From left: Jeffrey Levine, chairman of Douglaston Development, and his condo the Edge, developer Louis Greco, and his be@Schermerhorn
[Updated June 6, 2011 at 1:45 p.m. with detailed sales figures] Sales at the the Edge condominium in Williamsburg have picked up rapidly, and in the past four months alone, the condominium has sold more units than any New York City residential building did in all of 2010. According to MNS, the brokerage formerly known as TDG/TREGNY which is exclusively marketing the development, the Edge garnered 144 signed contracts between Jan. 1, 2011 and June 1, 2011, including an average of more than 32 per month between February and May (see chart for a breakdown of sales by month). Granted the Edge is more than twice as big, but those sales numbers already shatter the figures posted by last year’s fastest selling building, according to PropertyShark.com, be@Schermerhorn, which sold 121 units out of 246 in the calendar year.
Now, 234 of the Edge’s 565 units have closed, and another 61 are in contract, according to MNS. The firm told The Real Deal that the building’s location and amenities package, which includes an array of sports and spa facilities, have appealed to buyers.
The project’s developer Jeffrey Levine, chairman of Douglaston Development, said the pace of sales has picked up because people have started to move in, and prospective buyers can envision life in the building. Levine said he isn’t surprised. “We built a fantastic building in probably Brooklyn’s finest location,” he said, “even during the darkest hours we knew time would prove out.”
Louis Grego, the developer of be@Schermerhorn, isn’t particularly shocked that the Edge’s sales rate has spiked past that of his own building. “It doesn’t matter what the building is, it matters what the value is,” he said. “Jeff is a sophisticated developer and he knows how to price to the market.”
Sales at the Edge have started at as little as $700 per square foot for lower-level units, and go as high as $1,200 per square foot for higher-floor units with views and outdoor space. The average is between $850 and $900 per square foot, Levine said. Meanwhile, the average unit in be@Schermerhorn has sold for around $640 per square foot, according to Greco.