Buyers Willing to Look Anywhere

Condo buyers are hopscotching among neighborhoods more than ever, says Douglas Elliman’s Frances Katzen, whom we snapped in her 51st and Madison office. One client who lives in SoHo now, for instance, doesn’t want to be in Tribeca just to the south, so Frances is showing her around the West Village and even the UES’s Carnegie Hill. And the finance guys renting in Midtown are ready to buy in Gramercy and Flatiron.

While some had never considered Chelsea, a longtime favorite of the gay community, buyers, including families, are happy to live in the neighborhood that the art galleries and the High Line have built. One of Frances' clients initially excluded Chelsea, but she recently sold him a unit in 520 W 19th (which we snapped, above). Frances also says the UES east of Lexington no longer is the less desirable alternative among the Uppers. Valuation is changing as the Second Avenue subway gets closer to reality, she says. Plus condo and co-op boards there aren’t as tough to get past, and the lower prices allow more flexibility for families to renovate into multiple bedrooms.

Frances and her Douglas Elliman colleagues also are marketing 35XV at 35 W 15th St, ready for occupancy this fall. Few know about Alchemy’s first foray into high-end residential because of its midblock location between three neighborhoods: Greenwich Village, Union Square, and Chelsea. But the midblock location also means insane views, she says. (Plus, every day feels like a hug.) She started repping the building six weeks ago and has raised it from half to 72% sold.