Welcome to It Happened One Weekend, our weekly roundup of The New York Times real estate section...
1) Rich people. What are they spending millions of dollars on? What are they complaining about? This is What's Up With Rich People? This should surprise nobody, but it seems that rich people really like spending money on fully-furnished properties. "People love it because it's so easy," says decorator James Michael Howard, who recently spent $1.5 million on "cool accessories" from all over the world, including French and British antiques and custom rugs from Nepal, Turkey, and China, to furnish one of his turnkey properties in Watermill. This convenience will generally tack $250,000 to a few million to the price, but buyers will also "selectively replace some or most of the furniture" when they get their own interior decorator to roll through. So basically, you'd be paying more to throw stuff out! [For Sale: Multimillion-Dollar Homes, Fully Furnished]
2) Every "The Hunt" column begins with the Hunters describing the apartment they want, and ends with them rationalizing whatever they came away with. This is The Hunt: Dreams vs. Reality
The Hunter: a young woman looking to rent
Price
Dream: $3,500/month
Reality: $3,400/month
Neighborhood
Dream: "Residential Brooklyn"
Reality: Cobble Hill
Amenities
Dream: 2BR, sunny, quiet
Reality: 2BR, washer/dryer, exposed brick
Summary
This week's Hunter is a 22-year-old woman looking to rent in Brooklyn, after realizing that spending $1,875/month for half of a "flex" one-bedroom right next to Times Square wasn't ideal. She started looking for both two- and one-bedrooms in Brooklyn, starting in Cobble Hill and Williamsburg. Through a broker at Urban Compass, she eventually found a two-bedroom in a walkup in Cobble Hill, with enough room for her Seattle-based mother to visit. She's paying $3,400/month, plus a 13.5% broker fee. [The Hunt/"In Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, Quiet, Quaintness and Room for a V.I.P."; photo by Todd Holmes/Curbed Photo Pool]