HGTV's "Selling New York" Recap of Episode 13 - The Big Finale!
HGTV's "Selling New York" Episode 13: The Finale
Episode Title: "Glamour and High Business"Episode Description: Two agencies attempt to lure millionaire buyers.
In this finale episode of "Selling New York," the HGTV series, we see two $20 million apartments. One of them is the apartment of fabric purveyor Christopher Hyland, being chased by Michael Graves and Kirk Rundhaug of Core Group, and the other is in the former Stanhope Hotel, repped by Michelle Kleier of Gumley Haft Kleier. By the end of the episode ... one sells.
And no, I'm not going to spoil it by telling you which one.
I am, however, going to consider the question: "What makes an apartment worth $20 million?"
This is especially interesting to me because I can think of at least two apartments in New York that are being offered north of that number but are worth maybe half that. It really gets us into the range of sellers going: "WTF, let me put this on the market and see if anyone will pay that for it."
However there are some general yardsticks that buyers are going to use. They are:
- Location. Oh, come on, you knew I was going to say that. In general in New York City, the most expensive properties are on Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue, with a smattering of fancy prices downtown, and some hyper-expensive listings on Central Park West.
- Fanciness of neighbors. Exclusivity is worth something, and there are some posh co-ops that even gazillionaires can't change (Madonna buying a townhouse after being denied the ability to expand her current apartment is an easy example). But there are more rich people than can make it past the gates of the exclusive co-ops, and they tend to congregate in condo buildings near each other. 15 Central Park West, for example, is known as the "billionaires' building," because owners include a bunch of bankers, Denzel Washington, and Sting.
- Sheer size. The Chelsea Mercantile apartment on the show is 4,000 square feet; the Stanhope apartment is 8,360.
- Room size. In NYC, a long living room, a triple-height anything, a big terrace, a giant master suite -- all move the odometer.
- Ornateness. Joan Rivers' apartment (not shown on Selling New York, but here courtesy of Moneywatch) is gilded in many places. Similarly, Christopher Hyland's apartment has larger-than-typical foot-high baseboards. In this episode of "Selling New York," Kirk Rundhaug shows an apartment on Bond Street -- with a killer La Cornue stove.
- View. This often comes with outdoor space, with which to enjoy it ... Conan O'Brien's place, another Moneywatch fave, has three terraces, including one that faces west over Central Park. For just $29.5 million! Also popular are river views, views of iconic landmarks like the Empire State Building, and, in a high rise, simply being taller than everybody else. And for really expensive apartments, it's not enough to have these magnificent views from the living room; you need a killer view from, say, the powder room that guests use.
- Room for staff. In a city where many upper-middle class people have live-in childcare, one consideration in a mega-apartment is where to put them or other live-in help. This has been well thought-out in the Stanhope, which offers a staff room with its own bath; in reality, I think, anyone buying a $20 million apartment would probably have two live-in staffers, one to mind the children and one to cook, but they would simply convert the fifth bedroom into the cook's room.
- His and hers -- everything. If the mark of a slightly fancy NYC apartment is double sinks in the master bath, so two people can get ready to go to work at the same time to pay that giant mortgage, the mark of a really fancy NYC apartment is his-and-hers bathrooms. Advantage, Stanhope. Featured Properties: 995 Fifth Avenue, the Stanhope; 252 Seventh Avenue, the Chelsea Mercantile.
Here at Moneywatch, we're happy to hear your comments about "Selling New York," which has been renewed for a second season -- just post your comments below.
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