What are the "best" buildings in Soho?

Another in a series on what it costs to live in Soho and what you get for the money.


Well, it would be fair to include the ones that have had numerous sales with prices of more than $5,000,000.  If they can command that kind of money, clearly at least some people consider them the best.

There are other excellent buildings that have sales in the stratospheric price range but don’t have a lot of turnover.

Still others, usually co-ops, may have beautiful cast-iron facades, low maintenances, a great location and more reasonable prices.

Let’s start with the condos.


40 Mercer, northeast corner of Mercer and Grand

40 Mercer, designed by the starchitect Jean Nouvel and built in 2006, has had 19 sales of more than $5,000,000 in the most recent five year period.  Part of the reason for the high number is that it came to market in 2006 and closings began in 2007.  So the whole building has been on the market in the last five years.

Built from scratch on a parking lot, the building is exempt from the artist certification requirement, as the city has waived it for new construction on a site where no building stood before.. 

There are 41 units spread over 14 stories, ranging in size from one to four bedrooms and from 1222 to more than 4000 square feet.  Ceilings are as high as 12’.    Amenities include a 24-hour doorman, concierge, underground parking, pool, sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi and gymnasium, landscaped courtyard and rooftop terrace.


40 Mercer, complete with red windows

What Curbed calls “the brokerbabble” says,  “The stunning 14-story building on downtown’s best block offers magnificent glass curtain walls with a rhythm of panes in vibrant hues of red and blue.”

It’s not downtown’s best block.  It’s not even Soho’s best block, although it’s gotten a lot better since 40 Mercer was built on it.  It’s in a part of Soho that until 40 Mercer arrived was considered the least desirable because it’s only a block from Canal Street.

And the “rhythm of panes in vibrant hues of red and blue” casts vibrant shadows of red or blue all over everything in the apartments.  If you’re not fond of red or blue, don’t live there.

Regardless of all of this, it’s an incredibly popular building.  Average selling price in the last year has been about $2,600 per square foot.

Another very desirable condo is The New Museum Building at 158 Mercer Street, with 21 units on 13 floors which was built in 1896 and converted to residential use in 1998.  There have been six sales here in the last five years, and only one of the six was for less than $5,000,000.  Top price was $24,000,000 for a penthouse with 7437 square feet inside and a whole lot of terrace.  Average price per square foot was a bit over $2,000. 

These are very large lofts, ranging in size from 2600 to 9000 square feet, with the highest proportion in the 4000-5000 range.  There’s a full time doorman on the Mercer Street side, and an entrance on Broadway as well.

158 Mercer, the New Museum Building

 

The Soho Mews, at 311 West Broadway, designed by Gwathmey Siegel and built in 2007,  comprises two buildings, one on West Broadway and one on Wooster, with what the marketers call a “secret garden” in between, designed by the landscape architect Peter Walker.  

The Soho Mews’s 68 units on 9 floors include five duplex “townhouses.”  Developers call them townhouses; everybody else calls them maisonettes, that is, ground floor apartments with entrances both from the street and from the building’s lobby.  These also have some private garden space that’s been extracted from the secret garden.

Of the 58 recorded sales, six have been for more than $5,000,000.  Average price per square foot is around $1,800.  Amenities include 24-hour doorman and porter service, an attended parking garage, a fitness center managed by Drive 495, and an in-building art information advisory service by Art Production Fund.  Just in case you don’t know anything about art and you don't know what you like, either.

The secret garden at Soho Mews

More to come. 

What does it cost to live in Soho, and what do you get for the money?

Everybody wants to live in Soho.  It offers vast spaces with literally lofty ceilings, and you can configure those spaces any way you want.

On the second floor of a Soho building, which in most neighborhoods would be considered less desirable, the ceilings are even higher--often 14'--and have ornate Greek columns.

Soho is the home of the beautiful castiron facade, vintage 1860-1880.  Greene Street is the longest stretch of castiron facades in the world.

Originally, the main streets in Soho were Broadway, Greene, and West Broadway.  The streets in between, that is, Mercer which is between Broadway and Greene, and Wooster which is between Greene and West Broadway, were service streets. 

The backs of the magnificent castiron buildings are what you see on Mercer and Wooster.  Those streets are a bit quieter, and quite lovely.

In recent years, Soho has been restored to its historic glory, with newly quaintified cobblestoned streets and 19th century streetlights (electric, but still).

