11 riverside drive closed 40K above asking. any thoughts on why?

Bela...I'm with you. I don't understand it. According to the people who blog on this website...the sky is falling along with real estate prices. Well the real estate world is not falling. I've given up for the time being and signed a lease to rent for one year.

Though I'm not a big fan of Schwab House, it's a safe choice in a great location. The facilites are pretty good and the common spaces are looking better than they used to. It's no longer just a place you go to visit your grandmother.

As for this particular apartment, somebody liked it a lot, (probably more than one somebody), because it went to contract very quickly, above the asking price. Nice job there by Maxwell Jacobs. But considering what was going on a year ago, even with properties that needed a lot more work (e.g. http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/73679-coop-11-riverside-drive-upper-west-side-new-york), I think the sale you're pointing to is relatively sane.

Still - how could this be - 40K above ask? In this market?

The reason why it closed $40k over ask is because the market is crashing. In 2007, this would have closed for $60k over ask.

juiceman...comments like yours are what make this website obsolete.

julia, if you would have listened to advice from people that "make this website obsolete" you may not be in the position you are in.

I think it's just the ginormity of the unit. No square footage is given, but it looks like a 30 by 60 footprint -- even with that missing corner, I can see calling this 1400 square feet (I am eyeballing the floorplan; I've never been in the apartment).

Again, the lesson here is that you shouldn't use "ask" as an anchor for pricing, but you should look at comparables and square footage to figure out what something is "worth."

ali r.
{downtown broker}

It looks like an 11th floor, 2 br, 2 ba sponsor apartment in the Schwab House just closed for $1.090 million. I looked at this apartment. It was nicely renovated with granite counters, GE appliances and it had at a river view from the bedrooms. I think this was originally listed at $1.295 and when we looked at it in the spring it had been reduced to $1.195. So, I think that is some evidence of a slowish market.

Amen. When someone asks, "what is an appropriate % of ask to offer", that assumes that asking prices have been set rationally, and that's not always the case. Some apartments, like lobsters, are priced "to market" - whatever that happens to be - and some are a reach, even a long reach. And occasionally you'll see properties listed at "below market", either in the hopes of a quick sale, or in an attempt to spark bidder interest and a mini bidding war.

At the end of the day, while you have to do your homework with comp's, ANY apartment is only worth what it's worth to you - and your partner, the bank.

It could be that it was just priced right, and maybe needed less work than the comp that sold in the same building.

The fact that this question was posed in the first place only shows how much pricing is all abt marketing. After I bought my place, I've seen a couple of apts in the same line being listed for waaaay more, then being marked down and finally selling for significantly less than listing. But they still sold for 15-20% more than what I paid abt a year ago. Ironically the buyer thinks he's getting a deal and the seller thinks he lost out.

Still - how could this be - 40K above ask? In this market?

malraux - I think it was the window treatments and wallpaper border in the bedroom that put it over the top

It's impossible, tell the sun to leave the sky, it's just impossible
It's impossible, ask a baby not to cry, it's just impossible
Can I hold you closer to me and not feel you goin' through me?
Split the second that I never think of you? Oh, how impossible

Can the ocean keep from rushin' to the shore? It's just impossible
If I had you, could I ever want for more? It's just impossible
And tomorrow, shouldya ask me for the world, somehow I'd get it
I would sell my very soul and not regret it
For to live without your love--It's just impossible

Can the ocean keep from rushin' to the shore? It's just impossible
If I had you, could I ever want for more? It's just impossible
And tomorrow, shouldya ask me for the world, somehow I'd get it
I would sell my very soul and not regret it
For to live without your love--It's just impossible

Impossible, immmmmm-impossible

btw schwab house does not allow washing machines. it is a huge no no if you have kids

The ratio of apartments closing below ask to those closing above is probably 50:1 right now, so I don't know why this one fragment of "evidence" is so exciting for the bulls.