The Copper Building (215 Avenue B)
1. BUILDING OVERVIEW (ANALYST FRAMING)
Building Type: Boutique Postwar Condo (Built 2009)
Scale: 17 Units, 8 Floors
Classification: Yield-Oriented (Secondary: Core/Defensive for Rents only)
Justification: Post-sponsor data reveals a sharp divergence between the building's ability to capture rent versus its ability to retain resale value. While rental demand remains robust with increasing premiums for studios, resale liquidity has seized up, with recent DOMs exceeding 170 days. Structurally, the building is behaving as a cash-flow asset where appreciation has stalled or reversed, significantly underperforming the broader market during the 2021–2026 cycle.
2. UNIT MIX & COMPOSITION
Data Basis: Transaction-weighted inventory (Total ~17 units).
Composition:
Studios (C Lines, ~500 SF): High velocity in rentals; volatile in sales. ~30% of activity.
1-Beds (A Lines, ~712 SF): Lower turnover.
2-Beds (B Lines / Combined, ~1,100–1,174 SF): The primary source of recent appreciation drag.
Impact: The mix creates a "dual-speed" building. Small units (Studios) clear faster and capture higher rent per square foot ($90+ PPSF rental), while larger units (B lines) suffer from liquidity drag and significant price volatility.
3. LINE (STACK) PERFORMANCE — RESALE ONLY
Sponsor normalization applied: Excluded early bulk sales (2010–2011) and Unit 3A (2014, 25 DOM) to isolate true market friction.
A. Liquidity (Speed)
Rank 1 (Fastest): Studio/Small lines (Historical).
Rank 2 (Slowest): B Line (2-Bed).
Recent Shift: Liquidity has deteriorated severeley.
Unit 3C (Studio) Resale (2025): 235 Days
Unit 2B (2-Bed) Resale (2026): 177 Days
Unit 2C (Studio) Resale (2021): 120 Days
Contrast w/ Historical: Unit 6C (2013) cleared in 84 days.
Conclusion: The building is currently illiquid.
B. Appreciation (Durability)
Studios (C Line): Mean-Reverting.
2021 Peak: ~$709k
2025 Close: $625k
Result: 12% nominal loss from peak.
Large Units (B Line): Depreciating.
2021 Peak (Unit 3B): $1.725M
2026 Close (Unit 2B): $1.30M
Result: ~24% nominal price compression between similar units over 5 years.
4. BUILDING-WIDE PPSF TREND (NORMALIZED)
Growth Phase (2010–2017): Strong appreciation. PPSF rose from ~$900–1,000 (Sponsor) to ~$1,400–1,500.
Plateau/Drawdown (2021–2026):
2021 Median Resale PPSF: ~$1,400.
2025/2026 Median Resale PPSF: ~$1,170–1,240.
Trend: Cyclical Drawdown. The building has given back substantial gains from the post-COVID boom, trading today near 2014–2015 pricing levels ($1,200–1,300 PPSF).
5. RENT CAPTURE ANALYSIS
A. Rent Capture by Line
Studios (C Line): The star performer.
2017: $2,595
2025: $3,850
CAGR: ~5.0% (Strong).
Efficiency: High. Rental DOM is tight (19–21 days in 2024/25).
2-Beds (B Line):
2019: $6,200
2024: $7,950
2025: $6,500 (Note: Volatility detected. Unit 4B dropped from $7,950 peak comps back to $6,500).
B. Conclusion Rent capture is far superior to price capture. While sale prices dropped ~15-25% recently, effective rents remain near all-time highs, particularly for studios. Income is captured; value is leaked.
6. B³ SCORING SYSTEM (0–100)
(Scores 0–100 based on Normalized Data)
A. Liquidity Score: 35/100
Penalty: Median recent resale DOM > 150 days.
Penalty: Even small units (3C) took 235 days to clear in 2025.
B. Rent Capture Score: 85/100
Strength: High rent/SF ($85–90+ for studios).
Strength: Fast absorption (avg rental DOM ~29 days vs sales DOM ~177 days).
Strength: Consistent growth in studio rents.
C. Appreciation Score: 40/100
Penalty: Negative 5-year trend (2021–2026).
Penalty: Reversion to 2014 pricing levels.
Support: Long-term holders (2010 buyers) are still up, preventing a score of 0.
7. COMPOSITE SCORE & CLASSIFICATION
Composite Score: 53 (Liquidity 35 × 0.35) + (Rent 85 × 0.30) + (Appreciation 40 × 0.35)
Classification: Yield-Oriented
Definition: The asset works best as a rental machine. Buyers should expect income generation but assume minimal or negative capital appreciation in the medium term.
8. TRANSACTION EXAMPLES
Resale Appreciation (Long-Term Holders):
Unit 1008: Bought Aug 2010 ($735k) → Sold May 2023 ($1.18M). +60% (Driver: Market Regime Timing).
Unit 3B: Bought Aug 2010 ($1.19M) → Sold Nov 2021 ($1.725M). +45% (Driver: Market Regime Timing).
Unit 1012: Bought Aug 2010 ($1.20M) → Sold Aug 2017 ($1.75M). +45% (Driver: Market Regime Timing).
Unit 1004: Bought Sep 2010 ($438k) → Sold Apr 2015 ($658k). +50% (Driver: Market Regime Timing).
Resale Depreciation / Compression (Recent Cycle):
Unit 2B vs 3B (Proxy Pair):
Unit 3B Sold Nov 2021: $1,725,000
Unit 2B Sold Jan 2026: $1,300,000
Delta: -24% (Drivers: Liquidity Shift, Market Regime).
Unit 3C vs 2C (Proxy Pair):
Unit 2C Sold Jul 2021: $709,000
Unit 3C Sold Dec 2025: $625,000
Delta: -11.8% (Drivers: Liquidity Shift).
Unit 2B (Long hold underperformance):
Bought Feb 2011: $1,067,500
Sold Jan 2026: $1,300,000
CAGR: ~1.3% over 15 years. (Driver: Line-level premium persistence - weak). Note: This CAGR is below inflation, representing a real loss of value.
9. RISKS & RED FLAGS
Red Flag: Chronically Long Resale DOM. Recent sales averaging ~6 months (177–235 days) indicates a "stale" inventory problem. Buyers are not biting at ask.
Risk: Negative Equity for 2015–2023 Buyers. Current pricing ($1,170–1,240 PPSF) is undercutting sales recorded as far back as 2015 ($1,308 PPSF for Unit 1004).
Opportunity Cost: While the NYXRCSA Index shows general long-term stability/growth, this building has decoupled negatively since 2021.
10. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Copper Building (215 Avenue B) is a Yield-Oriented asset that excels at generating income but currently fails to retain value. Post-sponsor analysis highlights a stark liquidity crisis, with resale days-on-market expanding to 6+ months in 2025–2026. While rental demand is robust—especially for studios, where rents have compounded at ~5% annually—sale prices have reverted to levels last seen in 2014. Investors should approach this building strictly for its cap rate potential, as the data indicates a -10% to -24% price correction from 2021 peaks. Avoid short-term resale strategies here; income capture is high, but equity is leaking.
DISCLOSURES & NORMALIZATION
Sponsor Normalization:
Excluded Unit 3A (2014) from liquidity metrics due to "Sponsor-like" velocity (<30 days DOM within 5 years of inception).
Excluded all initial 2010–2011 sales from resale comparisons to establish a clean baseline.
Data Note: Unit 2B (2026) and 3B (2021) were used as direct line comps to demonstrate depreciation. Assumes standard condition for both as no renovation data was provided.