Tag: apartment

This morning I awoke to this spectacular dawn. The opportunity to experience nature as art in our city of steel and concrete is unique and why a New York view costs more.

Ten years ago, buying my first apartment in New York I looked for three months. When I first started looking, the dream apartment I hoped for was bigger and less expensive than the reality turned out to be. Maintenance would be lower. Then I started looking. Read more…

Leave a Comment »

I really liked Vivian S. Toy’s recent article “The Apartment Critic” in the New York Times, and wanted to share it with you. Vivian has visited over 600 Manhattan apartments in the last five years for her “On The Market” page in the NYT’s Real Estate Section. Being required her to narrow down each apartment she’s viewed to highlight the Pro’s and Con’s has provided her with a unique perspective on Manhattan real estate. She makes some key takeaways: 1) Be upfront about both the pros and the cons about an apartment with a client – that builds trust between a broker and buyer. 2) Design choices can minimize a con, but sometimes too customized a design choice can become a con and lead to lowered value and longer time on the market 3) and the important acceptance of “To live in New York is to embrace compromise, how else could we live as we do, cheek by jowl and in such limited spaces?”

I think that’s one of the hardest mental hurdles first-time Manhattan buyers need to embrace – Read more…

Leave a Comment »

Many people who would like to invest in New York Real Estate but don’t have $1,000,000 lying around believe investing in a Manhattan apartment a) costs too much b) won’t rent easily with co-op sub-let restrictions. Well that is in part true but did you know that there are in fact some co-op buildings which permit sub-letting on a level that’s easier than others? Also, while the average apartment in Manhattan at the end of the 2nd Quarter of 2011 cost approximately $1.45 Million, there are in fact apartments for sale right now for $250,000 or under. In Manhattan. And I’m not speaking about Inwood or all the way uptown. I am speaking about right in the heart of midtown. Read more…

Leave a Comment »

Upper East Side 1Br Market – At the end of June I analyzed the 1Br Market for properties on the Upper East Side between 65th to 83rd and York Ave to 3rd Avenue priced between $400,000 to $650,000. The average price for these units was about $490,000. Median around $485K. The majority were straight 1Brs without an alcoves but respectably sized. Many were in full-service doorman coops. The best prices were East of 2nd Avenue.

Since the end of June buyer activity seems to have slowed a tad overall and in this area too. Read more…

Leave a Comment »