Lucy Cohen Blatter

December is party month. If you're hosting, it's not the guests alone that you'll need to keep happy. We asked party planners, etiquette experts and veteran hosts for tips on throwing a party in a New York City apartment without antagonizing building staff and neighbors.

Don't throw a surprise party

For anyone sick of sharing a wall (and a floor and a ceiling) with the neighbors, this four-bedroom honest-to-god house in Murray Hill, Queens, for $4,500 a month may offer some relief—minus the move to suburbia.

Can you imagine Manhattan without its stately co-ops? The experts can. The co-op is on its way out—and for good reason, according to a group of New York brokers who recently convened for a Gotham Magazine-sponsored lunch. While that may be bad news for current co-op owners, would-be buyers may be in luck.

BrickUnderground's Holiday Week brings you lots of fresh stories on navigating the real estate world this time of year, but this isn't the first time we've explored buying, selling, renting, decorating and surviving the holidays. Below, some treasures from our story vault: 

RENTING

It's a good time to find bargain rents, relatively speaking; lower demand in the winter means landlords drop the rent or offer sweeteners like a free month or gratis broker's fee. 

Believe it or not, you can get quite a bit of home for $600,000, especially if you think outer borough. Below, options from across the city, including a studio in Murray Hill, a four-bedroom house in Staten Island, and lots in between.

If any day were tailor-made to outfit your New York apartment, Cyber Monday is it. You don't need a car (or a man with a van), and numerous local home-goods stores are offering online discounts on their wares. To wit: