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Amy Schumer Just Bought A $12M UWS Penthouse

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America’s comedy darling remains an uptown girl.

Amy Schumer’s search for a new New York City home appears to have come to an end with the purchase of a $12.15 million penthouse at 190 Riverside Drive on the Upper West Side, according to a source familiar with the deal.

The duplex, a 4,500-square-foot, five-bedroom home, is perched atop a turn of the century building and features a wall of glass doors, coffered glass ceilings, a custom stone and glass gas fireplace, a wrap around terrace and a separate bedroom wing.

The comedian and actress appears to have gotten a sweet deal, since the property was first listed for $18.9 million last April.

The digs are certainly a massive step up from Schumer’s old home, a townhouse apartment on West 80th Street that’s currently on the market for $1.63 million with broker Adam Modlin .

Schumer and boyfriend Ben Hanisch have reportedly been scouting new properties for over a month, and also checked out a $15 million mansion at 352 Riverside Drive.

Though it’s unclear if Hanisch is moving into the building with Schumer, he should count himself lucky that it has two floors.

“I’ve been here for two and a half years and for a while had my comedian boyfriend move in with me, but sharing a studio is a bad idea,” she told Brick Underground in 2011 of her first Upper West Side pad. “We broke up for a month just because of that and we are now happily together living separately. I don’t think I ever want to share an apartment with anyone again, although it would be nice if he lived upstairs.”

Lisa Lippman and Scott Moore of Brown Harris Stevens had the Riverside listing. Lippman declined to confirm the deal, and a representative for Schumer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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68 Jane Street, Unit 1E

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68 Jane Street, Unit 1E

WEST VILLAGE, MANHATTAN

3 Bed  |  2.5 Bath  |  Duplex  |  Co-op

Offered At $5,250,000

 

This one-of-a-kind, renovated duplex provides a rare opportunity to own an exceptional maisonette on Jane Street’s most valuable and charming tree-lined block, between Washington and Greenwich Streets. This corner duplex loft offers a dramatic, sun-splashed living room featuring 18-foot tall ceilings lined with professionally designed lighting and surrounded by custom windows. There are 16 windows in total throughout this bright and airy unit. A spacious dining room and oversized corner bedroom/office round out the first level, while the second floor houses two bright bedrooms, two white marble Waterworks bathrooms and a bonus laundry room/kitchenette with Sub-Zero refrigerator and stainless steel countertops. Perfectly restored exposed brick details run throughout this lovely home set in a gorgeous, 1900 Romanesque building in the heart of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Located on a quintessential cobblestone block, 68 Jane Street is a well-established luxury co-op surrounded by the gorgeous High Line,the new Whitney Museum, Bleecker Street boutique shopping, galleries and much more. Transportation is unbeatable with A/C/E, B/D/F/M, 1 and L trains at your disposal.

Monthly Update - November 2016

October started with depressing news that the Q3 New York real estate numbers were 15 to 20 percent lower year over year compared to Q3 2015, according to a Bloomberg article and numerous reports.

This caused an already skittish September to decline into an outright dead first two weeks of October. But as news of a dead and/or dying New York City market spread, buyers picked up on the trend and started to get active again and fast! It was quite interesting to see the talk around the water cooler go from, "How are you finding this market?" to "Isn’t this market great?!"

I do, however, have to balance this renewed interest from sellers with the fact that prices and transaction numbers are still lower, but at least this isn’t the stand still that was happening in September and the early part of October.

Was it election blues or something else that is triggering buyers to hold off and sellers to panic a bit? Hard to tell, and although the market is moving again, this year's unpredictable twists and turns make November and December’s performance anyone's guess. Interest rates have been inching up as of late, and although it's unlikely the Fed will raise rates at this week's meeting, a rate hike will come eventually.

The markets seem delicate, like anything might set them into a tailspin. But always remember, "Where there is a will, there is a buyer!" Meaning, if you're a seller, and you want to sell, buyers are out there competing for property. And if you're a buyer, sellers are out on the market ready to go. And I'm out there encouraging transactions at every turn, because the fact remains that New York City real estate, over a 10-year period, beats Wall Street by double-digit returns on average.

So, get out there and become a property owner — it’s well worth it, even when things may seem shaky.

Just Released! 

Q3 2016 Manhattan Report

October's Inventory Numbers

Hot Off The Press!

COMPASS Q3 Market Report
Request A Copy HERE

From a 47% increase in September, October saw a dip of new inventory of 25% month over month. However only 7% of October's new inventory went into contract over Septembers 18%.

The Hoffman Team's Active Listings

Two Compass agents just sold an amazing $21.8M property in SF’s Pacific Heights. 

