Leonard Steinberg is a senior vice president at Douglas Elliman specializing in the luxury loft market. He spoke recently with The New York Sun’s Maura Yates about luxury living.
Q: What is the profile of the luxury buyer?
A: Rich comes in many formats. There is a mix of high-earning individuals, trust fund people, Wall Streeters with bonuses, and a group of those divesting their estates. They have tremendous amounts of money that they want to give to their children to avoid estate taxes, and they are diversifying their capital. The diverse profile is what makes New York such a strong market, because you’re not only attracting one buyer.
What should buyers look for in luxury homes?
There are five categories of luxury. Mini-lux could be a $1.2 million one bedroom with 850 square feet. Megalux could be $5 million-plus properties that are big and grand and wonderful and everything. I encourage buyers to look at the bones. Cosmetics are almost easy, or at least there are a lot more possibilities. Bones are what they are. Sometimes people will get lost in Sub-Zero refrigerator-land, but, I tell them, you aren’t buying furniture, you’re buying an apartment.
What factors determine whether a property is luxury, as opposed to just really fancy?
Luxury is a very overused term. Real luxury is quite a unique and specific thing. True luxury starts with location. Space, light, and exposures are the makings of luxury. Luxury isn’t one thing. It’s a combination of things. It takes a discerning eye to determine whether something is luxurious, or potentially luxurious. A beautiful lobby can be luxurious – if you live in the lobby.
What areas of the city are the best places to buy?
There are a lot of areas downtown, such as anything on lower 5th. There are also prime TriBeCa, prime SoHo, and the West Village, which has gotten popular because of the light aspect and low building heights. Uptown, anything with a park view, and riverside is getting big. Hudson exposures are becoming very valuable, as are mansion scaled apartments. Carnegie Hill and TriBeCa are chosen for their outstanding school districts. Luxury has different meanings to different people. One of the biggest luxuries in Manhattan is convenience and an easy lifestyle.
What advice would you give to someone buying their first luxury apartment?
Sit down and really try to define your needs and your wants. Establish a wish list. That’s your dream. Then, sit down with a broker who will look at your list and tell you the realities. This usually comes as a terrible shock. Then, go and look. The more you look, the more you know. Sometimes buying the best of what is available is not necessarily buying the best property. Sometimes it’s smart to identify what you want, wait for it, and pounce on it.
What are some of the most luxurious amenities you’ve seen in New York?
I just had a listing with a basketball court in the apartment. It was very important to the owner to have that. Luxury is like love. Sometimes you look at people together and wonder what they ever saw in each other. You can never understand what they’re thinking. Someone might think it’s luxurious to have a pool in the basement of their townhouse because they love swimming every day. To others, a pool in the basement is just a source of moisture and mildew.
Published January 27, 2005
Maura Yates 