Welcome to It Happened One Weekend, our weekly roundup of The New York Times real estate section...
1) 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 Hunters
Two families looking to live under one roof
Price
Dream: Under $2 million
Reality: $1.375 million
Neighborhood
Dream: Windsor Terrace
Reality: Windsor Terrace
Amenities
Dream: A two-family house
Reality: Two matching apartments under one roof with a shared basement
Summary
Two Windsor Terrace-raised sisters with hyphenated last names, their husbands, and their families had long wanted to move in together. Mother nature sped up the process. You see, one of them, already with a daughter, found herself expecting twins. They made a number of offers in South Slope and Windsor Terrace. At one point, a cash buyer beat them. At another, the fact that their deal was conditioned on the sale of their existing condos killed the deal. At still another, they simply never got a response. Eventually, they met a broker who pointed them to a not-yet-on-the-market two-story home in Windsor Terrace. It had two matching three-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments for the families, which now contain two and three children, respectively. The big plus: The parents don't have to worry about ripping the cousins apart as often. Sounds sort of Brady Bunch-like, no? [The Hunt/In Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, One Roof for Two Households]
2) "Trends," a.k.a. The Times Is On It: Continuing with the theme of living VERY nearby, the Times also devoted an entire piece to people who move to the same building as their friends. It starts out with the story of three couples who all ended up in the "foreign country" of Brooklyn (Oy. Eyeroll. Reminds one of Brian Williams's joke about the NYT's discovery of the borough). Anyway, they all moved to 388 Bridge, the most populous borough's tallest building. And... they love it. Some of them even coordinate their commutes.
These co-dependent city dwellers say their situation provides emotional support; a friend is always (really) close by. Also living in the same building increases the likelihood of pajama parties. Because expert advice on these trends is a must, an NYU Langone psychology professor piped up to say that living near friends can boost self-confidence. Privacy can become a bit of a concern, but ground rules and common sense help handle that problem. We're all grown-ups, right? Who, apparently, live in a veritable adult-ified dorm. [The Gang's All Here; Above Photo of 388 Bridge Street via Google Maps]