Sale at 252 Seventh Avenue #3Z -- Square Footage

I know some brokers who will count the square footage of each shelf on a book shelf and add it to the apt total.

Of course it is bogus, and should be illegal.

It is not hard. Measure usable square footage of living space. Rooms for midgets don't count.

Square footage in listings is a meaningless measure. I have seen places advertised as 1,100 sf that come in at 700 sf all in. Sometimes people give dimensions that are larger than the building floorplate. It's the rare listing that is accurate, rare enough then when it happens, I think "well I'll be... the square footage is correct!"

The sellers aren't hiding anything. Pretty straightforward about it being the standard Z-line 861 plus the 258 loft.

They did do a good job with the renovation, and it'd work for those of us 5'8" and shorter. The freakishly tall would of course not consider it.

The competition there is 5Z and 10Z, both as they came from the builder and asking only $100K less.

Wait, for 5Z you'd have to pay to rip out the silly walls they threw up to divide the main room. Unless you want a 12'5" x 9' living room.

It is strange. Everything is very straight forward. Yet when the top of their marketing material says "lowest price per SF in the Chelsea Mercantile" . . . I guess it feels like it crosses a line.

10Z's asking price seems irrelevant (nobody is going to pay that for an interior studio). So -- given that recent sales are closer to 1,000/SF (even on high floor, great view apartments like 11v), would you think a reasonable price is closer to $900K or $1.1M+.

I get the upside -- nice high ceilings, a nice renovation, and suitable for animals and the altitudinally challenged -- but there are lots of downsides too -- principally that it is impossible to ever have a proper bedroom with windows. It's a large, interior studio of 860 sf. So I'm thinking it's hard to justify over $1M.

I agree that all three Z's are asking too much, since a couple of S's (bigger, and real one-bedrooms) have been selling for a bit less than $1M lately. I can see, though, how 3Z came up with an asking price. They were looking at 5Z and 10Z and figuring their own renovation justified them in trying for an extra $100K. All three, of course, are sitting there. When all three sell we'll see how much that renovation was worth.

Or when they don't, we'll never know :)

Totally agree with you NWT.

saw unit ..very nice renovation..but it is an interior unit ...time will tell ...90K drop already...unit more in 900K range

I agree, Nelliegirl.

But it is a gorgeous apartment!

Did you notice they've changed the listing to 861 sf? Both on StreetEasy and the broker site.

Bless them for Truth in Advertising.

Now I hope they get a nice premium over fair value for the space. Without the upgrades, it's probably worth closer to $1,000 sf (or $860K). And the high ceilings and nice improvements probably offset the interior courtyard location.

Fingers crossed for them -- they've done a nice job with the property. And given that this is an original buyer, they'll make a good amount of money no matter what.

I think they should count the mezz in sq ft and price, but use a diff calculation to value that mezz footage to come up with a realistic overall price. "Legally" it's not living space, but you'd be using that space if you bought it, right? So listing should read 'studio ### sf plus ### mezz'.
BTW- good luck waiting for it to sell at 860k!!

reallystate -- I agree it won't go for $860 . . . but it's hard to justify more than say $950K, wouldn't you say?

I mean, $1,000 sf is kind of the current neck of the woods for apartments on the exterior of the building.

So, let's start with $900K as a base price.

Upside:
- Tall ceilings;
- Big windows
- Pleasant view of the gardens;
- Nice rehab -- though it is starting to show some age;
- Efficient use of space.

Downside:
- Interior courtyard;
- One bathroom downstairs from bedroom;
- No proper bedroom -- only a loft with VERY low ceilings.
- Odd room under the bedroom.

I look at units like 11V (also very high ceilings, spectacular south view that clears other buildings, huge open space, large closets, etc. etc.), and that barely went for $1,000/sf.

So, while someone might pay a premium for this unique rehab, anything beyond the low 900's is overpayment in this market.

Notice that there were two other z units on the market for over $1M. One was pulled, and the other just dropped its price to below $1M.

All three have sold, so we can recap:

03Z 02/04/2010 $1,020,000 http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/444139-condo-252-seventh-avenue-chelsea-new-york
10Z 02/11/2010 ...$970,000 http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/441239-condo-252-seventh-avenue-chelsea-new-york
05Z 05/03/2010 ...$900,000 http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/436941-condo-252-seventh-avenue-chelsea-new-york

Makes sense, as 5Z had the worst reconfiguration and 3Z has the highest ceiling.

Yes, and the market speaks! Just saw the 5Z sale and yowza that is a poor configuration for the LR. I concede that prices have dropped and there's softness everywhere, but these units prove to hold value. Location, amenities, and those low CCs mean that The CMerc will always be a good buy.