 

 

Team Press

  • Fit to Print: An Industrial Chic Aesthetic in the West Village
    New York Observer |  Read Full Article

Out TODAY!

 

Fresh off the press today, The Gathering Issue of The Compass Quarterly.

 

Request Your Copy HERE

 

 

Think You Know What Your Home Is Worth?
Lets see about that, click HERE and receive a comprehensive up-to-date CMA Valuation Report.

Bobby Flay’s Famous Cat Found A $22K/month Renter For Their Pad

Chef Bobby Flay and his Instagram-famous cat, Nacho, have rented out their former Chelsea digs.

Bobby Flay may be an Iron Chef, but it’s his cat, Nacho, who’s gaining heat — with more than 70,000 followers on Instagram.

The chef and his orange Maine Coon have finally rented out their eighth- and ninth-floor duplex at 252 Seventh Ave., where they lived in happier days with Flay’s ex-wife, “Law & Order: SVU” actress Stephanie March.

The apartment’s original asking price dropped from $7.95 million to $6.99 million in May, while also being on the rental market for $22,500/month (with listing brokers Meris and Kenny Blumstein of Corcoran).

The three-bedroom, three-bathroom, 3,256-square-foot duplex in the Chelsea Mercantile (erstwhile home of Katie Holmes) comes with a chef’s kitchen, natch.

See their apartment HERE

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201 East 21st Street, Unit 7D

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201 East 21st Street, Unit 7D

GRAMERCY PARK, MANHATTAN

1 Bed  |  1 Bath

Offered At $835,000

 

Don't miss this bright and oversized one-bedroom apartment offering a spacious layout, thoughtful updates and ample storage space, all located in one of Gramercy's most sought-after buildings.

This home's open layout, which is lit by large west and south-facing windows in every room, lends a sense of airy spaciousness throughout. The great room stretches nearly 30 feet from the entry to the sunny windows, providing ample room for living and dining areas, and lending great access to the nearby kitchen.

The renovated bathroom features updated tile and vanity while the 11-foot by 17-foot master bedroom provides plenty of space for a king bed and additional furniture. The abundant closet space is not to be missed with four large closets throughout, all extra deep to maximize storage.

The Quaker Ridge is known for its stellar financials and low maintenance, not to mentions its prime location, close to Gramercy Park. The co-op includes a full-time doorman, live-in superintendent, new laundry facilities, bike storage and a residents-only parking garage with direct access to the building. The building allows co-purchasing and pets, but does not permit guarantors or pied--terres.

Delivery Robots In Apartment Buildings Now

Building porters are the in-house delivery men of the 1 percent. And they might soon become a thing of the past.

Ten Thousand, a forthcoming 283-unit Los Angeles rental tower, won’t use human power to bring sundries — like parcels or food — to residents’ doorsteps. Instead, tenants of the building will have these items brought by a robot, The Post has learned.

Relay, a delivery robot built by California-based robotics company Savioke, will make its way through the entire 40-story building to bring inhabitants whatever they need. It’s even able to operate elevators on its own.

This makes Ten Thousand, which stands on the cusp between Beverly Hills and Century City, among the very first residential developments to deploy robot servants. The building anticipates a January 2017 opening and has prices from $9,000 per month.

Here’s how it works: Residents use the building’s app — available on the iPad Minis that come included in each dwelling — to order from a menu of items, which also includes drinks and flowers. Their requests are received by a team of butlers, who then put the goods inside the robot’s interior compartment for transport.

Items are loaded into the robot’s internal storage compartment, then delivered to tenants’ doorsteps.

It’s not the only futuristic amenity to be included in this development. Ten Thousand also has predictive technology. For example, syncing up with tenants’ phones and tablets will let building staffers know when to make morning cups of coffee before they jet off to work for the day.

There are cosmetic amenities, too — literally. The building will house a wellness studio, where on-call doctors can deliver Botox injections.

Ten Thousand, aptly, is located at 10000 Santa Monica Blvd.

5 Body Language Mistakes That Make You Look Weak

No one ever wants to come across as weak — especially in a professional setting.

However, some of us just can't help it. That's because your body language might be giving off subtle signs that warp how others view you.

Business Insider spoke with Dr. Lillian Glass, a communications and body language expert and author of "Toxic People," to get her ideas on which body language mistakes make you look like a pushover.

Here are her top five picks:

1. Hunched shoulders

Your parents were right to constantly nag you to sit up straight. Not only will a slumped posture cause others to view you as weak, it could harm your own self-perception. This 2015 study published in Health Psychology found that a perpetual slouch can increase negative moods and lower self-esteem.

