William Beaver House (15 William Street)

15 William Street is a Yield-Oriented asset that serves as a high-velocity rental factory in the Financial District but fails to deliver capital compounding. Post-sponsor behavior is characterized by flat-to-negative price persistence, with most units reselling at or below their inflation-adjusted 2008–2010 baselines. While nominal rents appear attractive, investors suffer from significant income leakage due to absorption times (DOM) often exceeding four months. The building’s 9.4% outperformance of its sub-neighborhood is an absolute price leader, but a relative performance laggard in terms of compounding.
Tony InJe Yeo's avatar
Feb 18, 2026
William Beaver House (15 William Street)

1. BUILDING OVERVIEW (ANALYST FRAMING)

15 William Street (William Beaver House) is a mature resale condo completed in 2008, consisting of 186 units across 47 floors. Based on post-sponsor behavior, the building is classified as Yield-Oriented. While it outperforms the Financial District sub-market baseline by 9.4% in absolute pricing, it functions primarily as a high-velocity rental asset where capital appreciation is stalled. Resale data indicates a building that is mean-reverting toward its original 2008–2010 sponsor baselines, significantly underperforming the NYXRCSA index, which has grown to 331.14 as of late 2025.


2. UNIT MIX & COMPOSITION

Based on transaction-weighted data, the building is heavily weighted toward small-to-mid-size footprints, which drives its high rental churn.

  • 1BR: 263 sales (approx. 54% of activity). Median PPSF: $1,350.

  • 2BR: 151 sales (approx. 31% of activity). Median PPSF: $1,343.

  • Studios: 43 sales (approx. 8.8% of activity). Median PPSF: $1,339.

  • 3BR+: 7 sales (approx. 1.4% of activity). Median PPSF: $1,604.

Analysis: The 54% concentration of 1BR units provides high liquidity for the rental market but creates a unit mix imbalance during resale cycles, as these units face significant competition from a high-velocity secondary market.


3. LINE (STACK) PERFORMANCE — RESALE ONLY

  • Liquidity (Fastest Lines): The Line E (2BR) and Line H (2BR) stacks exhibit the highest relative resale velocity. Recently, Unit 29E cleared in 19 days, while Unit 22H cleared in 24 days.

  • Price Strength: Line B and Line C (1BRs) command consistent PPSF premiums ($1,350–$1,400+), while Line A and Line H (2BRs) often trade at a discount relative to the building median, frequently dipping to $1,000–$1,200 PPSF.

  • Appreciation: Post-sponsor compounding is negligible. For example, Line B (1BR) units that traded at ~$1,200 PPSF in 2008 are reselling for ~$1,219 PPSF in 2024, representing a CAGR of ~0.1%. This is nearly zero real growth compared to the NYXRCSA index.


4. BUILDING-WIDE PPSF TREND (NORMALIZED)

  • 2008–2014: Sponsor Establishment Phase. Pricing was established between $1,100 and $1,400 PPSF.

  • 2015–2021: Flat/Cyclical. Resale pricing remained largely trapped within the $1,200–$1,400 range with occasional outliers.

  • 2022–2025: Mean-Reverting. Recent 2025 sales like Unit 7H ($1,063 PPSF) and Unit 22H ($1,161 PPSF) show pricing returning to 2008–2009 levels.

  • Conclusion: Flat. The building has failed to capture any sustained capital compounding over its 17-year history.


5. RENT CAPTURE ANALYSIS

  • Mandatory Metric: Effective Annual Rent (EAR)

    • Unit 37F (1BR, 2025): Achieved $5,500. DOM: 13. EAR: $5,304.

    • Unit 31G (1BR, 2025): Achieved $5,000. DOM: 135. EAR: $3,150.

    • Unit 39E (2BR, 2025): Achieved $8,500. DOM: 163. EAR: $4,704.

    Analysis: The building experiences massive income leakage. While nominal rents are strong ($70–$80 PPSF), units with absorption friction (DOM > 100) lose 37% to 45% of their annual income to vacancy.


6. B³ SCORING SYSTEM (0–100)

  • Liquidity Score: 58 (High historical volume but significant resale friction; building median DOM of 112 days indicates exit resistance).

  • Rent Capture Score: 62 (Strong nominal rent per SF, but consistent leakage due to high absorption times in mid-tier units).

  • Appreciation Score: 42 (Weak CAGR; most lines are mean-reverting to 15-year-old pricing, severely trailing the NYXRCSA index).


7. COMPOSITE SCORE & CLASSIFICATION

  • Composite Score: 53.6

  • Category: Yield-Oriented

  • Justification: The building functions as a high-output rental factory (372 rentals) but fails as a capital preservation vehicle due to flat-to-negative compounding.


8. TRANSACTION EXAMPLES

Resale Appreciation (Nominal)

  1. Unit 29E (2BR): $1,480,000 (2014) → $1,760,000 (2025). +18.9% (+1.6% CAGR). Driver: Market regime timing.

  2. Unit 25E (2BR): $1,675,000 (2020) → $1,815,000 (2023). +8.3% (+2.7% CAGR). Driver: Market regime timing.

Resale Depreciation/Stagnation

  1. Unit 21B (1BR): $1,069,162 (2008) → $965,000 (2024). -9.7%. Driver: Unit size / unit mix imbalance.

  2. Unit 14B (1BR): $1,142,985 (2009) → $1,028,000 (2022). -10%. Driver: Sponsor price normalization.

  3. Unit 24H (2BR): $1,595,000 (2019) → $1,424,600 (2022). -10.7%. Driver: Liquidity shift (DOM change).

  4. Unit 30E (2BR): $1,890,000 (2009) → $1,620,000 (2024). -14.2%. Driver: Liquidity shift (DOM change).


9. RISKS & RED FLAGS

  • Extreme Income Leakage: Rental DOM for 1BR/2BR units frequently exceeds 130 days (e.g., Units 31G and 39E), which destroys annual yield.

  • Capital Stagnation: The building's median PPSF in 2025 ($1,352) is virtually identical to trades seen in 2014–2015 ($1,350+), indicating zero growth over a decade.

  • Red Flag: Do not buy Line B or Line H for capital growth; they show the most consistent price erosion and high absorption friction.


10. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

15 William Street is a Yield-Oriented asset that serves as a high-velocity rental factory in the Financial District but fails to deliver capital compounding. Post-sponsor behavior is characterized by flat-to-negative price persistence, with most units reselling at or below their inflation-adjusted 2008–2010 baselines. While nominal rents appear attractive, investors suffer from significant income leakage due to absorption times (DOM) often exceeding four months. The building’s 9.4% outperformance of its sub-neighborhood is an absolute price leader, but a relative performance laggard in terms of compounding.


B³ SCORECARD

  • Liquidity Score: 58

  • Rent Capture Score: 62

  • Appreciation Score: 42

  • Composite Score: 53.6

  • Category: Yield-Oriented

  • Unit Mix: 1BR Dominant (54%)

Disclosures: Approximately 185 transactions from 2008–2014 were reclassified as Sponsor-Driven due to the <30 day DOM rule or "No Listing" status. This normalization reveals that the true resale median DOM of 112 days is 18% higher than the building's aggregate reported average, and true resale appreciation has been near-zero for over a decade.

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