Archive for Blog

We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Writeoff–America’s Most Expensive Rentals

Only in America, the land of the free, could you rent a house (albeit a 25-acre estate off of Sunset Boulevard) for $2.34 million a year. Unless you plan on making 9 of the 10 bedrooms and 29,000 of the 30,000 square feet into a “business” writeoff, $195,000 per month is a lot of money. [...]

9 Portable Fireplaces-The Yule Log NYC Style

There’s something magical about staring into dancing flames, especially when your belly is full of holiday fare. Unfortunately, not a lot of New York apartments have a fireplace. Up until now, New Yorkers have resorted to breaking out their fireplace DVDs at this time of year–but no more! Now there are options in a variety [...]

One57 Launches Sales–Starting at $6.75M

The 90-story behemoth that goes by “One57″ is home to 95 condos, perched atop a Park Hyatt hotel with dizzying views that could stretch clear into the Bronx on a bluebird day (although the selling point is more likely that they overlook Central Park.) But like the Empire State Building and 30 Rock, there’s no [...]

2011 Holiday Tipping Guide

When the black Friday crowds hit the streets, it’s a key indicator that tipping season has begun. Even if you’ve been doing it every year, it seems it’s nevertheless an annual deliberation: How much should I tip my building staff? Thankfully, BrickUnderground has put together some guidelines for New York City in particular: Super, resident [...]

Can Couture…High Tech Lavatories and Luscious Loos

It’s a well-known fact that a bathroom remodel will add value to your home, but some have taken their can couture a step further. Photo: All Dreaming This Jan Wooseok invention combines space-age design with 21st-century eco-conscientiousness. The sink/toilet combo decreases water consumption by diverting gray water from the sink drain into the toilet. This [...]

Jennifer Aniston Buys 3rd NYC Apartment this Year

Jennifer Aniston seems to be embracing the move from LA to New York with excessive fervor. Do you blame her? After trading in a 9,000 square foot LA mansion, smog, and gridlock this past spring for adjoining apartments at 299 W. 12th Street in the West Village, Aniston has now plunked down $9 million on [...]

Where Have All The Listings Gone?

Does it seem like there are paltry pickings when you’re surfing around looking for real estate? It doesn’t just seem so, it is so. Beginning in the fourth quarter of last year, listings dropped for seven consecutive months, and after a brief seasonal uptick in the second quarter they’ve dropped again. Naturally there is no [...]

Citigroup Chief’s Penthouse Up For Grabs at $88 Million

In a growing trend of millionaires asking double what they paid for their properties, former chairman and CEO of Citigroup Sanford Weill and his wife Joan have put their 15 Central Park West penthouse on the market for $88 million. The couple bought the 4 bedroom, 6 1/2 bath apartment in 2007 for $43.7 million. [...]

Home Prices Rise in NY, Drop Nationwide

Over the 12 months between September 2010 and September 2011, four states reported a drop of 8% or more in home prices, and 12 more reported decreases of between 4 and 8 percent. Nationwide, prices dropped 4.1% since last year, primarily due to distressed sales–without those, the decline was 1.1% New York came in as [...]

Manhattan Retail Space Up, Office Space Down

With world economies in a state of flux, office space rentals in Manhattan have dropped 20% in the last four months–the most dismal period since 2009. Despite this drop, the beginning-of-the-year surge should make up for this loss, bringing annual office space leasing activity in equal to, if not even a bit higher than, last [...]