some sellers are not adapting

2009 does not equal 2007 + renovation + $$$, does it?
I was refreshed yesterday to find a Manhattan loft offered at 80% of its 2007 price (some sellers are adapting). Let’s swing the emotional dial the other way for today’s candidate for the other end of the (newly re-christened) too pushy … or not pushy at all? thread.

This candidate from the other Manhattan Loft Guy pushy pole is — like yesterday’s — a bit off the beaten (prime) loft track geographically and was sold in 2007. But the pricing comparison is not as simple as yesterday, as this loft was upgraded since 2007. It is being marketed as having a much reduced price, as well as being a high-class design. (Having compared the listing descriptions and looked at the building history, this loft was far from a gut renovation, but there was a significant change in the layout.)

Simple arithmetic confirms the drops have been rather dramatic (now off one-third[!], in two steps), while a scan of the pix and floor plan show that the space has been improved from its (former) lovely-but-basic condition. But … I have to ask …

… what were they thinking?
I understand that these people are very proud of the improvements they made to their (essentially) new-in-2007 space and I am willing to assume that they spent a fair amount of money upgrading this pretty darn big loft. But not as much as  a gut renovation would have cost. And they are — no doubt — frustrated by whatever change in circumstances have turned them from 2007-buyers+upgraders into 2008-now-2009-sellers.

But they started out trying to sell in a post-Lehman world with very pre-Lehman notions about value. In fact, the original asking price — as improved — was … (wait for it) … twice what they paid. TWICE what they paid.

how tall is that order?
It is a very tall order to persuade The (cruel, cold) Market that you have doubled the value of a Manhattan loft in a full gut renovation, let alone in a more modest upgrade. Of course, it did not work, as The Market is unpersuaded. So they took a million dollar hit (how frustrating must that be for a seller??), but that did not work either. The new price is a full one-third less than where they started, yet still one-third more than they paid in 2007 (before upgrading).

I get it that the loft is special — perhaps even unique. I suspect that they did not spend a million bucks on their upgrade. I suspect that The Market in 2009 is not going to pay more than the 2007 price + the 2007 upgrade cost, and probably will pay less. I suspect that this will sit for a while, without additional dramatic drops.

not one of the 8 million stories?
Perhaps they are not really one of the 8 million stories, and do not really have to sell. (Odd they they would ‘market’ in that case, but whatever ….) If they have to sell, The Market is unimpressed, so far. I have run it up the Manhattan Loft Guy pushy pole, where it sits on the too pushy …? top, waiting to be updated when something changes.

© Sandy Mattingly 2009