Private elevator entries stir mixed feelings and questions over property values

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

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."

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