Price Madness on All the West Sides

465 West 23rd Street. Photo-Illustration: Curbed; Photos: Corcoran Listen, it’s not as though getting an apartment in New York has ever been easy. But one could probably argue it has never been harder than it is right now. The most god-awful studios are regularly renting for thousands and thousands of dollars with lines of interested tenants out the door. Here, we’ll find the actually worth-looking-ats, the actually worth-the-costs, and the surprisingly affordable-for-those-parquet-floors from around the internet. When AI threatens to render you extinct within the next decade, just look at more real estate! This week, the theme was West. I stuck mostly to neighborhoods with West in the name: West Chelsea, the Upper West Side, the West Village. (I threw in Brooklyn Heights and FiDi for good measure.) These western towns are not cheap, let me tell you – lots of expensive studios and basically nothing under $4,000 downtown. You’ll have to excuse my griping once we get to the West Village, but boy oh boy does the inventory there scream housing crisis. Then again, if civilization is ending anyway, what’s another rent hike? $4,000, studio: An unfortunately perfect and overpriced studio apartment with black lacquer tiling in the kitchen that’s so chic to me, I find it frankly moving. $4,500, studio (pictured above): Another tasteful apartment (pictured above, in the London Terrace apartments) the size of a shoe closet. Great floors in this shoe closet, though. $3,695, 1-bedroom (pictured): One of the more affordable studios I could find in Manhattan this week. The mantel is cute, the kitchen is pathetic. You win some, you lose some. $3,795, 1-bedroom: A dream-scenario apartment with a wood-burning fireplace and rooftop terrace. You have to be comfortable knowing your apartment is no larger than a two-car garage. $2,895, studio: A chambre de bonne–style studio with slanted ceilings, another fireplace and beautiful, multi-paned windows (though I’m pretty sure those are the only two in the place). $13,950, 2-bedroom: Very smooth-guy renovation on this absurdly expensive but undoubtedly luxurious two-bedroom. I like the slightly coffered ceiling and it’s in one of my favorite buildings, the Apthorp. $5,110, 1-bedroom: Garden level apartment in a clapboard house that hasn’t been ruined by renovation, but hasn’t been updated in a while either. The bathroom has some nice art-deco tiling and the the backyard is…backyard-y. $2,850, studio: Sure to be the cheapest apartment in the neighborhood. The highlights end where the parquet does, when the pre-war charm is eclipsed by Home Depot kitchen and bathroom tiling. $4,700, 1-bedroom (pictured): Four story walk up with beautiful windows that I imagine give way to beautiful views because you’re basically on the water. $4,000, 1-bedroom (pictured): The first rendering might not be real, but if it is then you’re looking through stunning windows directly toward the Brooklyn Bridge. If it isn’t, you’re looking at PVC windows and a windowless fitness center. $3,700, studio (pictured): If you like track lighting, then you’ll love it here! Nicely nineties-designed micro-apartment with helpfully large window to help with feelings of claustrophobia. Built-in shelves everywhere to help with that too. $6,950, 3-bedroom: Trying to use my imagine here and think of a young, recent graduate who might enjoy the bedroom to price ratio, even if there are only three windows. $9,000, 1-bedroom (pictured): Hahahahhahahhaha. Sorry. $9,000 a month for a one-bedroom on Christopher Street has broken my brain. Though, the leaded windows are fab and the rounded curves are lovely, but I can’t believe we’ve all agreed that this costs six figures a year now. $11,000, 1-bedroom: Eleven thousand dollars a month is obviously deranged, but unfortunately this apartment is a pretty good reason to enter financial ruin. Two-bedroom with three exposures in a handsome, 1920s building. $3,995, studio: This pricing is more like it – though it’s still steep for a studio. But at least this rip off comes with some charm in the white-painted brick. $5,500, 1-bedroom: I guess this is considered normal now? Another case of getting away with murder because you have a wood-burning fireplace to market. Price Madness on All the West Sides Your product is saved! You’ll receive emails when your saved products go on sale. Manage preferences.