Welcome back to Splurge/Steal, a feature that we've shamelessly borrowed from our friends at Eater. In it, we give you five high-class apartments in a particular neighborhood and five more affordable (but still probably not all that affordable) versions of each one. Got any tips? Send them in to our tipline.
1) 151 East 85th Street #1415B ($11,000,000) / 171 East 84th Street #5G ($995,000)
Similarities: Break out the ark because both of these apartments are flooded with sunlight. The listing for 85th reads, “Enter into this sun-flooded and gracious?” while the listing for 84th reads, “This sun-flooded fabulous?” In addition, both units have marble baths and eat-in kitchens and both buildings feature swimming pools.
Differences: Well, for starters, one is gracious and the other is fabulous. Also the pool in 85th is teal while the one in 84th is more of an aquamarine color. And 85th is approximately five times the size and has an additional floor.
2) 936 Fifth Avenue #12A ($5,500,00) / 25 East 83rd Street #10D ($999,999)
Similarities: Considering the $4.5M price difference, these two co-ops are a lot closer in size than you might expect—Fifth has six rooms (2BR, 2.5BA) and East 83rd has four (1BR, 2BA). Plus both offer pretty expansive views (83rd is on the 10th floor and Fifth is on the 12th.)
Differences: Fifth has the brokerbabble to justify its price tag—the bathroom alone features "Ann Sacks tiles" (Ann Sacks!), "a custom wood and limestone vanity" (what?), and "a large multi-jet walk in shower" (okay, that sounds pretty nice.) Fifth is also adamant about not allowing dogs, while 83rd does not specify.
3) 188 East 78th Street #26FLR ($14,950,000) / 343 East 74th Street #21C ($759,000)
Similarities: Multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, open spaces, nice views, marble baths. Both have been on the market for a little while and have had their prices chopped.
Differences: Guess what. The $15M apartment is a lot fancier. Also over 5,000 square feet bigger with 2 additional bedrooms and 2.5 additional bathrooms. The owner happens to be developer Trevor Davis.
4) 949 Park Avenue #TRIP456 ($6,750,000) / 135 East 83rd Street #45C ($1,695,000)
Similarities: Multiple bed and bathrooms, multiple floors, large hallways.
Differences: Park, in addition to having an extra floor, is much more... showy . Some might say gaudy. There are floor-to-ceiling windows and pretty crazy patterns on a lot of the wallpaper and chairs. (Keep in mind, however, that the photos are from a model unit.) East 83rd, meanwhile, is comfortingly normal.
5) 1049 Fifth Avenue #9A ($5,400,000) / 530 East 76th Street #24C ($860,000)
Similarities: High ceilings, large windows and multi-colored interiors probably contribute to the weird lighting in these apartments, which both give off the impression that there is a stained-glass window just out of the shot.
Differences: Most of the important things—size, price, etc. East 76th, however, has a swimming pool in the building.
?Jeremiah Budin
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