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? "The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again." So wrote the epic fantasist Robert Jordan, and so it goes with real estate prices in New York, as a recent article in The Times reveals. It turns out that the very same people who were once priced out of Manhattan and into Brooklyn are now finding their fortunes reversed. Brooklyn (well, the parts with all the rich white people, at least) has become too expensive, with median prices reaching $610,894 in the first quarter of 2015. Take hero Meredith Krantz, whose plan for a home in the Village was dashed in 2005 when she settled for a lowly one-bedroom in Boerum Hill instead. Years later, she's sold the place and can now afford a $650,000 studio apartment in the West Village. Of course, it's up for debate whether trading an apartment with a working fireplace and outdoor space for a studio apartment can truly be considered a success, but whatever! In the end, dreams do come true. Hooray for Meredith! ["Priced Out of Brooklyn? Try Manhattan"]
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 man looking to buy a pied-à-terre
Price
Dream: $2 million
Reality: $1.66 million
Neighborhood
Dream: East Side
Reality: East Harlem
Amenities
Dream: 2BR, contemporary, close to FDR
Reality: 2BR, duplex, terrace, close to FDR
Summary
his weekend's Hunter is a Brooklyn-native looking to buy a pied-à-terre on the East Side of Manhattan. After getting a job in The Bronx, Mr. Caudon's commute from Prospect Heights to Castle Hill turned out to be an utter nightmare, so he decided to look for a second apartment near the FDR. With a budget of $2 million, he sought a contemporary two-bedroom for him and his family, eventually settling on an apartment in a relatively new building in East Harlem. The place is a duplex with 1,500 square feet of space and an 800-square-foot terrace. He paid $1.66 million and moved in last winter. There's also a funny story about all of his pillows and linens blowing off his terrace and across Lexington Avenue because he didn't tie them down properly. Whoops! [The Hunt/Something Between Brooklyn and the Bronx; photo via Joel Raskin/Curbed Photo Pool]