Sale at 16 West 19th Street #8F

The problem with your comment is that you are trying to figure the seller profits rather than the value of the apartment. It is irrelevant what someone paid. Perhaps there were circumstances related to the original sale? (divorce, death, relocation etc). I am tired of comments about someone profits. what is the value of a penthouse off Fifth ave? have you looked around? your comment is based on your emotional state (and potential interest) and does not make any sense. Perhaps you can write a more intellegent comment stating why do you think this is an unrealistic price and what do you believe should be the going rate for this penthouse. Try to make some sense....

I don't see this place being worth more than $800K.

looks like the sale must have fallen through, as it is being listed again by the sponsor. I am not sure it ever sold as I saw it in the second week of december.

super weird floor plan, I didnt think it was worth more than 900k

Call me crazy, but for $1.4 million you should get more than two smallish rooms.

And don't start with me on the "home office" thing -- a room without a window is not a room, it's a closet.

Yeah, this one reads more like a studio with a temporary wall to create a little "bedroom", and a large closet that can pretend to be a "home office", and a tiny run of countertop against a wall with a perfunctory smattering of appliances so they can check off the "kitchen" box. $730K tops.

OMG how did I miss that there's no kitchen???

Oy.

Sold on Dec 4, 2009 for $999,000
16 West 19th St, 8-F
Manhattan, NY 10011
Single Residential Condo Unit
1,138 sqft, ($878/sqft)
Boro-block-lot: 1-820-1340

Seller(s)
16 West 19th Llc
752 Pacific Street
Brooklyn, NY, 11238 US

Buyer(s)
Andreas Stefan Gauger
16 West 19th Street, Unit 8f
New York, NY, 10011 US

The seller is a Gauger!

No, that's not a kitchen: it's a pod. Not an iPod, a pod. It is there to protect you in the event of a European credit crisis or a NK nuclear winter.

one of the shortcomings of hiring someone to design the apartments whose skill set consists of some relation to a musician.

Wow, 007, really? Maybe if you actually thought about what you said you'd be able to answer your own questions. Want me to provide the "intelligent comment" that you're looking for? How about I provide you with an answer to every question you just posed, along with responses to your ludicrous statements.

1) "It is irrelevant what someone paid." Really? Ok, so comps mean nothing? Have you ever heard of an appraisal? Let's see what the bank says when they see the previous sales data (10F, same exact apt. sold for $998k on 12/15/09) and comps are irrelevant.
2) "Focus on "value" rather than profit?" I guess you see a lot of value in living in a "pod." Yes, that's what they are calling these apartments. You must value "Interior Design by Jade Jagger for YOO" more than functional, usable space.
3) "Circumstances?" The current buyer is trying to flip, plain and simple. It was a Sponsor Sale, so if you paid a little attention, you'd know that there was no "divorce, death, or relocation." If there is divorce, death or relocation now, then they clearly are in no rush to sell asking 40% more than they paid 6 months ago.
4) "What does a Penthouse go for off of 5th Ave.?" I don't know, you tell me, cause this is not a Penthouse, it's apt. 8F, and there are at least three more floors above. And 5th Avenue is a rather long street, so I imagine you'll find quite a range in prices for "Penthouses off of 5th Ave."

Oh, and what everyone else said above. As much as I'd love to pay $1.4 million to open a closet to access my stove, I'm thinking that this place doesn't really command $1,300/sq.ft., not to mention its high maintenance and taxes.

Andreas Stefan Gauger appears to be the former CEO of 1&1 of Germany

So then isn't this "Jade" with the flexible pod nonsense done by Jade Jagger and Mikey Shvo? Hee hee hee! $698,850

NYC10007- your initial comment did not include all of the arguments you have added in your second entry. I find that some people here, (like your initial entry and the entries that followed) respond to discussions with no substance or rational process. Some people value the "pod" and some not. My personal taste is irrelevant and does not desreve any comments since it has nothing to do with a negotiated deal between a seller and a buyer. My comment was about the content of your blog. Additionally, my comments were conceptual in nature (death, divorce etc.) unfortunately your concrete thinking did not allow you to reflect that there are situations which dictate a selling price unrelated to comp or market. (see stock market bottom in 08/09)

Ummm...007, what are you on about? Dude posted a quick link to a pretty remarkably priced apartment, and commented briefly that it seemed nuts. Good stuff -- I like links to absurd pricing.

He then, in your view, failed to write a novel justifying his "argument" that this pricing was nuts. To which you responded with a bizarre screed, offering alternative theories (none of them based in reality) for how this pricing could have made more sense. But, as it turns out, the guy was right...this pricing is nutty. (Unless you really, really like "pods." Hey, I guess I had a "pod" in my first apartment. But I just called it an unusable kitchenette.)

But then you get really weird. We're not supposed to discuss personal taste? Commenting on things we find laughable...on the internet...is somehow out of bounds? Taste is irrelevant because it has "nothing to do with a negotiated deal between a seller and a buyer"? Well, ok -- I'll give you this much: if there's a buyer for this, at this price, more power to the seller. But it's nutty pricing -- way out of line with the market -- and unlikely to find a buyer whose brain doesn't resemble a squirrel's. And that's pretty funny, if you ask me.

007, you do realize that the prior sale was by the sponsor? no divorce, etc.

I think 007 is stoned...more power to him/her. Makes it a little easier to digest this type of absurdity. But he may be right, there could very well be an Irish Carpenter who believes this apartment could never fall in value....and will put his bubblefied life savings to the test.

It is the difference between rationale and rational.