Studios vs one bedroom apartments

One bedroom is always, alway better for resale. There is a glut of studios on the market now and will continue making the price go down. One bedrooms are a much better value.

You should be able to flip either no problem, but I think the studio might be the better bet as a lot of the junior Wall Street guys like to pick them up.

Studios and one bedroom score the same per Sq foot usually. The big leap are two bedroom apts, where the price per sq feet makes a huge jump.

In the late 80s/early 90s recession, studios absolutely tanked, while one-bedrooms held up a little better. (The first apartment I bought in New York was an alcove studio with a doorman and Empire State views, for $65,000.)

The question is therefore whether history would repeat itself in the event of a downturn. My gut feeling is "no," because I feel like a lot of the studio market is now supported by fairly wealthy pied-a-terre buyers.

Hubby and I live in a condo studio, and our neighbors on either side are suburban boomers for whom these are second homes.

However, to the extent that I've seen price softening in my neighborhoods (I work Chelsea/Village/SoHo/Tribeca) I feel like studios are slipping more than one-bedrooms are.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

This is a relevant article in NYT (might be already a little outdated though):

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/realestate/03cov.html

It seems that studios were never hot until 10 years ago when the housing market was really booming; also, some banks wouldn't offer mortgages for studios. Then young kids were buying them as their first homes and now retirees are buying them as pied-a-terres. As a result there was this huge surge in value, so the price differential btw studios & 1 BR's began to narrow.

I think 1 BR's will hold their value better than studios, but I don't see the latter sinking back to late 80/early 90 levels, as there's still a market for them.

What you might see is people upgrading from studios to 1 br's; many studio buyers purchased w the idea of living there for 2 years, only to end up there for 10.

I'm really surprised that this is a discussion because with a studio there isn't much you can do to enlarge it if things change..getting married, having baby. At least with a one bedroom you can divide the bedroom or change the living room around, etc.

Also, is there going to be a market where young kids are buying or will retirees be buying pied-a-terres. The economy is scaring everyone..retirees are losing money in the stock market and young people are worried about losing their jobs...I might be wrong.

Small one bedroom always better than same size studio or even little larger studio. People like to shut a bedroom door. Alcove studio is NOT a one bedroom if you put up a 3/4 wall.

I live in a large alcove studio with a nice view, and I must say there are some advantages vs. a one bedroom. When I bought, the purchase price was more than 45% lower than a one bedroom available in the same building. Common charges and property taxes are about 35% lower. While the one bedroom would have easily accommodated two adults comfortably, I live alone and appreciate the savings every month. If I ever do get "another half" I will ether make do with less space, or rent my place and contribute to a larger apartment.