And then there were 2---again, and again, and again, and again.
That’s right, a total of 2 contacts were signed at $4 million and above for the 4th week in a row. Since we started publishing this report in 2010, we have never seen the exact same total of contracts signed 4 weeks in a row.
Stat Geek Alert: In the last 4 weeks, 8 contracts have totaled $71,220,000 in volume compared to 84 contracts and $675,541,500 in volume in the same 4-week period last year.
Such a disparity in stats is a reflection of Life in the Time of the Coronavirus.
The No. 1 contract was Apartment 5C at 301 East 80th Street, asking $4,975,000, reduced from $5,525,000 when this new building, called the Beckford Tower, opened sales last summer. 5C is a corner unit with 2,424 square feet including 3 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. Amenities include a concierge, fitness center, a 65-foot lap pool, a spa pool, half-court basketball, a children’s playroom, a lounge, and game room.
Kudos to onsite listing broker Barbara Russo of Douglas Elliman and to the buyers’ broker, Judith Gillis of Brown, Harris Stevens. Ms. Gillis reported that the buyers were longstanding clients who live in Brazil. They own a Tribeca condo loft in a building with no amenities that they purchased 10 years ago when the wife wanted to live downtown. But the husband always wanted to live uptown, and so in January, they flew to New York to start looking. According to Ms. Gillis, “The wife loved the building right away. It was their style. It had everything they wanted: location, the building, and the amenities.”
An offer was accepted on February 29 for the asking price. Contract negotiations stalled as the pandemic deepened. Negotiations got restarted after the sponsor agreed to give some concessions, which Ms. Gillis would not discuss. The contract was signed on April 15.
The No. 2 contract was the Penthouse at 112 Franklin Street, asking $4,250,000 when it was listed on February 12. The unit is a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom co-op loft with a fireplace in the living room and a landscaped roof terrace that has the potential to be built on. Both the buyer and seller were represented by Wendy Maitland of Atelier WM.
Ms. Maitland said that the seller contemplated listing the apartment at $4.6 million, but she counseled the seller to price the unit on “the low end of the range” to drive activity. The strategy resulted in 40 showings and 4 offers. The buyer came to the first of 2 open houses.
An offer was accepted on February 24, and 2 home inspections followed--one for the interior and one for the roof. From March 2-12, the stock market fell 5,503 points, and the buyer, who is a partner in a financial firm, faced capital calls. On March 12, he decided to step away from the deal to assess his situation. The next day, Ms. Maitland accepted an offer from a backup buyer who ordered house inspections. By the end of March, the second buyer, who was stuck out of the country, decided to renegotiate the price, and the deal cratered again. All along, Ms. Maitland kept the dialogue going with the original buyer, and by April 1, he was back in the deal. This time, Ms. Maitland said, “some concessions were negotiated,” and the price was less than 5% off the asking price. The contract is contingent on financing.
Ms. Maitland described the Penthouse as “unique,” and on one of the best blocks in Tribeca. Its renovation had been completed at the end of 2006, but it remained in excellent shape. Ms. Maitland said, “You don’t get this quality of renovation in new development… There’s nothing cookie cutter about it.”
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