The Market

Private elevator entries stir mixed feelings and questions over property values

Teri Rogers Headshot - Floral
By Teri Karush Rogers  |
May 26, 2011 - 8:13AM
image

Does a key-lock elevator that opens directly into an apartment increase the value of the apartment?

"We are worried about how to properly bid on it and then later down the road for resale," says a buyer posing the question on StreetEasy.com's forums.   Most commenters so far don't think it affects value; some posit that it might even detract.  It's "far preferable to have the elevator open into a private vestibule rather than have it spit out your guests directly into the apartment," says one. (And don't forget the childproofing challenges.)  

Broker-blogger Malcolm Carter sounded only slightly more positive when we checked in with him: "The feature often is mentioned in marketing materials," he says, yet while "always a selling point...the amount of added value is elusive. I'd say almost non-existent."

But would people pay less to live in such close confines with an elevator door? Carter thinks not: "Unless it's a walkup, means of access to a unit hardly seems to add or subtract even a smidgen of value."

Related posts:

Childproofing a loft elevator: A few suggestions

Elevator 'attendants' versus doormen

A little elevator convo goes a long way

 

 

Teri Rogers Headshot - Floral

Teri Karush Rogers

Founder & Publisher

Founder and publisher Teri Karush Rogers launched Brick Underground in 2009. As a freelance journalist, she had previously covered New York City real estate for The New York Times. Teri has been featured as an expert on New York City residential real estate by The New York Times, New York Daily News, amNew York, NBC Nightly News, The Real Deal, Business Insider, the Huffington Post, and NY1 News, among others. Teri earned a BA in journalism and a law degree from New York University.

Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.

topics: