VERY pushy way to (try to) flip a big loft

must be some renovation
There’s a small Manhattan loft condo conversion from last year in which the large full-floor lofts went for about $750/ft (it is not in a traditional loft [fashionable] neighborhood). They had classic loft features and finishes that were more high-end than over-the-top. One of the new owners must have spent much of the past 18 months on a total gut renovation, putting in new floors, cabinets, closets, marble, granite, etc, etc, etc. Apparently not content with the results — or as one of the eight million stories (who guts a flip?) — they put the magnificent even brand-newer-than-last-year’s-brand-new loft back on the market for ….

(forgive me; I need to string this out)

… Let’s start with the premise that they are pushing it here. They think they have created one of the most special lofts around; if so, there are few useful comps so I cannot say it is impossible they will sell in their asking neighborhood (unlike the impossible flip I hit [hard] in my No Magic Tricks post on December 15). But they are looking for the one buyer who loves the funk of the neighborhood and who falls hard for their gut renovation. Very hard.

… They are asking roughly $1,500/ft — double their 2007 purchase price (before renovation). They could have spent $500/ft on the renovation alone and still be facing an uphill market if they sought merely to recoup their 2007 purchase price and the cost of renovation. But they have gone far beyond that pricing analysis. If they succeeded in creating a unique loft, maybe they have a shot. I can’t tell from here.

This loft is an outstanding candidate for the too pushy thread. Stay tuned….

© Sandy Mattingly 2008