Build them special, and the buyers will come.For the past two years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time trend in new condominium condominium In modern property law, individual ownership of one dwelling unit within a multidwelling building. Unit owners have undivided ownership interest in the land and those portions of the building shared in common. construction has focused on large-space apartments, primarily two- and three-bedroom homes. Such contributing factors as luxury decontrol de·con·trol tr.v. de·con·trolled, de·con·trol·ling, de·con·trols To stop control of, especially by the government: decontrolled oil and natural-gas prices. of rent regulated apartments and the lack of existing large-home inventory - largely as a result of 1980's small-unit construction trends - have signaled the greatest demand for the least supply. Big residential space is at a premium in Manhattan, and developers are now responding by building family-sized homes, or by combining smaller units to create additional space. All this new construction is accompanied by hefty price tags, since high development costs in Manhattan necessitate ne·ces·si·tate tr.v. ne·ces·si·tat·ed, ne·ces·si·tat·ing, ne·ces·si·tates 1. To make necessary or unavoidable. 2. To require or compel. high asking prices. Throughout the city, large-space homes are now selling for prices traditionally associated with only the most expensive Manhattan areas. Nevertheless, the most marketable family homes are on the Upper East Side and Upper West Side. These units are in such demand they can sell even before completion of construction. For example, Marketing Directors was responsible for marketing The Siena, on Third Avenue and 76th Street. This 72-unit, luxury condominium sold out completely within five months from an off-site sales office - while construction was still underway - demonstrating that well-designed homes can fly off the market. Right now, on the Upper East and West sides, an estimated 500 large, family-sized units are newly built or under construction. But even with such benefits as good location, luxury amenities, and top-of-the-line services, developers seeking high-end buyers must still provide apartments that meet demanding design criteria Noun 1. design criteria - criteria that designers should meet in designing some system or device; "the job specifications summarized the design criteria" criterion, standard - the ideal in terms of which something can be judged; "they live by the standards of their . Appropriately designed space for today's market is more reminiscent of the 1930's style grand apartments than of modern box-style. Large kitchens with workspace for family cooking and eating are more desirable than small, galley galley, long, narrow vessel widely used in ancient and medieval times, propelled principally by oars but also fitted with sails. The earliest type was sometimes 150 ft (46 m) long with 50 oars. kitchens. Adaptable spaces, including large foyers that can be transformed into play areas for the kids, or alcoves in which computers may be easily installed, make an apartment more saleable sale·a·ble adj. Variant of salable. saleable or US salable Adjective fit for selling or capable of being sold saleability or US at a higher price. Other value-adding features in new buildings are high-speed lines for modems, heavy-duty electrical service Electrical service, in building wiring, refers to the wiring that connects the electric utility's cables in the street to the building. Specifically, electrical service is the wiring from the street, through the meter and up to the panelboard, but no farther. for computers and sophisticated entertainment centers, and work-at-home spaces. Traditionally, families spend more time at home, and today is no exception - it's just that they use high-tech equipment and toys. Since a new three-bedroom condominium apartment on Third Avenue can cost as much as $700 per square foot or more, certain extras are expected. Although accepting that they might not get a 10021 zip code zip code System of postal-zone codes (zip stands for “zone improvement plan”) introduced in the U.S. in 1963 to improve mail delivery and exploit electronic reading and sorting capabilities. for the price, today's buyers still demand such extras as playrooms, fitness rooms, and additional storage space. Well-informed developers also understand that outdoor terraces, which were so popular in 1960's through 1980's construction, have less value today than additional interior space. Abundant closets are no longer considered a luxury, they are de rigueur de ri·gueur adj. Required by the current fashion or custom; socially obligatory. [French : de, of + rigueur, rigor, strictness. . Another reminder: Sophisticated apartment-dwellers prefer some kind of a view to accompany a high sales price. As a result, in high-rise buildings high-rise building Multistory building taller than the maximum height people are willing to walk up, thus requiring vertical mechanical transportation. The introduction of safe passenger elevators made practical the erection of buildings more than four or five stories tall. , there is greater demand for apartments on higher floors. A viable solution is to design buildings with smaller homes on lower floors, thereby providing more affordable apartments for those who want new construction without the higher price tag. Attracting buyers to a new luxury building requires creative planning. It means bringing something more to the mix than just extra bedrooms, and calls for a more analytical approach to the "psychology of the home." Without admitting it - or even knowing it - buyers seeking large apartments have an almost suburban concept of living space. Therefore, a realistic recommendation for Manhattan developers is: build the homes smart - make them special... and the buyers will definitely come. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion