CompsWatch: No love for Midtown East

By A. Ready | November 19, 2010 - 3:30PM

Contract signings have been particularly weak in Midtown East this fall, according to UrbanDigs.com. Our review of all closed sales for the past 30 days in the area (which stretches north from 23rd to 59th Street, and from Fifth Avenue to the FDR) also shows significant downward pressure on pricing in the area, with some apartments trading near or below 2004 market levels on contracts struck this summer or before.

Here are a few examples of market movement in Midtown East:

211 East 35th Street (b/w 2nd and 3rd Avenue), 9FG This three bedroom, two bath pre-war combination co-op sold for $1.12 million in December 2004, and recently closed for $950,000.
436 East 58th Street (b/w 1st and York Avenue), 4A This junior one bedroom co-op located closed last month for $315,000, a mere 5% above the $300,000 it fetched in very early 2005. Two floors up, 6A sold for $335,000 in September 2004.
45 Sutton Place South (b/w 54th and 55th Street), 11J. First listed in November of 2005 for $750,000, this large one-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath view co-op apartment was taken off the market in April 2007. It was relisted for $695,000 in February of this year, and closed in October for $575,000, 24% below its original asking price. Unit 15J closed for $725,000 in July 2004.
240 East 55th Street (Third Avenue), 4F This alcove co-op studio was initially priced at $395,000 in July 2009. Last month it closed for $330,000. Two flights up, 6F closed for $383,000 in October of 2005.
200 East 27th Street (Second Avenue), 2V Entering the market at $549,000 in September of 2009, this Murray Hill one-bedroom co-op has yet to sell despite two price reductions. The most recent downward adjustment, in May of 2010, to $499,000, is only $4,000 above the $495,000 the owner paid in August of 2004.

So why is Midtown East performing punily in the sales department? A commenter on UrbanDigs.com has some words for the neighborhood, declaring it unfit for the rich and trendy due to limited nightlife, unattractive to families because of its lack of schools. While acknowledging that outside investors and people who work in the area might be attracted to the location, it's "not exactly discounted enough for local new yorkers to give it a second look."

(UrbanDigs.com; StreetEasy)

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