Bad news for 20 Pine and The District

Not cheap enough. They need to slash the prices

they're already renting large studios for $2450. Not a lot to cut off of that (owners are already losing money there).

nyc10022, would be useful to do the math on the buying cost of specific apartments for rent - the original buying cost from the sponsor - to see if the owners are losing money.

Here is an analysis at 20 Pine, both on the rent vs. sell side:
Sell Side
Apt. 1006 (1,070 sq ft 2 BR)was sold by Sponsor in July 2008 for $998k, assume closing costs of $60k, total purchase price was $1,058k. http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/closing/741004
This apt is currently listed for sale at $949,000 http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/368557-condo-20-pine-street-financial-district-new-york
Sponsor is offering Apt. 1206 for $1,005k on StreetEasy, however, they are discounting those prices by 25%, which would bring the price of 1206 to $754k. However 1206 has not moved in the 2 months that the Sponsor has offered this discount, so say another 10% discount is needed to sell it, bringing the price down to approx. $675k. With closing costs of 10% (ignoring the price differential between 10th and 12th floor), this unfortunate buyer would realize about $610k for 1006, a loss of $448k, plus carrying charges during his ownership period.
Rent side
1206 or a comparable apt is on the market for $3,400 http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/rental/419354-condo-20-pine-street-financial-district-new-york
Assuming 80%, 30 yr mortgage at 6.25%, Prin. and int would be roughly $4,900 per month, CC and taxes $990 per month, for a total of say $5,900. Assuming a tenant could be found at the asking rent, owner would suffer a pre-tax loss of $2,500 per month.
These are pretty horrific numbers and if you look at the volume of the rental listings and resale apts, most of which are priced at last year's values, there are many other owners in the same boat at 20 Pine. Plus sponsor sales seem to have slowed dramatically; there seem to be many units not on the market due to failed closings, etc. Still seems to be a lot of work going on in the building, I heard amenities will not be completed until Spring. Plus Leviev's financial problems deepen on a daily basis.
Not a pretty picture.

great analysis...

Wow, this building is toast.

time to start offering $0.50 on the $1