With an exclusive use hot tub and grill atop the 2,700 square foot South Beach conversion condo, all we can think is housewarming and jersey city movers. And yes, post Giants game parties as well.
Purchased for $2,430,000 in November 2004, 4 Clarence is now back on the market in 2011 with a remodeled kitchen and asking $2,498,000.
? Listing: 4 Clarence (3/3) 2,700 sqft – $2,498,000 [4clarence.com] [MLS]
Certianly not cl(e)arance pricing. Sorry, someone had to say it. But sersiously, kitchen reno aside, could this still be worth it’s 2004 price???
What type of flooring are these? It look so modern and nice. But would it be too cold in the winter to have these type of flooring for home?
1.6
I walked past this a few weekends ago and thought “who would want to live down this sketchy little alley?”
Other than that, I love how close it is to the restaurants/bars/ball park & it looks like a really fun place if you’re young and you entertain a lot.
That said, I still find it hard to believe someone is going to spend 2.5 for this place. Price wise it makes 135 Locust in Presidio Heights look like a deal!
I’ve been a lurker on socket site on and off for a few years with only occasional posts. I’m a 50 year old gay man in a 16-year relationship. Partner and I currently live in a single family house in Montclair. I’ve lived in apartments and single family homes in the East Bay (Vallejo, Napa, El Cerrito, Berkeley, and Oakland) my entire life. Clearly I don’t fit the demographic of the typical buyer of a place like this. I’m not being snarky, but I’m curious about to whom this residence might appeal. I cannot image paying $2.4 million to live in a warehouse given the range of options available in that price range. The neighborhood seems like a waste land. Please educate me. Who it the typical buyer of these properties? How large in the pool of buyers? How long do they usually stay in a place like this?
Not a fan of the layout at all. So many better options at this list price.
Is the second bedroom even legally a bedroom? They don’t show a window, and it doesn’t appear to have much light.
I’m in the same boat as eastbaymike here. I get that there are people who like this kind of place and its neighborhood, and think it’s the epitome of urban modern living, or some such nonsense. For $2.5M, I’d take a better house in a good neighborhood, instead of an overpriced loft at 3rd and Town’s End. There is plenty of choice at that price range. The view from the roof deck is not even all that impressive for people who pay premium dollars solely for views.
There is a limited buyer pool for this sort of place, but that hipster buyer pool is very enthusiastic about this type of place.
@eastbaymike
I think you answered your own question, Mike. The demographic for places like this is: young, single, affluent, and likes to “party.”
Phrases like “can’t imagine,” “live in a warehouse,” and “neighborhood seems like a wasteland” are a sign that you should be careful about evaluating real estate outside your demographic. Plenty of folks view this property 180 degrees in the opposite from you. They might even use similar phrases describing your SFR in Montclair.
FYI, I’m 50 as well, and would never live in a loft, nor near a place where tens of thousands of drunk people are screaming “woooooo” all time, but that doesn’t mean everyone else is like me.
Forgive the essay, but I just find it a very common and somewhat amusing theme on SS that people project their own lifestyles on properties, exclaiming how they “can’t understand how anyone could like this”, temporarily ignoring that not everyone is like them, and thus not every property is one they’re going to like.
As for the property itself:
1.8
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of $2,500,000 must be in want of a wife – who will want to move to Noe Valley and have babies.
with respect to Jane’s comment: I agree with the implicit claim that a conversion warehouse is no place to raise children. Luckily, the Fitzwilliam Darcy-type who’s selling this place managed to hold out for close to seven years before having to sell, presumably to buy that SFH in Noe Valley, so the short-hold loss he usually would have been in for will be minimized.
it’s not a conversion loft, they were built new in 1998 by martin building company. the place looks really nice to me and has a tremendous amount of space and great location for any south bay or city commuters. not to mention 2 car garage, that’s pretty hard to come by.
Thanks for the correction smocky; I shouldn’t have combined the socketsite editor’s description of the place as a “2,700 ft² South Beach conversion condo” (above) with the listing agent’s description as a “a free-standing, 2700 ft² loft” (second sentence in the MLS ‘Remarks’).
Two other things:
• The difference between the 2004 purchase price and the present asking is only about 2.8%, or less than the amount that will be paid to the listing agent alone unless the seller is some kind of wicked hard bargainer.
• either the HOA dues of $232.00 is a typo by the listing agent or the 4 Clarence complex has the most reasonable and cost-efficient HOA in the history of condo complexes featured on socketsite.
“Forgive the essay, but I just find it a very common and somewhat amusing theme on SS that people project their own lifestyles on properties, exclaiming how they “can’t understand how anyone could like this”, temporarily ignoring that not everyone is like them, and thus not every property is one they’re going to like.”
On the contrary, I do understand that not everyone is like me (which is why I included my own bio in my post)and thank god for that. I’m not that narrow-minded. What I don’t understand is who buys these units. I have never been inside one, don’t know anyone who owns one, so am curious as to who these folks are. Your quote “can’t understand how anyone could like this” does not appear in my post. Rather I’m trying to understand who wants to live like this and who can afford to live like this.
I’m in my mid 30s, not necessarily a fan of lofts, but some have their charms. But I also have no idea of who would want to live in this place.
I certainly wouldn’t even for $1 million.
I think it’s got a horrible layout, it’s large, but doesn’t seem to have any large areas, which really sucks.
The roof deck is cool, and it’s got good light, but there are plenty of better places with much better amenities (in my opinion) that are way less. And the competition at that price completely blows it away.
Even the staging kind of sucks.
I really hope the agent “bought” this listing and doesn’t believe this is a legit price.
What a hodgepodge of furniture. You’d think the owners would have spent some $$$ for the kind of money they’re asking and had it staged appropriately. A plastic shower curtain? Really?
This seems like another example of the ‘golden rule of pricing’:
Up market: Set the ask price too low. Folks get excited and bid the price up.
Down market: Set the ask price too high. Somebody comes along with a ‘lowball’ offer and gets excited when the ‘bargain’ price is accepted.
Kind of wish I didn’t have to learn this on the buying side…
@eastbaymike
Sorry Mike, I really shouldn’t post when I’m cranky. I splashed paint on you with my broad brush. I didn’t mean to imply you said that “you can’t understand how anyone could like” this — I was speaking of the general case at that point.
The “I just can’t understand how anyone could possibly XXX” is a recurring meme on SS. You posted your bio, publicly declaring your bias, which is rare here, so I shouldn’t have cranked about the meme by quoting you.
* offers cupcake of regret *
Who could live here:
Knights who drive Teslas
and own purple silk sheets
investment bankers
with harley bikes vintage to keep
silver and gold dealers
high on the market
these are a few of
my favorite buyers,
Run a hedge fund,
ipo well
inherit from dad
all sort of singletons
from sand hill road
these are a few who
might buy right here.
I am just guessing.
The list for 4 Clarence has been withdrawn from the MLS without a reported sale after 78 days on the market asking $2,498,000. Once again, purchased for $2,430,000 in November 2004.