price difference for higher floors

Depends on how much better the light & view are. Yes, there is some value in less noise by being higher above a street, but after that it just depends. Building comparables are best way to go in judging this. Any standard measure would be deeply flawed--9th versus 4th floor in a low-rise Chelsea neighborhood may be of great value-added, but the 40th floor versus the 28th floor of an Eastside apt. building may be meaningless if the views are essentially the same. In fact, height can be a minus if a terrace on the higher apartment becomes unusable because it is so high up that the wind feels like it's about to suck you off the thing. In walkups the calculus is all mixed up, too.

Ok, this is going to sound weird but sometimes is pays to ask about the speed of the elevator in the building, especially in older coops. I live on the 3rd floor of an UWS side, 12-story building and I consider the lower floor a bonus over higher floors. While the views aren't as nice I can easily take the stairs when the elevator ia taking too long,cutting out 20 minutes of wait time (especially in the mornnings). This is a real, tangible quality of life upside. How do you measure this?? Hmm..

Lots of variables I guess. I've looked at some new construction websites and the same line apartments seem to be priced roughly 1.5% more per floor. I've tried looking at comps for resales, but they're all over the place. Is there a standard that brokers go by if views, etc are similar in a hi rise?

$325,000 increase per higher floor is norm in Chelsea.

You are trying too hard to quantify this. You aren't going to get a satisfactory answer. The reason that you correctly observe that comparables are "all over the place" is because floor number is only one of many factors and other than sometimes in new construction, all other factors are never constant.

I too was looking for a way to quantify it... because there was none, I went with value and short elevator wait time with a low floor.

Don't open city views or an actual view of some landmark building command slight premiums in an elevator building? I remember once reading an article that even a fireplace can add value (I think it was an extra $50,000) to a Manhattan apartment. This sounds rational considering it's a feature that can't be built in during a renovation just like a nice view or loads of light.

Once again: Yes. Views are good. Sky is good. Landmarks like Empire State Building in view are very good. No one knowledgable about RE will say different. Yes, the higher the better as a general rule. But this thread started with a request for a formula to quantify the value of these things. There isn't a formula. Look at comparables. Are we done yet?

right..no formula but brokers say to each other 5-7,500/per floor, especially the ones I know..As you should get more light and better views the higher you go. But its such a varied thing that you need to use some creativity in pricing per floor. If there is a huge building that doesnt get cleared until floor 20, obviously floors 21+ will be sig higher than units that dont clear the bldg and the formula above doesnt apply. Then there are those exposures that do not differ much from say the 5th floor to the 10th floor. So, every case is different. Check comps and analyze that way as kylewest says

I wanna know about the terrace so high up you feel like your going to get sucked off the thing. Has that ever happened?

It is a good thing there are no monkeys in NY

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2477756.cms

If it's a coop, one thing is to compare the maintenance of some units within the same line to see how the building measures value - typically the higher the floor the higher the maintenance fees because you're buying more shares.

grunty, elevator speed is a good point. The buyer can test it out for himself and then decide.

uptowngal is right about maintenance. Ironically, higher floors may have higher values so the coop assigns higher number of shares to the unit which causes monthly fees on the higher unit to be higher than lower floors which can in turn drive down the apartment value. Ah, nothing is easy, is it?

No Juiceman. I don't think anyone has ever been sucked off a terrace like a flying monkey. Can you imagine? But I've been on terraces just 12 stories high where the winds were so strong that cast iron furniture sometimes moved and all plants soon died. I suppose the degree of exposure and surrounding structures impacts this. Just something to keep in mind. That summer breakfast on the terrace may be more like eating in a wind tunnel over traffic.

what do you think about ceiling height vs floor level? ie do you think a tribeca apt on the second floor with 11.5 ceilings should be more or less than an apt on the fourth floor with 9.5 ceilings? neither have much of a view.

urbandigs (Noah?) is getting closer. When you say from 5-7,500/per floor is that for the average ($1.4 mil 1.5 bedroom) apartment? There's no equivalent percentage that can be applied to both starter studios and huge luxury apartments?