Halstead Property

Judy Oston
Sr. Vice President
Westside Office
Tel: (212) 381-2370
joston@halstead.com

Done Deals- Upper West Side

UPPER WEST SIDE

155 W. 68th St.

Three-bedroom condo

Asking price: $1.99 million

Selling price: $2 million

Time on market: 4 months

MANHATTANITES ARE GOOD AT PRACTICING AN OLD ADAGE: If one apartment isn't big enough, knock down the walls and burrow into the place next door. A case in point is a humungous 19th-floor luxury apartment at 155 W. 68th St. With three bedrooms and bathrooms, the 2000-square-foot space sports a granite-finished kitchen, stainless steel appliances, a living room and a study, along with full concierge service downstairs.

It certainly accommodates the large family that recently bought the Upper West Side condominium.

According to the real estate agent who sold the apartment, Judy Oston of Halstead Property, the apartment remained on the market unsold for almost four months because the sellers wouldn't take realtors' advice: Keep the price reasonable and employ a "stager" to spruce up the apartment.

(A stager, Mrs. Oston said, is the latest trend in real estate. In order to give a property a certain je ne sais quoi to seduce buyers, a consultant is brought in to make gentle suggestions about how to redecorate.)

Finally, Mrs. Oston said, the sellers lowered the price and agreed to retain a stager, and voilà, there were multiple offers. "There was a little bit of a bidding situation going," Mrs. Oston said. "It's a classic case of ‘we told you so,'" she said.

Thursday, September 14, 2006