2009 is 2007 (though with opposite trend lines), at least at 6 Varick

one of 8 million stories, but this one is flat
The 6 Varick Street #9B buyers in January 2007 did not stay very long before deciding to put their loft back on the market, in August 2008. Having paid $1.425mm in January 2007 (off an ask of $1.5mm), they went back on the market between the AIG bailout and the Lehman flameout at $1.595mm, undoubtedly a mistake, which they fixed by dropping to $1.495mm in October. This worked, as they signed a contract in December that closed on February 5, 2009 for … $1.435mm.

This is a loft for classicManhattan loft snobs: high pressed-tin ceilings, exposed brick, wood beams and columns, huge arched windows and a funky shape with a somewhat impractical layout. The 9th floor qualifies as "high floor" here, so the east and south exposures bring in great light. The Warburg listing (captured on StreetEasy, here) is coy about the size, but our data base says the space is "1,350 sq ft". Please check out the pictures with the huge arched windows — they make my snob’s hear sing!

There is a total absence of bragging about fixtures and finishes, but the kitchen photo does not look bad at all; this does not look to be a primitive kitchen by any means, so if one wanted a mild upgrade, appliances and cabinet doors would probably be all one might do (maybe the counter top??). Since they don’t say anything about renovation or upgrading, it is safe to assume that the condition in January 2007 was the same as the current condition.

$10,000 for 25 months
Transaction costs aside, these January-2007-buyers-turned-February-2009-sellers realized $10,000. More impersonally, their experience suggests that The Manhattan Loft Market in this very specific  micro-neighborhood in Tribeca is roughly flat from 1Q07 to 1Q09, implying that whatever gains there were from 2007 to 2008 were matched by declines from 2008 to 2009. Perhaps anomalous, this certainly is symmetrical.
 

© Sandy Mattingly 2009