Rarity of new residential projects in West Village sparks buyer frenzy

A rendering of 150 Charles Street
A rendering of 150 Charles Street

Build it and they will come, yes, but in the case of some high-profile residential projects in the West Village such as 150 Charles Street, buyers are swarming in well before the buildings are completed, the New York Post reported. 

Sales have taken off at the hotly anticipated yet highly divisive 98-unit condominium building, being developed by the Witkoff Group. A penthouse which was asking $34 million went into contract last week, as The Real Deal previously reported, and a $35 million penthouse hit the market yesterday. The building is being marketed by Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, led by Susan de França.

“There’s limited supply and increasing demand” in the city’s housing market, Tricia Cole, executive managing director at Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group, told the Post. The West Village’s extreme paucity of new units, she added, meant that buyers were “coming in and snapping up units.”

Prices at the building (except for the remaining penthouse) range from $4.2 million for a two-bedroom, 1,577-square-foot unit, to $8.95 million for a four-bedroom, 3,956-square-foot unit.

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Part of 150 Charles Street’s appeal is its loft-like spaces and range of amenities, Wendy Maitland, senior managing director of sales for Town Residential, told the Post. “The West Village has been coveted for decades, and the issue has been that there haven’t been enough big, loft-like products to serve the needs of the demographic,” she said.

The success of 150 Charles Street, brokers say, is part of a trend in the neighborhood for high-end buildings. “A couple years ago it was Superior Ink, and now 150 Charles is the new guy in the neighborhood,” Cole said.

Another factor in its success was the lack of competition, real estate insiders said. “It’s hard to find development sites, and that’s the challenge; there is no vacant land, so you’re acquiring other buildings and doing gut rehabs,” Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel, told the Post. [NYP] –Hiten Samtani