failing development du jour, soho mews

This is a good one, AR:

StreetEasy History

06/05/2009 Listed in StreetEasy by Halstead Property at $9,800.
07/24/2009 Price decreased by 29% to $7,000.

To buy the same place:

Down Payment $459,000
Mortgage Amount $1,836,000
Mortgage Payment $10,425
Total Monthly Payment $11,708

which will only go up as the tax abatement ends...

...and a bigger apartment a few blocks away rents for $5500:

http://www.nybits.com/apartmentlistings/1a94b456938cf0b8f0759483d772807c.html

Based on that, there's another 50% price decline to go.

Oh! I forgot! The tax benefit!

Can you help us make sense of this, LICC?

but the "kitchen boasts Valcucine cabinetry of striated elm and smoked glass"

The competition for 'failing development du jour' can be fierce these days. Technically, this one may be a preview of tomorrow's winner rather than a candidate for today's title.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/nyregion/27meier.html?_r=1&hp

"kitchen boasts Valcucine cabinetry of striated elm and smoked glass"

What's wrong with Ikea?

SLS: "One woman said that seeing a unit similar to hers on the market for 30 percent less made her “heart sink,” while a couple apologized for negotiating more than $1.1 million off the $2.8 million asking price."

Juicy, any comments?

steve, i hope you realize i was joking.

ss if you use the term "failing" rather than failed it gives you more latitude. obviously most will not "fail" in a literal sense once they've completed construction and started closings. the unsold units will become homes for someone, someday. and what a process that will be.

AR, did you know that Valcucine is the only cabinetry company in the world with its own philosophy?

http://www.valcucinena.com/ph.html

I'm guessing the "/ph.html" part of the URL is technobabble for "/philosophy.html."

I'm curious how they "striated" the elm. If I were an elm, I wouldn't stand for it!

I think we've seen sudden burst of collapse after Lehman - about at 25% fall by all accounts. The next phase will be slower, but judging by rents there's a long way to go.

steve, i think the new development issue might speed things up a bit. some would argue that it would strengthen the existing market, but psychology can be a fragile thing. i doubt october's numbers will be that good in terms of the justly maligned median price, although discount from final list and time on the market and total sales all likely improved. but right about now is the first eye of the storm for new development, i think.

will be interesting to watch.

i think every company should have its own philosophy. in the future i shall only consider valcucine, although i do have great sympathy for those mighty elms.

Oh that is near the Soho Grand hotel. Interesting area and they sqweezed a nice place in the middle of a lot of traffic! So yeah pretty expensive and yeah a lot of places could go down. But the kitchens are nice and definitely some day want a good kitchen, not Ikea, don't you agree? Not for 1 million more though! Anyway, steevejhx what do you mean judging by rents? I know you can rent there for a year or maybe two but not for ownership and the rent buildings might be better area but not great quality if my own experience is a guide!

lizzy - if you're willing to pay twice as much a month for striated elm cabinets in an otherwise functionally identical apartment in nearly the same location, go for it. If mine own experience is a guide, most rational people wouldn't.

I have not seen the inside but does anyone else feel like the building is mis-placed? It looks like a hospital housing or dorms from the outside. The inside pics look gorgeous but something off about that building in that location. Maybe it's me ???

It's just ugly.

This building is a perfect example of how the strategy of raising prices in a down market works. There is going to be a lot of developers who become road kill. They open sales in late 2007 and raised prices in 2008? How can such stupid people get construction loans? They deserve to fail!