28 Greene Street, a stunning example of the castiron facade, designed by J. P. Duckworth in 1872

Soho has changed drastically from when it was home to artists and galleries.  And not all of the artists have taken kindly to the change.  I remember the day when an artist who owned a loft on Spring Street called me and said, "The time has come.  I have to leave.  Victoria's Secret has opened at Prince and Broadway." 

Soho now has the chicest, trendiest shops, and the chicest, trendiest people shop there.  Forget Victoria's Secret; there's Prada, Chanel, Marc Jacobs, and scores of wildly expensive little clothing stores with cutesy names.

Anyone on the streets who doesn’t appear to be verging on anorexia is a tourist. Soho is home to the thin, rich and gorgeous. (How the supermodels in their Manolo Blahnik and Louboutin stilettos navigate those cobblestones is beyond me, but they do.)

But Soho is complicated.  Every co-op in Soho legally requires that all residents must be certified as artists by the Department of Cultural Affairs.  (For more information about the history and problems associated with this requirement, see post, June 8, http://withconfidence.blogspot.com/2011/06/should-soho-and-nohos-artist.html  So even if you have the money, your attorney may not want you to buy there.   

About the money:  average asking price for the 36 co-op lofts currently on the market is somewhere between $1,000 and $1,200 per square foot.   You’d probably pay somewhere in the low to mid $2 millions for a typical 2000 square foot co-op, depending on condition and location. 

Many of the buildings are built full on lots that measure 25’ x 100’; some are considerably larger.  Most of the lofts are full floors, so these net out at about 2000 square feet after allowance is made for an elevator (which usually opens directly into the loft), a flight of stairs and the thickness of the walls.

A third floor loft said to measure 2125 square feet on Spring Street between Mercer and Broadway closed recently for $2,450,000, with maintenance of $2,250 per month, which is typical. 

Soho condos are a different animal altogether.  Twenty years ago there were very few condo buildings in Soho.  I remember exactly two. 

Today there are at least 18 that I know of, and probably more, in prime Soho; that is, between Houston and Canal and between Lafayette and West Broadway. 

Most of these are new construction, built on the former sites of parking lots (parking can now be a problem in Soho).  In order to encourage construction, the city waived the artist certification requirement for all new construction.  So that’s a good reason to consider one of these.

Another reason is that they offer many amenities that the older buildings do not, if you're an amenities kind of person.  If you see a doorman in Soho, he’s at the door of a new condo. 

In the early ‘90s, when Soho first became popular, uptown brokers would call me to show my Soho listings, and at some point would invariably ask if there was a doorman for the building.  And I would invariably laugh. 

There were no doormen in Soho then.  There was one security guard, who guarded one of the two condo buildings.  But not very well; at the first sign of trouble he would bolt.

Now it's not at all unusual to see a uniformed doorman in a new building.

Some of the new condo buildings offer fancier bells and whistles.  30 Crosby has an enoteca, or wine cellar, and a wine tasting room for its residents. 

40 Mercer, designed by starchitect Jean Nouvel, has a pool and a health club.  Of course, at 40 Mercer you do have to like the ruby red or blue shadows cast across your floors by the ruby red or blue glass windows, but apparently I am the only person on the planet who doesn’t; the building is extremely popular.  New York magazine has called it the next Dakota.

The pool at Jean Nouvel's 40 Mercer Street.

For these reasons, Soho condos are considerably pricier than Soho co-ops.  The average price per square foot for the 43 condos currently available in prime Soho--that is, between Houston and Canal, and between Lafayette and West Broadway--is about $2200 per square foot.  (There are several new developments with multiple listings for sale, which accounts for the large number available.) 

Average monthlies are about $4,000; average size is about 2700 square feet.

So there you have it.  If you want to know more about life in Soho and what it costs, call me at 917-991-9549 or better yet e-mail me at cstimpson@stribling.com.  I'll be happy to natter away.

Quarterly reports: the real estate market is flat. With a few mountains and valleys.

Flat in both senses of the word.  More than one commenter used the word "boring" about third-quarter reports of real estate sales.

In more elegant language, http://www.therealdeal.com/ says, "Though pricing indicators were mixed, the volume of Manhattan residential sales increased in the third quarter of 2011, creating an overall picture of stability in Manhattan's residential market."

Flat and boring is fine with me, given the financial chaos the world is in right now. 

But let's not forget that the contracts that established this flat and boring market were signed months before the sales actually closed.

That would be well before the financial turmoil and drastic deflation of the stock market that we have faced recently.  Hard to say exactly what the effect of these will be, but it probably won't be good.