2. Bowing your head

This one's pretty self-explanatory. If you're constantly looking down like Jean Valjean at the beginning of "Les Misérables," you probably look a bit beaten down.

3. Speaking in a soft, timid voice

No one will view you as a strong leader if they can't hear you. If you're a naturally quiet person, make an effort to speak up in order to gain more respect in the office. In an article for the Telegraph, psychologist Rob Yeung gives tips on how to speak loudly and clearly.

4. A frightened expression

Some people just have "resting scared face." However, you don't want to appear anxious or worried in the workplace, especially when you're communicating with others.

5. A shifty gaze

This one's also the worst body language mistake you can make in general, according to Glass. Don't avert your eyes when people are speaking to you, unless you want to look nervous — or worse, dishonest.

Uber's Entire 98-Page Plan To Make Flying Cars A Reality Within Ten Years

Uber has a new plan for making commuting faster: flying cars. 

The company debuted its new project for electric aircraft that takes off and lands vertically in a white paper it published Thursday. Dubbed Uber Elevate, the project aims to have the aircraft in cities by the year 2026. 

The aircraft would be used to shorten commute times in busy cities, without the noise and pollution of helicopters. The vehicles would be able to travel at about 150 mph for up to 100 miles and carry multiple people, including a pilot, according to a piece about the project from Wired's Alex Davies. While the first vehicles will be ready by 2021, the expected roll-out date is 2026.

Uber doesn't plan to make their own vehicles, but will instead partner with other companies and the government to make it happen. 

Uber's plans for the project are published in a 98-page document that outlines the feasibility of bringing the planes to market, how the vehicles will work from a technical standpoint, and how Uber plans to work within other constrains like weather conditions and government regulations.

You can read it in full by clicking HERE

Uber & Lyft Drivers Share 17 Things They Wish You Would Stop Doing

Driving for a ride-hailing app like Uber or Lyft is a bit of a gamble.

Earnings can vary significantly from one hour to the next, and then there's the question of who exactly is getting into their car.

On some occasions, drivers can have genuine conversations with complete strangers. But, then, of course, they also come across their fair share of stinkers.

To find out which passenger behaviors rub drivers the wrong way, we asked them to chime in.

Here are 17 annoying things you should probably stop doing right now:

Leaving one-star reviews for no reason

"One thing that might surprise people about the job is that even a four-star rating is bad. The whole system is set up so anything less than five stars is terrible for the driver."

—Lyft and Uber driver

Making your driver wait

"Don't ask for a ride unless you're ready to walk outside the second you order the ride."

—Lyft and Uber driver

Eating in the car

"I wish passengers would stop eating food in my car without asking. In order to drive for Uber or Lyft, you have to have a new car. Therefore your nachos in my new car causes undue stress."

—Lyft and Uber driver

Canceling rides, especially when the driver is already en route

"There's not much more frustrating than spending 10 minutes getting to my fare only to have them cancel the ride. I end up wasting a lot of valuable time when that happens."

—Lyft and Uber driver

Sitting in the front

"It's distracting."

—Uber driver

Lack of drive-thru courtesy

"I wish passengers who ask that I stop at a fast-food drive-thru would offer to buy me something. I usually turn them down — I've accepted a water once — but it just feels like common courtesy."

—Lyft and Uber driver

Being entitled, belligerent drunks

"I'm a sober person getting you home. I'm on your team, not your servant. A 'please' goes a long way."

—Lyft and Uber driver

Calling people

"I wish passengers wouldn't call people in my car. I turn the radio off so they can hear better and then I'm just awkwardly eavesdropping. Just text."

—Lyft and Uber driver

Not wearing your seat belt

"I wish passengers would put their seat belts on. It's still a car. You can still die."

—Lyft and Uber driver

Touching

"Please don't touch me. Ever. At all. That's super uncomfortable. Don't mistake my cheerful demeanor for flirting. I'm just a nice human."

—Lyft and Uber driver

Cramming people in

"Stop asking to fit more people in this car than it can legally fit."

—Lyft and Uber driver

Changing the music

"I always hated when people would change the radio station or try to play their own music without asking first. It's pretty distracting to have a passenger you don't know reach across the front console to mess with your media settings."

—Uber driver

Not knowing where you are going

"Many drunk and high passengers don't know where they are or where they are going."

—Lyft driver

Not moving the pin to exactly where you want to be picked up

"If someone is on the back side of a property when they request a ride but want to be picked up in front, this causes navigation to send you possibly to the next street over. Google Maps may say that a person is miles away from their actual location. So it is up to the passenger to confirm that the location is correct, but many don't."

—Lyft driver

Drinking in the car

"Don't get into my car with open alcoholic drinks."

