so far so fast, with those 2 drops to 80% of the first ask. The result was a resale that reflects market appreciation for the loft of 3.5% from mid-2011 to early 2013, but a net loss to the sellers after paying the sales fee and transfer fees on the sale (and mansion tax on the buy). This history is kinda sorta like the histories in the lofts I hit in my October 10, 2012, 53 N. Moore street loft sells up 17% over 2005, only 4% above unsuccessful 2011 price, and in my September 21, 2012, flip city: 99 Reade Street loft sold in 2011 sells again, up 4%, in that they run against the larger market trend.

squeezing a lot in

The loft is small for a “loft” but makes for a large “1-bedroom apartment”, with 2 bathrooms, and a kitchen, office/dressing room and master bath that are each scaled for a much larger overall space, with 4 closets plus additional storage above the foyer. The babbling agent was enthusiastic and specific about the quality:

sun-filled … six dramatic eight-foot windows … northern and eastern exposures offer picture-perfect tree-filled views …. triple-mint open kitchen features antibacterial Silestone counters, stainless steel appliances including a dishwasher, custom cabinetry and a tasteful mosaic glass tile backsplash. … a most enviable custom-fitted dressing room…. abundant storage with four closets and expansive storage space above the foyer. The newly-renovated en suite master bath features a seamless Corian vanity with double sinks, custom-wood cabinetry and an oversized soaking tub. Soaring 11’7" ceilings, oak hardwood floors, custom shades, recessed lighting, and a washer/dryer

The 2011 agent was exactly as enthusiastic and specific, with verbiage that will be so familiar that it should embarrass the more recent listing agent (as if agents could be embarrassed by something like mere plagiarism). Thus, the master bath that was “newly renovated” for marketing purposes in April 2011 was also “newly renovated” for marketing purposes in August 2012. I’d be quibbling (and rather naive) to hope that the later babble might soften the “newly” thing, but I am often naive, and live to quibble.

One thing I do love about the more recent marketing: the living room shows so much better with the long green sheers, doesn’t it? A simple illustration of the power of staging, emphasizing both the height of the room and the trees out the tall windows (even if the 2011-buyers-turned-2013-sellers lived there with the sheers, it is great staging).

tracking the trends

In addition to the two Manhattan Loft Guy posts above, which involved loft sales that did not show dramatic gains over past sales a year or so earlier, I have explicitly hit dramatic short-term gains many times in the last year, in calendar groupings that suggest my attention waxes and wanes on different themes:

• April 15, “recently renovated” 7 East 17 Street loft sells 18% over 2011 sale (as “newly renovated”),

• April 9, 73 Worth Street loft goes a little above ask, a lot above 2010 (of course),

• March 28, 115 Mercer Street loft could not sell in 2010, sells 16% higher ,

• March 25, huge renovation premium for (awkward?) 251 West 19 Street that last sold in 2010,

• March 12, small 250 Mercer Street loft sale suggests seller got great deal in 2011,

• March 13, Keystone loft at 38 Warren Street sells up 15% in 11 months,

• September 18. 2012, 29 East 22 Street loft sellers take the money and run (up 41% since 2010 purchase),

• July 23, 2012, double bold-faced loft sale at 354 Broome Street: a harbinger or just a Bright Shiny Object?,

• July 11, 2012, “fully renovated” 39 East 12 Street lofts sells at 14% premium to 2010, with pre-2010 renovation,

• July 5, 2012, did a Jedi mind trick garner 40% premium over 2010 for a small loft at 107 West 25 Street?

I can’t anticipate exactly what will catch my eye in posts in future, but sellers of lofts that they only recently bought often are Bright Shiny Objects.

© Sandy Mattingly 2013