Let's also note that it's the overall market that's flat.  Look closer, and you'll see mountains and valleys.  Bloomberg News actually called it bipolar.

“You have strength at the low end and the upper end,” Jonathan Miller, president of the pre-eminent appraisal firm Miller Samuel told Bloomberg.

“They’re benefitting from what’s going on globally: low interest rates and the weak dollar. The middle is restrained largely because of elevated unemployment and tight underwriting,” Miller said.

Low interest rates benefit first time buyers (who don't face the crunch of having to sell in order to buy); the weak dollar attracts foreign buyers; nervous banks reluctant to lend make it hard for anybody else who needs financing, particularly those who are up- or down-sizing.

Read more at
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-04/manhattan-apartment-sales-jump-as-economic-turmoil-fuels-bipolar-market.html 

One piece of news that is definitely good, at least for sellers, is that the number of sales rose about 17 percent year-over-year as well as quarter-over-quarter according to a report prepared by Miller Samuel, resulting in an inventory dip of about 5 percent from last year.  

At present, we're in a balanced market.  There's a buyer for every property.

Right now, it's often a foreign buyer.  More good news:  in a chaotic world, New York real estate is still seen as a good place to park your money.  The dollar's weak and prices here are drastically lower than they are in, say, London.

Of course, the conventional wisdom would be that a lower inventory will lead to higher prices.  Wrong.  It's a balanced market, not a sellers' market. 

But properly priced apartments and houses won't languish on the market.  They will sell.  

More about fabulous Bond Street, where Will Smith paid $85,000 a month to live.

(Yet another in a series on what it costs to live in Noho and what you get for the money.  Plus When I Met Will and Jada.)

Now that Men in Black III has wrapped, Will is moving out of the fourth floor at 25 Bond.  It's back on the market for sale at $19,500,000. 

Okay, let's see:  cheaper to rent or to buy?  Well, people with that kind of money generally pay cash, especially as only the interest on the first million is tax deductible.  

So figure the loss of income on $19,500,000, plus closing costs, plus the $9,265 monthly common charges for this unit, plus whatever the real estate taxes are (listing information and city records are sketchy on this).

Sounds to me like Will got a deal. 

Here's the link to the Curbed article: http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2011/09/23/will_smiths_25_bond_pad_on_market_for_equivalent_of_blockbuster_film_salary.php

I met Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith as well as various members of their entourage years ago when they came to look at an apartment I was representing.  They were lovely. 

They wanted to come at 10 am on a Sunday morning.  At the time, I was singing in a church choir, and rehearsal started at 9:15, followed immediately by the service at 11.  If it had to be Sunday morning, I could only do it at 8:15. 

The Smiths et al very graciously arrived promptly at 8:15.  They didn't buy the apartment, but they couldn't have been more pleasant. 

Jada was wearing absolutely stunning leopard print fur booties with what had to be six inch stiletto heels (she was still about a foot shorter than Will, who towers over everybody).

I apologized for the early hour, necessary because of my other appointment.  I told them if the other appointment had been with anybody but God I would have changed it for them. 

And I would have.

Manhattan is no longer a buyer's market. No kidding, really.

The current Vanderbilt Absorption report says that for properties priced under $3,000,000, the Manhattan residential real estate market is balanced.  It's not yet a sellers' market, but it's not a buyers' market either.

The way the report works is this:  the Vanderbilt Appraisal Company divides the number of available properties (they include those under contract) by the average number of sales for each of the last six months.  The result is the number of months it should take to sell what's currently on the market.

Less than six months of inventory means a sellers' market.  Six to nine months is a market in equilibrium, that is, it favors neither sellers nor buyers.  More than nine months means it's a buyers' market.

Historically, the Manhattan norm is about nine months of inventory.

Overall, in Manhattan, there are 9.8 months.  But if you exclude properties priced at more than $2,000,000, that figure ranges from 8.2 to 8.9--comfortably into balanced territory.

For sellers, the upper west side and downtown are tied for rosiest picture, with 8.1 months of inventory each.   In the $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 segment of the market there are only 6 months on the upper west and 6.5 months downtown--just barely in balance, tending to favor sellers. 

Midtown and the upper east side are still a good bet for buyers with an overall 13.2 months of inventory each, as is upper Manhattan with 13.5 months.  

Here's the link: http://www.vanderbiltappraisal.com/#!__june-2011

Noho: So what's the overall market really like?

Fourth in a series on what it costs to live in Noho and what you get for the money.

