A growing number of wealthy NYC buyers are buying multiple, smaller units, bucking the trend toward large trophy apartments
Investors with $10 million to $15 million to spend have no shortage of New York City real estate to choose from. As of the middle of last month, there were 218 apartments listed in Manhattan in that price range.
But a growing number of well-heeled buyers are spreading their wealth among several apartments, instead of buying a single trophy unit, and …
by Riccardo Ravasini The Real Deal Magazine reports that the residential development at 400 Park Avenue South is something of an anomaly.
The 40-story building is part rental, part condo, with two developers sharing a general contractor and little else. At the base, Sam Zell’s Equity Residential is installing 269 rentals that will occupy floors two through 22. At the top, Toll Brothers City Living, run by David Von Spreckelsen, is building 81 condos on floors 22 through 40.
“It’s almost as if …
by Riccardo Ravasini 
After the summer, more sellers usually decide to list their apartment. This year is no exception.
Multiple apartments in the same building are hitting the market in rapid succession, as sellers look to replicate the high sales prices obtained by their neighbors.
The trend is particularly noticeable in gentrifying neighborhoods, especially in Brooklyn. And in many cases, it’s being led by opportunistic sellers looking to make a quick profit.
People start to follow each other when the market is right …
by Riccardo Ravasini The answer is a “yes” if the product in question is luxury real estate — and if you’re comparing it to property in other parts of the world.
There are a number of global cities where prices are far higher than they are in the Big Apple. Investors perceive the value in NYC offer.
And the prices differentials are pretty astounding in some cases. For example, in Monaco, the most expensive market in the world, homes average $6,200 per square …
by Riccardo Ravasini New York City is perpetually starved for space for new residential and commercial developments. But one proposed undertaking would yield an additional 400 to 800 acres: filling in the Harlem River.
So goes the proposal of Charles Urstadt, former New York state housing commissioner and namesake of 1971’s Urstadt Law, which handed Gotham’s power to pass local rent laws to the state legislature. In a recent article on Crain’s New York, Urstadt argued that plugging the Harlem River would not …
by Riccardo Ravasini The price spread between townhouses and condos is widening, thanks to the explosion of luxury condos in recent years.
On a price-per-foot basis townhouses are significantly undervalued in New York City. In the West Village, a beautiful and renovated townhouse can go for $3,000 a square foot, nearby condos range from $3,750 to $4,450 a foot.
What people can get in a co-op or condo is nowhere near what you can buy, on a square-footage basis, in a townhouse.
The …
by Riccardo Ravasini