Say what? Something we saw is actually in contract.

Despite the recent pronouncements that nothing in Manhattan is moving, it turns out that the sleeping giant otherwise known as a "buyer" has finally woken up somewhere and decided to take the plunge with enough of an offer (or the seller is in deep enough doo doo) to actually go into contract on an East Village apartment that we saw last week.

As we noted in our prior post, this apartment is a real snoozer, but it was well-maintained and a decent value for the area. We are watching this listing like little hawks to see the final closing price (what? a comp?).

63 E 9th Street, #3S - $715,000 - 805 sq. ft

Renovation is the word at this parquet-floor, needs paint everywhere NYUish extravaganza. I am beyond shocked at the asking price, considering that you can get a cheaper apartment in a similar location that is in waaaay better shape. The Citi-Habitats realtor (aren't they a rental company anyway?) tells us that this beauty was recently re-priced. For us to buy this, it would have to be re-priced to around $400 per sq. foot.

There is also no W/D (no possibility of), and it's a co-op that operates under condo rules (a true condop). Who cares, I think, as they can switch over to co-op rules whenever they want. Anyone have condop experiences?

30 East 9th Street, #3J - $699,000 - 800 sq. ft.

This is the kind of listing that we should stop going to see. It's a nice apartment - the floors are finished, the bathroom is solid, it gets good but not great light. In short there is nothing wrong with it...except we're into something more distinctive. Despite the listing as a "Condop", this building is a true co-op with the boardy board and everything. No W/D and a mid-range price of $699k for 800 sq. ft. complete the picture....zzzzzzzzzzzzz