—Anonymous driver

Leaving trash behind

"I always hated when people would leave trash in my car."

—Uber driver

Being demanding

"Don't expect water and candy on a $5 ride that I drove across town for."

—Lyft driver

NYC Is Yet To Tax Foreign Buyers — Changing Soon?

(The long view is a new biweekly column that analyzes big-picture real estate issues through a global lens.)

When China’s property market took off in the years following the 2008 global financial crisis, so did Hong Kong’s. The city was an ideal target for the growing class of wealthy Chinese apartment buyers: geographically and culturally close, yet still somewhat safe from the ruling Party’s reach. As Chinese investors flocked in, prices ballooned. In the two years leading up to the first quarter of 2011, the average price for a mid-sized apartment rose by 65 percent, according to Hong Kong government data.

By October 2012, regulators had had enough. The Hong Kong government imposed a 15-percent tax on property purchases by anyone who wasn’t a permanent resident. “This is an extraordinary measure introduced under exceptional circumstances,” Hong Kong’s financial secretary John Tsang told the Wall Street Journal at the time.  In the two years since the tax was introduced, the average price of a mid-sized apartment grew by just 5.3 percent.

Since 2012, several cities with a heavy influx of foreign – and especially Chinese – apartment buyers followed Hong Kong’s model. Singapore imposed a 15-percent tax on foreign apartment buyers in 2013. That same year, Switzerland set a 20-percent cap on the number of pieds-à-terre in any community.  This April, Britain introduced a “stamp tax” on pieds-à-terre. In June, the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales (which include Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast) introduced 3- and 4-percent taxes on foreign homebuyers.  And in August, Vancouver set a 15-percent tax on foreign property buyers.

One glaring exception to this trend is New York. What’s up with that?

On the surface, New York deals with similar challenges as Hong Kong, Singapore, Zurich, London, Sydney and Vancouver: rising global wealth and low interest rates have led to a spike in foreign property investors, pushing up apartment prices and making neighborhoods less affordable for long-term residents. In other cities, this trend has created political pressure to stem the influx of foreign money. In New York, however, a tax on foreign buyers is yet to pick up serious political momentum, and subtle differences between it and these other cities may help explain why.

One is tax aversion. “In this city, raising taxes is generally abhorrent to elected officials and there are no strong feelings against foreign investment,” said George Arzt, a veteran Democratic political consultant. “In fact, many people feel that raising taxes would wound the golden goose that may be fueling the economy.”

That’s certainly the sentiment among real estate industry professionals.

“I can’t imagine that given how incredibly profitable foreign investment has been in elevating the Manhattan market to a new historical high that this would be regarded as a wise idea,” said John Burger, a top luxury broker at Brown Harris Stevens , said in September 2014 when Democratic State Senator Brad Hoylman proposed a pied-à-terre tax.

In Britain, it was the ruling Conservative party that introduced the stamp tax. In the age of Tea Party and congressional anti-tax pledges, Republicans are unlikely to follow suit. Hoylman’s proposal won support from the City Council, but fizzled because the Republican majority in the State Senate would not go along.

Another explanation may be concern over New York’s image. “New York brands itself as the capital of the world,” said Jonathan Miller, CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel. It’s this image as the alpha-alpha city that brings in investment and tourism, making it “pretty hard to single out foreign buyers of real estate and still keep the city’s brand consistent.”

And finally, in a market as large as New York’s, foreign buyers may not move the needle on prices as much as they might in other markets.

“Our foreign investment is fairly well below 15 percent (of apartment sales) as a whole,” said Edward Mermelstein, a real estate attorney who works with overseas real estate investors. “We’re not as affected by foreign investment driving the prices up.”

Anti-discrimination laws prevent brokers and city agencies from collecting data on the share of foreign apartment buyers, meaning no one knows for sure how many there are. But it’s clear prices in New York haven’t risen as dramatically as in some other cities. In Hong Kong, prices rose 65 percent in two years. In Vancouver, prices rose 31 percent in the first eight months of 2016 alone. In Manhattan, meanwhile, the average apartment price rose by a more modest 13 percent over the past year, according to Douglas Elliman, and the market shows signs of slowing down. Slower price growth may mean even less political pressure to curb foreign buyers.

But New York might not lag behind forever. The city always had two major drawbacks compared to other global hubs: geography and visa restrictions. Hong Kong and Vancouver are significantly closer to China, while London is a short flight from Russia and the Middle East. It’s also far trickier for Chinese and Middle Eastern nationals to get visas for the U.S. than these countries. But taxes on foreign buyers in those cities could tilt the balance in favor of New York in the medium run, Mermelstein argued. “Any time you’re putting up barriers you’re driving investment to other locations,” he said. “We’re just starting to get many more checkmarks in our column.”

