Sale at 400 East 56th Street #14K

I don't know if I agree exactly with dragging all these bottom of the barrel apartments through the mud, but your larger (apparent) point that inventory in this price range right now is awful is well taken.

You're paying for neighborhood, one block off Sutton Place, doorman and concierge, views, health club, pool, and Manhattan. Get used to it.

"Kitchen looks horribly" - agree with you.
"You're paying for neighborhood" - no thx.

@pier45 just bringing some honesty to the dialogue about Manhattan RE, people will cheat you if you let them and RE agents and sellers need to get some push back on some of these horrible units with absurd asks. ESPECIALLY on the lower price point units because quality to price ratio is lower than expensive units.

"ESPECIALLY on the lower price point " aren't you more likely to find units with cosmetic deficiencies?

Look, Understand your frustration at high prices but if no one buys, they will come down. Do you have a view on when and why they will come down for studios?

@30yrs you are missing the point on value... but I assume you are an agent so your job is to give as little value as possible, no offense.

@300_mercer it was frustration at first but now it's become humorous looking at the crap vs. ask. I'm the market and I'm not looking for a "steal" but I don't see any value in what's being offered. Many of the asks are over $1000 sq/ft which is hyper inflated given their locations, appearance, finishes, condition, maintenance.

As for when prices will come down, that's anybody's guess. Markets can stay inflated for a long time, remember "irrational exuberance"? People will hold out hope as long as they can because it only takes one sucker with money to buy their unit. The only foreseeable event that could bring down real estate prices depends on who wins the election.

Look, At $1000 per sq ft needing reno is still a very good deal in Manhattan. The listing you posted seems more in $1500+ per sq ft range.

This one for example looks good in price assuming no issues with the building. You are getting convertible 1 bed room and can possibly negotiate another $10-20k down.

I mean 400 East 56th.

@300_mercer it's far from the worst unit I've seen (faint praise), I take issue with sheer ugliness of the finishes. The owner could have used the same amount of money or less and made a much better looking apartment. The light reflected off the awful carpet and the yellow walls turn the room a sickly green. Ripping up the carpet and putting down new flooring is a hassle and a half. The kitchen is just yuck. Based on the furniture, the dimensions of the unit look fudged, how much is hard to tell.

The thing that annoys me with these low price point listings is not so much the condition or the price (both of which are inevitably related, and set by the market), but the hype about things that no sane buyer is going to care about or be fooled by.

It's so tedious reading in listings for mediocre apartments that Katherine Hepburn lived next door, or it's steps from MOMA, you can see the Empire State Building, or that the building has a live-in super (as required *by law*).

What kind of imaginary future resident will be impressed by these things? Why not tell it like it is - the price is hard to beat, you can walk to work, it's a good first step on the ownership ladder, you won't have a landlord trying to screw you any more. These are the good things about low-end apartments, and the real reasons people buy them.

As for Plaza 400 - I wouldn't worry about the decor so much , that building has some stringent financial requirements,. If you can get past that, then any renovation require to fix the aesthetics is just spare change.

I'm not the listing agent, but it seems to me like the argument for this apartment, like most starter apartments, is financial -- at current interest rates, you could buy this one for about $2800 out of pocket a month, and it would probably cost you $2400 to rent something similar. For buyers in a certain tax bracket, the $400 gap is going to come back in tax savings. So you come out to basically even rent-vs-buy.

While you're giving up alternate uses of your $100K down payment, you are also building about $7K per year in equity, which is not nothing.

Obviously the OP of this thread thinks that what he/she can rent-equivalent has nicer finishes, and that's the deciding factor for him/her, but at some point a different buyer might like the lock-in-your-costs-factor as well as the amenities factor -- is what you can rent for $2400 going to have the same level of amenities and service?

But this is all much harder to say in an ad than, "expansive, high floor, closets... separate kitchen... closets" which I think actually does a good job of covering it.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

Ali, Nice post about the calculation a buyer should be doing. As a renter you are subject to rent increases and as an owner you can enjoy price appreciation. If the area is to a buyer's liking, this apartment does seem nice. Easy cosmetic fixes of $25k will make it comparable to typical doorman rental for a studio. Also, it is much bigger than a studio you can rent.

+1 on both Ali and 300Mercer posts.

That was supposed to be "plus 1" - i.e., "Agree."

Ali... yes, but... maintenance in most building has been going up at the same pace as rent lately, so the "lock-in-your-costs" factor is much less true than it used to be. Back to the point, with some modest updates, that would be a great unit in any case, and Plaza 400 would be a fine place to live.

Lanzz, If maintenance and taxes are 50% of your monthlies, still there is partial inflation lock. If you are planning to stay for a while (7-10y, otherwise buying does not make sense), you do not have to pay moving cost, rental commissions and hassle of moving. In addition, there is a premium in my mind for being able to customize the apartment you buy to your liking and needs. That is rarely possible in rentals.