Upper West Side

45 W. 88th St.
Five-story apartment building
Asking price: $4.9 million
Selling price: $4.2 million
Time on the market: three months

FIVE-STORY FIXER-UPPER

This rundown ten-unit apartment building will be reincarnated as a huge one-family townhouse after the buyers, a young couple with children, complete a gut renovation to restore it to its original condition.

The 6,432-square-foot five-story vacant townhouse is currently configured as nine separate one-bedroom units and one studio apartment. The 20-foot-wide walk-up building, which dates to the late 19th century, is located in the heart of the Upper West Side Historic District, steps from Central Park.

There is a large yard in the rear of the property. Most of the original details were lost due to the conversion of the townhouse to rental units and the passage of time. The property has been vacant for about six years, and is in need of a complete overhaul.

The seller, who owns several other buildings, felt it was a good time to sell, Mr. Ferguson said.

“We had 14 offers on the property, and the buyer was able to simultaneously sign a contract and close on it the same day,” said a Massey Knakal broker, Meyrick Ferguson, who represented the seller with Robert Knakal.

Mike Sieger of Fenwick-Keats was the buyer’s broker in this all-cash transaction. “It’s pretty dilapidated,” Mr. Ferguson said. Mr. Ferguson said the buyers will need to spend more than $1 million on renovations. Compared to other townhouses in the area, “It’s a big, big price,” he said.

885 West End Ave.
Two-bedroom, two-bath cooperative
Asking price: $895,000
Selling price: $885,000
Monthly cost: $1,126
Time on the market: seven weeks

EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS

This 1,200-square-foot fixer-upper is yet another example of how strong the market is, as the selling price exceeded expectations. Karesse Grenier of the Corcoran Group, who represented both parties in the transaction, said that she listed the apartment at a price higher than anything else sold in that line, and “it did very well,” she said.

“It sold for more than I expected it to,” she said, especially considering it needs a new kitchen and bathroom, which Ms. Grenier estimated will cost more than $100,000. The apartment, which was originally arranged as an Edwardian five, has been transformed into a two-bedroom after its dining room was converted into a sleeping area.

A small maid’s room can be used as a third bedroom. The prewar details in this early 20th-century building include moldings, a decorative fireplace, and herringbone hardwood floors. The oversize windows offer partial city and river views.

The seller, an empty-nester, is moving closer to his daughter. The buyers, a family, were attracted to the location, great turn-of-the-century details, and the great light that floods through the apartment’s large windows.

Murray Hill

330 E. 38th St.
One-bedroom, one-bath condominium
Asking price: $659,000
Selling price: $640,000
Monthly cost: $420
Time on the market: four months

PRACTICALLY A RESORT

Among the amenities offered at the Corinthian are an indoor pool, running track, sundeck, gym, and steam room. There is a fulltime doorman at this full-service building, which includes a private drive, valet, and entrance atrium.

The building offers “better than white-glove service,” said Jay Molishever of Citi-Habitats, who represented the buyer. “It’s practically resort service.”

The living room in this 772-squarefoot apartment has a curved bay window, which offers north and west exposures and a partial river view. There is a private terrace with a city view off the bedroom. “The Corinthian is a fabulous building and a fabulous investment. It maintains its value very well,” Mr. Molishever said. He added that many of the building’s residents have gone on to buy second and third apartments in the building for investments.

Mr. Molishever said the Murray Hill area will be increasing in value and desirability, as there are plans to remove the ConEdison smoke stacks by the river and put in a Pier 17-type mall, he said.

“The nature of the location is going to be changing,” he said. Mr. Molishever said most people considering buying in the building prefer the open-sky views on the south-facing higher floors, and the north-facing lower floors, like the one that this apartment is on, “can languish for some time,” he said. But this apartment offers an interesting view for folks who enjoy people-watching. “It has an interesting view of 8 million lives,” he said. The selling price was one of the better prices for a unit in that part of the building, Mr. Molishever said.

“It was a very good value for the buyer,” he said, adding that a similarly sized apartment on the more desirable higher floors recently closed for $200,000 more than this apartment. The buyer is a single person who liked the great value, the investment benefits, and the large space. The seller, who bought the apartment as an investment property, decided to strike while the market is hot. Deborah Tzuri of Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy represented the seller.