As other cities impose taxes on foreign buyers, more of them may choose New York, putting upward pressure on prices. That could in turn increase political pressure to limit the influx of overseas money. In October 2014, the New York Times cited census data showing that more than 50 percent of apartments in a three-block stretch of Midtown East were vacant the majority of the year.

State Senator Liz Krueger told the Times about a developer who was talking about how his buyers would never be around, so they wouldn’t take up resources.

“He said it like this was a positive thing,” Krueger said. “You can’t make this stuff up.”

For now, the city is resisting the global trend of taxes on foreign property buyers. But it may become harder and harder to do so.

Indoor Pools May Sink Your Chances Of A Top-Dollar Resale

While having an indoor pool in one’s home may seem like the ultimate luxury, real estate experts warn that it could affect the resale value of the home.

Everyone’s favorite NYC-based real estate appraiser, Jonathan Miller explains, “It’s a highly personalized amenity that requires a lot of maintenance.”

While the number of luxury property listings with indoor pools is small — about 0.7 percent — the WSJ reports that properties priced over $1 million were asking only 4 percent more per square foot than homes without a pool and 2 percent less than homes with outdoor pools, according to data from Realtor.com.

There are other drawbacks as well: installing an indoor pool can be costly, ranging from about $150,000 to seven figures. Costs don’t stop there. Indoor pools also require dehumidification systems, which can cost another $50,000. Pool covers are in the thousands. Safeguarding one’s home from smelling of chlorine and becoming damp and humid is also a factor.

Oftentimes other things are added to the mix such as an indoor poolside bar, changing area, hot tubs, saunas, dedicated bathrooms, waterfalls, custom lighting and tiling, and floor-to-ceiling windows or sliding doors. A bathing hole can quickly turn into a money pit.

Ruth Aveta of Creative Master Pools, says that an estimated 60 percent to 70 percent of the indoor pools she builds involve a theme, such as a recent project meant to resemble a Roman bath. “They’re typically looking to evoke some kind of feeling with it,” she said.

Then there is the time it takes to get it all right. The installation can also be quite time-consuming — a project might take three to four months, a few more weeks than an outdoor pool.

A new owner may not want the headache of maintaining so such a pricey amenity.

Overall property owners should look at all factors before taking the plunge on installing an indoor pool if they want to stay afloat in the turbulent real estate market. 

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Fit to Print: An Industrial Chic Aesthetic in the West Village

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Fit to Print: An Industrial Chic Aesthetic in the West Village

The duplex at 421 Hudson Street also features a personal catwalk

By Morgan Halberg • 10/27/16 9:55am

“It’s very grandiose, very different, and not cookie cutter at all,” COMPASS broker Dylan Hoffman declared, entering a seventh-floor unit at 421 Hudson Street.

Indeed, the 2,000-square-foot layout of the duplex is the result of a two-unit combination, and it stays true to the industrial theme of the Printing House—that is, with an abundance of gray slate, stainless steel and frosted glass doors. 

A metal staircase just off the entry staircase leads directly up to the guest bedroom, which has a full, private en-suite bath with a distressed wood vanity, slate floors and bathtub, as well as a wall of closets.

“The entire apartment is unique—this kind of avant-garde, industrial-slash-modern kind of feel to it,” Hoffman said, leading us into the living room of his $4.25 million listing, where double-height ceilings reach 15 feet and west-facing windows provide river views.

Venetian plaster and stucco walls complement the distressed white oak floors, which have “been run through a mill to create this grade,” Hoffman informed us. “It feels like it’s exfoliating!”

In contrast to popular open layouts, the stainless-steel-outfitted kitchen is closed off from the living area. An additional den is open to the living room, though it “could definitely be dedicated to a sitting room or another guest bedroom,” Hoffman opined, noting the full third bathroom for the area, as well as a powder room off the entryway.

The master suite is accessed by another staircase and is complete with a four-fixture bath. “This is my favorite part,” Hoffman said excitedly, opening the door to the walk-in closet and revealing a “catwalk” over to the rows of custom shelves. Given the sidewalk grate-like nature of the catwalk, Hoffman said that heels are perhaps best kept toward the front.

“It might not be for everyone,” Hoffman admitted, descending the stairs and admiring the modern silver light fixture hanging from the ceiling, “but we’ve had every walk of life come through here, and they’ve all appreciated the property for what it is—the work, art and love put into it.”

This Week’s 5 Most Expensive Listings

In the past seven days, 17 new listings priced at $10 million and above hit the market, according to StreetEasy. From that list, these are the crème de la crème, otherwise known as the five most expensive residential listings.

