Condo conversion sales topping $920 a foot

Real Estate Weekly, Feb 16, 2005

What's the current market like for classic pre-war Manhattan apartments that are being converted from rental to condominium ownership?

If The Hopkins, the venerable 1929 apartment building at 172 West 79th Street, at the southeast corner of Amsterdam Avenue, is any indication, it's amazingly strong.

According to Jud Ebersman, Vice Chairman of Walter & Samuels, which acted as sales agent as well as advisor to the sponsor on repositioning and converting the distinctive 20-story property, The Hopkins, in a matter of months, achieved the following:

* Nearly 50% of the 95 apartments in the building were sold: 26 apartments to insiders, 17 apartments to outsiders, with 2 vacant apartments unsold.

* Insider sales were at 24.1% below the outsider asking price. The gross sales ranged from just below $500,000 to over $1,550,000. The average gross price per square foot was approximately $670.

* Outsider gross prices ranged from the low $500,000s to over $2,300,000, with the average price per square foot just above $920.

"This was an incredibly successful conversion," stated Ebersman.

Ebersman added that The Hopkins conversion plan Amendment of Effectiveness was recently accepted by the Attorney General and was overwhelmingly accepted by its Tenants Committee.