the downturnaround

All Hail the Lowballer

If we were trying to sell an apartment and someone came and offered us a third off the asking price, we might be a little steamed. We might be tempted to rail against the predatory ways of the lowballer. So we understand the frustration the owner of a studio in Tribeca’s Cocoa Exchange must have felt, after spending months haggling with potential buyers, each one cheaper and more flinty-eyed than the last, over the price of his 370-square-foot space like it was a discount piece of meat or something. He wanted $439,000, and after being offered something in “the low fours,” he said, “Screw it,” and took the place off the market. Good for him, we say — if sellers can afford to reject offers they deem insufficient and wait for their price, then by all means they should do that. But also good for the lowballers. They’re the ones who are going to help us find the bottom of the housing market.

Manhattan Financial District Apartments Get Deepest Price Cuts [Bloomberg]

All Hail the Lowballer