Out and About: It’ll cost ya plenty to see forever

Central Park on Dec. 20, 2009. (Flickr photo by Michael McDonough)

For some buyers, nothing is more important than a view.  Although that’s not my priority, I get it.

But what is a view worth?  I make the calculation below.

Consider a pathetically dated apartment close to the top of an exceedingly tall high-rise that harks back to its beginnings in 1971.  In the Lincoln Square area, this one-bedroom, one-and-half-bath condo has been listed since May 2009.  Because it is a rarely used pied-à-terre, the condition is superb–but the style is so out of fashion.

Although some consumers might be enamored of obsolesence, others may well find fault with the laminate countertops in the kitchen, standard-height popcorn ceilings and bifold doors.

Still, those views over the expanse of Central Park north to the George Washington Bridge, east beyond LaGuardia and south to the vaunted Manhattan skyline are hard to come by!  They are spectacular, and they’ll cost you.

This 947-sf apartment went on the market for

Do you enjoy the sight of sausage being made?

This co-op in the west 60s is attractive and, below $600,000, pretty well priced. But notice its placement next to the entrance and essentially in the living room.

Some time ago, perhaps years, I wrote that kitchen trends inevitably change.

We can walk into a property and immediately classify that room as a product of the 60s, 70s, 80s and so on.  I predicted that the era of stainless steel and granite soon would end.

Apparently, I made the suggestion prematurely, though I am certain that, in time, I will be correct.  You know, like a stopped clock.

I also believe that open kitchens