what's an extra bed and bath worth?

Why can't you convert one but you can convert the other? That can have a difference, for example, more windows, or windows that are or are not "lot line." Short of that, you can look at citywide pricing per-square foot averages for one bed and two beds and they tend to get materially higher rates for two beds. Whether this can be held to a financial model that suggests the second bedroom in and of itself is the sole variable in the price difference is a complex matter. By that logic, the mere act of putting up a wall would seem a wise investment for many ...

Yeah, that was the reason for my asking. I wasn't interested in converting my own place, but rather what the 'average' difference in price is, everything else being exactly equal.

Can't give you an answer in#'s, but the short answer is that extra bed and bath are worth a LOT. Single person or couple can stay there after child arrives. 2 roomates can share it. Single person can have study which can function as guest bedroom, etc.

At least 10 percent more, if not 20 percent if the sq footage is >950 sq ft / new condo 1050 sq ft, which in my opinion is the smallest 2 bed 2 bath possible by NYC standards.

The magic wall!

300_Mercer, when you say 950 square feet do you mean an architect measuring 950 going to the middles of walls etc, or do you mean purely usable feet? We are looking at a one bedroom we can easily convert to a two bedroom that is claiming to be around 950 feet, but our measurements of the core usable feet put it closer to 875. I felt like 875 was a bit small and am concerned about reselling. Thoughts? Or is the architect measured size of 950 what I should go by?

Extra bedroom for the cat seems like a little much.

Are all your hesitations based strictly on the "listed" square feet, or are you actually concerned that the apartment will feel too small for your actual living comfort? Will anyone walking into the apartment feel that it's a really tight fit, and uncomfortably small?

Ph41, you know that is a good question... we are worried about it all. A good remodel from a one bed to two in this place would require a LOT of work and a lot of money. You can't know how a place will feel until you walk in so...................

This question was set up very well, and I will add the assumption that neither apartment feels either too cramped or too large (whatever that is).

In many other parts of the country, especially suburbia, the extra bedroom and bath would be considered a nicety, but wouldn't really add very much to the rent or sale price.

In the denser parts of cities like NY, SF, and DC, which were largely abandoned by middle-class and wealthier families for a couple of generations, huge numbers of larger houses/apartments were split up into studios and 1BRs to accommodate the new social realities: young people living alone as singles (rather than going directly from parents' house to house with spouse); divorce; the epidemic of homosexualists [exception being, of course, lesbionic girls, who always couple up as soon as they meet, and need room for lots of cats); non-driving downsizing retirees.

Immigration reform beginning in the 1920s meant that by the 1950s, the supply of servants to keep bigger homes running had dwindled, and technology made it easier to do without them anyway.

That trend reversed massively in those cities, and tech/FIRE industries concentrated worldwide income and wealth in those cities, so each extra bedroom now comes with an enormous premium. Whether permanently or not is the bigger question.

The OP's question, I mean.

My question was really relative to the current lack of inventory and and price per square foot. Buyers with children sensitive to particular school districts would seem poised to pay a significant premium given the lack of options.

Alanhart I find your references to our LGBT friends to be insulting and inappropriate.

950 middle of the outside wall, everything inside included. This is as tight as you can get: Min master bedroom size 150 sq ft plus 20 sq ft closet, second bedroom 110 plus 10 sq ft closet, min living room 200 sq ft. 2 baths 80sq ft, kitchen 50 sq ft. Hallways/ wasted space 100 sq ft. Walls interior plus part exterior 120 sq ft. Common closet 10 sq ft. 850 sq ft but very tight.

Guywithcat, look for junior 4 in a postwar / white brick where dining area is top of the kitchen and can be closed off. The layout is very efficient and these are typically advertised as 850/900 sq ft. Normally, exterior walls are not included for these buildings.

300, how do you hold a straight face when responding to CatGuy?

300_mercer thanks so much.

300-merc: So this falls short by 110 square feet and would, by your definition, be considered uninhabitable? : http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/844464-condo-98-saint-marks-avenue-prospect-heights-brooklyn

I think it is tight with limited closet space(broom closet, coat closet?). But there are people who would consider it adequate. Living room dimensions are using the widest part. Do not confuse tight with inhabitable.

http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/830106-condo-201-east-36th-street-murray-hill-new-york
For guy with cat. Btw, I realize it is caterpillar, but why invite all the jokes?

>For guy with cat. Btw, I realize it is caterpillar, but why invite all the jokes?

You think a guy in Manhattan has a Caterpillar? Where does it fit in his 1 or 2 bedroom? Or does he park it on the street?

I've known some of the recent transplants to Manhattan to own large minivans like Range Rovers and the like, so why not Caterpillars?

Lessover, who do you suppose Catboy is by day? The last parson anybody'd ever suspect is nerdy Barbitol Boredom, son of the Chief Hall Monitor.

>Lessover, who do you suppose Catboy is by day? The last parson anybody'd ever suspect is nerdy Barbitol Boredom, son of the Chief Hall Monitor.

Somewhereelse?