GRAMERCY
280 Park Ave. South

2-bedroom condo
Asking price: $1.29 million
Selling price: $1.45 million
Time on market: 2 weeks

SECOND PLACE One Citi Habitats broker, John Maher, calls this building “the crown jewel of luxury high rises in Gramercy.” He has an interest in promoting the building, since it has become his specialty. But he may not be exaggerating.

There’s a health club on the roof, along with two sundecks, a pool, and a view of the Flatiron building. This 1,200-square-foot, two-bedroom unit was one of only 12 with the same layout and views.

The buyers, who already lived in a one-bedroom in the building, leapt at the chance to bid. “As soon as it came on the market, we saw it that first day,” Mr. Maher, who represented the buyers, said. At less than $1.3 million, the unit was under priced, so the sellers received nine offers.

Mr. Maher’s clients – the husband is “the CEO of a major publicly traded corporation” – came in second, but the deal ahead of them fell through. The apartment’s condition is “mediocre,” Mr. Maher said, and the new buyers are gutting it to turn it into a one-bedroom. Krisztina Schlitzer of Halstead represented the sellers.

UPPER EAST SIDE
1760 Second Ave.

Studio condo
Asking price: $499,000
Selling price: $485,000
Time on market: 10 weeks

AT FIRST GLANCE The man who bought this westfacing condo searched for more than a year before he found it. First, he shunned brokers and looked on his own. He knew exactly what he wanted: an apartment between 80th and 92nd streets on the Upper East Side.

“I think he looked at just about every property on the market for a year,” a Citi Habitats broker who ultimately represented him, Josephine Gieseke, said. “He couldn’t make up his mind.”

With three months to go before his lease ran out, he contacted Ms. Gieseke last April. The search was again unsuccessful, and he turned to Craigslist for a sublet.

Then, in September, he and Ms. Gieseke started a fresh search. After a year and a half of searching, the process suddenly moved quickly: This studio was the first he toured.

“He liked this apartment as soon as he saw it. It’s in perfect condition, so he could just move in,” Ms. Gieseke said. And move in he did – on the same day the deal closed.

Alexis Gandelman represented the seller. She previously worked at Citi Habitats but recently took a job at New York Residence.

HARLEM
166 W. 123rd St.

4-unit townhouse
Asking price: $1.47 million
Selling price: $1.35 million
Time on market: 7 weeks

HER FRIENDS IN THE DIAMOND BUSINESS Three years ago, a Bellmarc broker, Fran Kaback, bought an engagement ring at DiMa Jewelry in New York’s diamond district. When the owners of DiMa, Dina Gitis and Marina Melamoud, decided to buy a multiunit building together, they turned to Ms. Kaback for help.

When they first toured this Harlem townhouse, it was exactly what they wanted. One of the women planned to live in the two-floor garden and parlor unit, the other would take a one-bedroom above her, and they would rent out the other two apartments.

In the middle of negotiations, however, the sellers changed their minds: They wanted the current tenants to stay. Afraid prices would rise in the neighborhood, Ms. Gitis and Ms. Melamoud decided to take the deal anyway.

“It’s good timing to buy in Harlem because stuff is really starting to fly,” Ms. Kaback said. “So in another year this building might cost $2 million. They decided to change their whole outlook and buy it as an investment.”

There was another glitch, as well. The building is still legally classified as single room occupancy, though it has been fully renovated and converted into a four-family. The sellers decided they didn’t want the hassle of applying for the conversion, so they lowered the price by $125,000.That’s not a bad discount for navigating the city bureaucracy. Todd Stevens of Prudential Douglas Elliman represented the seller.