432 Park Avenue #Ph95

Address 432 Park Avenue #Ph95
Price $82,000,000
Type/Size Condo: six bedrooms and eight bathrooms
The most expensive property this week comes courtesy of the trash-can inspired 432 Park. At 8,255 square feet, the building’s latest penthouse listing comes with a floor plan as large as its price tag. Earlier this year, another penthouse in the building sold to Fawaz Al Hokair for $87.7 million.

212 Fifth Avenue Penthouse

Address 212 Fifth Avenue Penthouse
Price $68,500,000
Type/Size Condo: five bedrooms and eight bathrooms
Perched atop the newly restored 212 Fifth Avenue, you’ll find this sprawling triplex. The 10,079-square-foot spread comes with arches windows, private elevator entry, multiple terraces, and a private outdoor pool.

50 West Street #Ph59b

Address 50 West Street #Ph59b
Price $22,645,000
Type/Size Condo: three bedrooms and four bathrooms
This half-floor penthouse is at the newly built 50 West Street. The building will contain a total of 191 residential units, and this is the second most expensive to hit the market to date. It comes with stone slab countertops and backsplashes in the kitchen, marble bathrooms, and some pretty impressive views. Occupancy is slated for fall this year.

1 West End Avenue #29B

Address 1 West End Avenue #29B
Price $19,500,000
Type/Size Condo: four bedrooms and five-and-a-half bathrooms
This Lincoln Square spread spans 5,371 square feet and two floors. It’s at 1 West End Avenue, a building set to be completed next year. The home is expected to come with walnut plank flooring, floor-to-ceiling windows, skyline views, and electronically controlled solar shades. Although the listing does point out that, “all artists or architectural renderings, sketches, graphic materials and photos depicted or otherwise described herein are proposed and conceptual only, and based upon preliminary development plans, which are subject to change.”

550 Park Avenue #17E

Address 550 Park Avenue #17E
Price $19,500,000
Type/Size Co-op: four bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms
Last, but by no means least, is this Upper East Side nine-room co-op, and it’s a refreshing break from the abundance of newly built condos which make up the rest of this week’s list. This pad comes with a private elevator landing, wood-burning fireplaces, oversized windows, Central Park views, and possibly most impressive of all, according to the listing, “being in the apartment makes one happy.”

Gwen Stefani & Gavin Rossdale’s $35M Home

The ink on Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale’s divorce papers has had a chance to well and truly dry since April, so it’s not surprising that the pair’s home in the Beverly Hills Post Office area has hit the market. The spread is asking $35 million.

According to Variety, the former-couple purchased the home – which once belonged to Jennifer Lopez – in 2006 for $13.3 million.

The seven-bedroom house, which is set in a 24-hour guard gated community with its own gates and private drive, comes with a large pool, tennis court, professional gym, theater, views, privacy, outdoor kitchen and living areas, and multiple fireplaces. Plus there’s a house manager’s office, a guest house, a whole lot of marble, and some very, very quirky interiors.

Variety report that they’ve yet to discover if Stefani has found new digs, but note she has been on the hunt. Rossdale though, shelled out $7.6 million in May for a six-bedroom bachelor pad in the hills above Studio City.

This Week’s 5 Most Expensive Listings

In the past seven days, 12 new listings priced at $10 million and above hit the market, according to StreetEasy. From that list, these are the crème de la crème, otherwise known as the five most expensive residential listings.

12 East 96th Street

Address 12 East 96th Street
Price $19,500,000
Type/Size Townhouse: 14 bedrooms and 17 bathrooms
This 17,400-square-foot townhouse isn’t just the most expensive listing of the week, we’d hazard a guess that it’s the biggest too. Built in 1916 by Ogden Codman, Jr., it was once home to Robert Livingston, a blue-blooded American financier, but since 1990 the house has been home to the Italian international school, La Scuola d’Italia Guglielmo Marconi. It comes with seven stories, an elevator, a wood paneled ballroom, seven fireplaces, high ceilings, and a garden.

48 East 91st Street

Address 48 East 91st Street
Price $18,500,000
Type/Size Townhouse: four bedrooms and five bathrooms
On East 91st Street you’ll find this 20-foot-wide townhouse, which comes with high ceilings, large windows, custom molding, a library, a formal living room with a wood-burning fireplace opens, multiple terraces, and a landscaped garden. According to city records, the owner is Leslie Harwood Ehrlich.

