Don't look at the prices

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2019/06/the-plaza-book-excerpt

If only Tom Wolfe were around

Well, the wife of 1309 died earlier this year, and perhaps the husband is downsizing (at the time of purchase they seem to have had 6 other homes up and down the east coast) or moving closer to his kids. It's likely that 'losing money' on this transaction is not a material concern for him.

A more material concern for him ought to be the hideous decor

It's a particular style and period, and a reasonably well executed example - though I could nitpick about whether painting the front hallway cornice and door lintels as faux stonework was the correct decision - a lintel is typically a single piece of stone - as painted, it's a structural problem. And why is the entry hall classical Greek, and the LR French? That said, it's a good floorplan - that BR adjacent to the LR really wants to be a library though.

Am I reading this right? 20% of units are for sale in the market currently?

What's a good ratio? Here there's 10 out of just shy of 200:

https://streeteasy.com/building/1-5-avenue-new_york

>> And why is the entry hall classical Greek, and the LR French?

For the same reason there’s a TV above the piano.

>> Am I reading this right? 20% of units are for sale in the market currently?

That’s how I’m reading it too. I’m always perplexed by the number of people who have little interest in being in NYC who nevertheless buy apartments in NYC.

“What is a good ratio?”

Mid-single digit percentage or lower. Percentage of units for sale is a factor of how long people stay and how long units take to sell.

20% (during the off-season) would imply that people only stay for five years and it takes a full year to sell their unit.

I was going to write off the TV/piano problem as 'the stager didn't know what do with the leftover furniture so threw it into the middle bedroom'.

I'm always perplexed by the number of people who have TVs in their NYC apartment. The happenings in his city make for the best (and sometimes the worst) live reality show around, and you can star, or at least be a bit player, in it. If I wanted to watch TV, I'd live a lot more cheaply in Nowhere.

@aaron why do I have a TV in my NYC apartment?

my clients are on it.

ali r.
{upstairs realty}

(I have clients who work law, finance, social work, tech, education too ... but entertainment definitely a big industry here.)

There is CNBC and are of course movies as your convenience.

I have a tv in every room in my house including baby’s room (and also have a piano, though my tvs are not above the piano).
I like on-demand entertainment on netflix, prime and disney. Available any time when i get home from work at a late hour, or if i need to stay up for a 4am feeding/pumping session.

Krolik, Congratulations!!

Aaron, Just saw the TV on top of piano. It doesn't work functionally. Guessing Piano was moved there from some other place.

I prefer tulips on an organ.

That TV is about as useful as TVs in elevators and hallways of office buildings, playing bloomberg financial news all day, but without sound or subtitles.

That TV above the piano is always muted too, but it’s showing Rachmaninoff the entire time.

Ha. Perhaps it is for Tiger Mom to bark instructions on the big screen at the kid learning piano.

Heh.

K, congrats!

Yes, everybody has reasons for owning & watching a TV, and is quick to trot them out to justify their life. I haven't had a TV for 30+ years, and am indifferent to the form and the vast majority of the content -- I much prefer live performance or a good book. (I do work in an environment that has several news and finance channels on constantly, so get plenty of exposure to programming's idea of 'important breaking events'.)

@Krolik congratulations!

congrats @Krolik !

Thank you! The baby and I are well!

Congratulations

Damn, piano already? Poor kid. To each their own, I suppose…

Congrats!