Lofts, one of the only New York properties with a reputation for spaciousness, are shrinking.
The trend has been in evidence since Sept. 11, following a period when lofts were designed and built as big as possible.
During the second quarter, the average size of a loft apartment that was sold was 1,853 square feet, an 11 percent drop from the 2,077-square-foot average seen in the prior quarter, according to the Douglas Elliman Manhattan Market Overview.
While the report said the dramatic drop was influenced by the availability of housing stock during the quarter, shrinking lofts are becoming the norm, observers say.
“As far as a long-term trend,” said appraiser Jonathan Miller, who authors the report, “loft units have been trending downward in size over the last year-and-a-half.”
But if they’ve been getting smaller, lofts are still big. The average loft sold during the second quarter was more than 400 square feet larger than the average condo, and almost 600 square feet larger than the average co-op.
They’re still hot the average price per square foot for lofts set a record in the second quarter at $791 per square foot, up 13 percent from the year before.
The average sales price declined 6 percent, which may indicate that the units sold are smaller.
Younger buyers are fueling the loft lifestyle, said Leonard Steinberg of Douglas Elliman. Designs for lofts especially newer ones vary, but space never goes out of style, something to which younger New Yorkers seem drawn.
“The concept of loft living is very appealing,” Steinberg said, “because it’s versatile. The first and foremost characteristic when you have a loft is the big, open living space.”
Sean Murphy Turner, a senior vice president at Stribling & Associates who has specialized in Tribeca real estate for 10 years, said many of her most recent buyers are savvy enough to demand the spaciousness along with high quality interiors the kind of interiors featured in lifestyle magazines.
With living in a loft comes a certain kind of New York bragging rights one can’t claim, say, while living in an Upper West Side co-op or a Park Slope townhouse.
“It’s almost like people are buying a lifestyle, because, with the lofts downtown, they’re forming their own neighborhoods,” Miller said
While lofts got their start in the 1960s in buildings that used to be warehouses and factories, eventually turning Soho and later Tribeca into hot neighborhoods, they are now are creeping beyond these locales most notably in Chelsea, around Sixth and Seventh avenues in the 20s.
Dumbo, another residential neighborhood developed from converted industrial space, will soon see more loft space. Two conjoined buildings that occupy a full block at 70 Washington Street and 35 York Street are being converted into luxury apartments. Two Trees Management is spearheading the development. The buildings currently house a mix of industrial tenants, whose leases all expire this year.