178 East 94th Street

Address 178 East 94th Street
Price $18,000,000
Type/Size Townhouse: six bedrooms and six bathrooms
Upper East Side townhouses reign supreme this week. There is an unfortunate lack of listing photos for this spread, but we do know the home took two years to design and build, and that is has herringbone oak floors, paneled doors, and grand moldings throughout, along with a garage, a large elevator, and a roof terrace.

56 East 66th Street

Address 56 East 66th Street
Price $17,950,000
Type/Size Townhouse: five bedrooms and five bathrooms
This spread offers a chance to live next door to Andy Warhol’s former home, which is quite a selling point if you ask us! The listing though, seems to suggest work is needed to get the home up to the standards of the renderings provided, and the word “potential” is used more than once.

1 Central Park South #1801

Address 1 Central Park South #1801
Price $17,900,000
Type/Size Condo: four bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms
You’ll find this pretty condo at the Plaza Hotel. It comes with detailed moldings, wood and marble inlaid floors, and some flawless stained-glass ceilings. It’s owned by fertilizer tycoon Bolat Nazarbayev, who is the brother of the president of Kazakhstan.

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421 Hudson Street, Unit 717/18/19

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421 Hudson Street, Unit 717/18/19

WEST VILLAGE, MANHATTAN

5 Bed  |  5.5 Bath  |  24 Hour Doorman  |  Roof Deck

Offered At $8,250,000

 

Loft living at its best

Rare opportunity to own more than 3,600 feet in the iconic Printing House. Soaring double height ceilings and oversized west facing windows with Hudson River views on coveted high floor. These 2 unique duplex apartments can be combined to create the five bedroom, five and a half bath of your dreams.

The Printing House has a 24hr doorman, valet cleaning service, private storage and bicycle storage (available for rent), central laundry room, and a flagship Equinox Health Club including an outdoor rooftop swimming pool and terrace. Extremely low common charges and real estate taxes make this apartment perfect for a primary home, an investment property or a spectacular pied-a-terre.

13 Tips To Become Better At Small Talk

In a recent article for Wired magazine, Kristin Berman and behavioral economist Dan Ariely share their experience hosting a dinner party with one key rule: "Absolutely no small talk."

Apparently, the guests were all the happier for it — and the authors conclude in their headline that "small talk should be banned."

Whether this sounds to you like a great idea or a terrifying prospect, the fact is that most event organizers won't go so far as to prohibit small talk — so you'd best get good at it.

To help you out, we checked out Quora, Reddit, and other resources, and highlighted some of the best tips for upping your small-talk game. You can even make a habit of practicing with strangers you'll probably never see again, since research suggests that making conversation with fellow commuters leaves people happier.

Read on to impress new acquaintances — and yourself — with your masterful conversation skills.

1. Demonstrate interest in your conversation partner

Several Quora users noted that the best way to keep a conversation rolling is to show you care about what the other person has to say.

"If you don't fundamentally care about the person you are speaking with, that will show, and that may be the primary reason why you are running out of things to discuss," writes Kai Peter Chang.

That also means letting your conversation partner share information about himself or herself.

"Let the other person speak more," writes Anam Gulraiz. "People LOVE talking about themselves."

2. Ask open-ended questions

Instead of asking yes/no questions that lead to dead ends, encourage your conversation partner to share some more detail about his or her life.

"In general, open-ended questions lead to more conversational paths," says Craig Welland.

For example, instead of asking a fellow party guest, "Are you here with your family?" you might ask, "How did you meet the host?"

3. Allow your conversation partner to teach you

"If there's a subject you're not familiar with, just be honest with that person and nine out of 10 times they'll teach you about it," writes Michael Wong.

It goes back to that central idea of letting other people do most of the talking. Asking the other person to explain what they mean implies they'll be talking for at least another few minutes.

4. Read the news

In the days leading up to a social function, take time to peruse the news, "including the sections that don't really interest you," writes Mark Simchock.

That way, if a conversation should come to an abrupt halt, you can fill the silence with, "Hey, did you hear about …" or "Man, how about that … ?"

5. Share anecdotes

Don't hesitate to let your conversation partner know that you can relate to what he or she is telling you, says Ellen Vrana.

"This forms a bond," she adds.

For example, if your partner says he or she spent time living in another country and you did as well, share a story or two about your years abroad. You'll likely prompt the other person to tell you about some similar memories.

6. Practice the FORM technique

Robert Adams uses a special mnemonic to keep conversations flowing easily:

  • F-amily: Do you have kids? Where is your family from? How long have you lived around here?
  • O-ccupation: What do you do for a living? What is that like? Have you always been a circus acrobat?
  • R-ecreation: What do you guys do for fun? How long have you been involved in SCA? Where do you buy chain-mail, or did you make it yourself?
  • M-oney:  What happened with the price of gas? Did you see that last school-bond issue? How do you think the new liquor-store laws will shake out? Anybody you know lose their job lately?

