1) This week's hunter, a professional organizer (literally: he helps people get organized), is living in a rent-stabilized apartment in the East 80s. His friends tell him he's crazy when he wants to move out, but he decides it's too small and dark for him, "like a ship's cabin" (and it's a sixth floor walkup.) He begins looking around Manhattan for a one-bedroom co-op under $400,000, which means he's probably going to find somewhere way bigger than his last place. His friends tell him that if he gets another sixth floor walkup, they won't come to visit him. That's not very nice, friends! But also, fair enough! He eventually settles on a studio on East 27th, which is fine because he is extremely, borderline scarily, organized. [The Hunt/'This Time, Function Wins']
2) The condo market seems to be on its way back, not to say that they're being built at the same rate they were in the mid-90s, but they are certainly experiencing something of a resurgence. Below 96th street, 1,500 new condo units per year are expected to hit the market over the next few years (compared to 900 a year over the past few.) But the demand is rising even faster than the supply. The average price per square foot is expected to increase from $1,400 to $2,000 once all the current projects are completed. The Times has a list of all the currently in-development projects. ['Back in Business']
3) Lincoln Square wasn't always a nice place to live, but it sure is now, if you've got the money. Liang Wang, the principal oboist for the New York Philharmonic, lives in a $2.1 million two-bedroom in the Aldyn. He describes it as "very soothing. I just make my reeds here and look out at the city with the Empire State Building, and it feels very open and private.” Now that just sounds nice. ['An Arts Incubator, Retuned for Extra Livability']