Welcome to It Happened One Weekend, our weekly roundup of The New York Times real estate section...
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 buy
Price
Dream: $800,000
Reality: $799,000
Neighborhood
Dream: Midtown East
Reality: Midtown East
Amenities
Dream: Near Grand Central, 1BR, large kitchen
Reality: Near Grand Central, 1BR, pool/gym
Summary
This weekend's Hunter is a young woman originally from Bangladesh, who works in Fairfield County, CT. With a budget of $800,000, she started looking for one-bedrooms with large kitchens, close to Grand Central. She specifically wanted a "boxy one-bedroom in an elevator building with an attended lobby," which pretty much limited the search to postwar buildings in Midtown. Eventually, she found a 750-square-foot one-bed on East 40th asking $799,000. The kitchen is "very standard," but the building does have a gym and a pool. [The Hunt/A Midtown Apartment Near Grand Central; photo via DeShaun Craddock/Curbed Photo Pool]