7. Be honest

"There's nothing wrong with just saying, 'You know, I hate small talk, so how about we talk about something big?'" writes Derek Scruggs.

Chances are, your conversation partner will feel somewhat relieved.

Scruggs recommends having on hand a few "big" questions that promote intimacy, including, "What's something that scared you today?" and "Are you happy with your current lifestyle?"

8. Copy good conversationalists

"Listen to comedians, listen to talk show hosts, listen to real people,"recommends Edahn Small.

Try to remember the kinds of questions they ask, how they follow up on the other person's answers, and even how they make use of silence. Chances are good that they learned the same way.

9. Boost your conversation partner's self-esteem

Flatter people in order to capture and hold their interest, suggests Joe Goebel.

"Try to make everyone you talk with feel a little better about themselves after having met and talked to you," he writes.

10. Practice with everyone you meet

Whether it's the doorman at work or a fellow passenger on the train, try your hand at small talk with everyone, says Rohan Sinha.

Eventually, you'll start feeling more comfortable striking up and maintaining interesting conversations.

11. Use the ARE format

Andrian Iliopoulos uses a method from communications expert Carol Fleming:

  • A-nchor: Find something you two have in common right now. For example, "This cocktail is really fancy, what’s in it?"
  • R-eveal: Share something personal with the other person. For example, "I tried a similar cocktail at a beach bar in Malibu last year and it blew me away."
  • E-ncourage: Invite them to share something personal. For example, "I can see it in your eyes that you hate cocktails. You are more of a whiskey drinker, aren’t you?"

12. Ask a better version of, 'What do you do?'

In a 2013 blog post, bestselling author Gretchen Rubin suggests asking people you meet: "What's keeping you busy these days?"

Writes Rubin, "It’s useful because it allows people to choose their focus (work, volunteer, family, hobby) — preferable to the inevitable question (well, inevitable at least in New York City): 'What do you do?'"

13. Know that other people feel weird, too

"You are totally not alone in feeling awkward or shy," writes Tammy_Tangerine on Reddit. "Other people are struggling with that as well, and these feelings are totally ok and nothing to feel ashamed about."

She adds that even people who look incredibly confident may be struggling with the same self-doubts that you are.

This Week’s 5 Most Expensive Listings

In the past seven days, 16 new listings priced at $10 million and above hit the market, according to StreetEasy. From that list, these are the crème de la crème, otherwise known as the five most expensive residential listings.

240 Centre Street Penthouse

Address 240 Centre Street Penthouse
Price $35,000,000
Type/Size Co-op: four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms
This week’s most expensive listing is the very cool Police Building penthouse, its not new to the market, nor does it have a new price-tag, but it does have a new broker. It comes with a bucket-load of character, a spiral staircase, an elevator and a circular living room, all of which we got to witness for ourselves when we toured the pad back in March.

993 Fifth Avenue #11FLR

Address 993 Fifth Avenue #11FLR
Price $27,900,000
Type/Size Co-op: five bedrooms and six-and-a-half bathrooms
This full floor spread at the swanky, Emery Roth-designed 993 Fifth Avenue is almost exactly what you’d expect from… a full floor spread at the swanky, Emery Roth-designed 993 Fifth Avenue. It has classic New York charm plus a private elevator landing, a wood burning fireplace, a library, and Central Park Views.

25 Columbus Circle #67CE

Address 25 Columbus Circle #67CE
Price $18,950,000
Type/Size Condo: five bedrooms and six bathrooms
This listing’s a chance for two to become one at the Time Warner Center. Combined, the apartments will total almost 4,000 square feet and will come with eastern, southern and western exposures, a chef’s kitchen, abundant closet space, and opulent marble baths.

150 Central Park South #2501

Address 150 Central Park South #2501
Price $16,000,000
Type/Size Co-op: three bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms
If we had to pick one of these listings to live in, it would almost certainly be this one. The sprawling spread has been recently gut renovated and comes designed by Tui Pranich. It has a library with custom cabinetry, a private elevator landing, and 45 feet of windows and terraces looking out directly onto Central Park.

1060 Fifth Avenue #2B

Address 1060 Fifth Avenue #2B
Price $15,500,000
Type/Size Co-op: five bedrooms and six bathrooms
“Breathtakingly elegant and majestic”, reads this apartment’s listing. The flamboyant spread comes with art walls, wood-burning fireplaces, 48 feet of Central Park frontage and a lot of extravagant details. Plus, right now it’s almost half the price it was asking when it first hit the market in 2014.

Your new home awaits.