Below is a list of Noho co-op sales in the last 12 months.  Farther below you'll find a similar list of condo sales.

Space does not permit the inclusion of condition on the chart, but the unit on LaGuardia Place was called a wreck, and 439 Lafayette 4th floor, 722 Broadway and 200 Mercer were called "good" which usually means the property needs some work.  All the others were said to be in excellent condition.

Maintenances varied from 69 cents to $1.29 p.s.f. (remember, none of these has a doorman), with the average at 94 cents p.s.f.

CLOSED NOHO CO-OP LOFT SALES, 8.25.10--8.25.11
ADDRESS	APT #	RMS	BRS	BTHS	SF	SALES PRICE	$PSF
48 Great Jones	4F	7	3	2	2,500	$3,240,000	$1,296
27 Bleecker	5B	5	2	2	2,200	$2,700,000	$1,227
10 Bleecker	6D	0	1	2	1,100	$1,325,000	$1,205
27 Bleecker	4B	5	2	2	2,200	$2,630,000	$1,195
10 Bleecker	1C	1	0	0	1,700	$1,530,000	$900
710 Broadway	5	3	3	2	2,300	$2,035,000	$885
439 Lafayette	4TH	6	0	2	3,800	$3,270,000	$861
10 Bleecker	1A	3	1	1.5	1,700	$1,375,000	$809
10 Bleecker	1B	5	2	2	1,850	$1,400,000	$757
520 Laguardia	1N	5	2	2	1,500	$1,080,000	$720
722 Broadway	5	6	3	2	2,200	$1,575,000	$716
200 Mercer	3E	4	1	1.5	2,300	$1,495,000	$650
722 Broadway	7	5	0	2	2,200	$1,300,000	$591
						AVERAGE	$909
THE FOLLOWING LOFT HAS SUBSTANTIAL OUTDOOR SPACE
439 Lafayette	PH	8	4	3.5	3,800	$7,190,000	$1,892

Now for the condos.  Bear in mind that the condos have a number of features that make for higher prices per square foot.  First, most of them are either new construction or new conversions. 

Not only does this mean they're new and shiny, but it also means they've had the benefit of a highly aggressive marketing campaign.  Many of them have the added cachet of a starchitect's name attached. 

Also, they often have doormen as well as lots of other amenities.

All of these were said to be in excellent condition except 5 East 3rd Street and 14 E 4, #821, which were called "fair."  This usually means the property needs major work.

Monthlies varied from a high of $1.93 per square foot to a low of 78 cents p.s.f., with the average at $1.46 p.s.f.

CLOSED NOHO CONDO LOFT SALES, 8.25.10--8.25.11
ADDRESS	APT #	RMS	BRS	BTHS	SF	SALES PRICE	$PSF
1 Bond Street	6C	6	2	2	2,417	$2,100,000	$869
5 East 3rd Street	5THFL	5	2	1	1,900	$1,800,000	$947
14 East 4th Street	821	4	2	2	1,198	$1,385,000	$1,156
40 Bond Street	9B	4	2	2.5	2,076	$5,632,000	$2,713
48 Bond Street	7A	4.5	2	2	1,590	$2,395,000	$1,506
54 Bond Street	4THFL	6	3	2.5	2,274	$4,300,000	$1,891
54 Bond Street	3RDFL	6	3	2.5	2,274	$4,365,000	$1,920
48 Bond Street*	4B	4.5	2	2	1,551	$2,195,000	$1,415
57 Bond Street	3E	6	3	2.5	2,125	$3,200,000	$1,506
14 East 4th Street	803	1	0	0	1438	$1,480,000	$1,029
14 East 4th Street	509	1	0	1	1511	$2,600,000	$1,721
						AVERAGE	$1,516
THE FOLLOWING CONDOS HAVE SUBSTANTIAL OUTDOOR SPACE
6 East 1st Street	5A	6	3	3.5	3,600	$5,450,000	$1,514
14 East 4th Street	PH1108	7.5	3	2	3,370	$4,695,000	$1,393
48 Bond Street	PH+GAR	13	5	4	6,440	$14,208,625	$2,206
54 Bond Street	PH	7	4	5	4,863	$13,491,812	$2,774
*48 Bond is actually a co-op with no board approval and unlimited subletting

This may give you at least a vague idea of what your loft might be worth, depending on condition, maintenance, etc.  For a more specific market valuation, call or e-mail me.  No charge, no obligation.  (I do this for fun.  Really.)  917-991-9549 or cstimpson@stribling.com