The Market

Swap an iPhone 6 for an apartment? What you'll get in NYC

By Virginia K. Smith  | October 15, 2014 - 8:59AM
image

Recent news of a Detroit investor so fed up with his fruitless property that he offered to sell it in exchange for an iPhone 6 was, admittedly, a very Detroit-at-its-worst kind of story. But naturally, it got us thinking about what a similar deal would get you in the NYC market. As predicted, it's comically little, and certainly much less than you could get in exchange for that $130 million mega-apartment on Park Avenue. (Meanwhile, the Detroit investor ultimately sold his house for $1,000 to a local, and an altruistic German gave him an iPhone.)

While the $199 baseline cost of a new iPhone would pay for a night in a nice Airbnb rental, several months of storage, and even a day or two's worth of time in a Manhattan or Brooklyn rental, the options are starker when it comes to what's available for purchase. In exchange for your shiny, allegedly bendy new phone, you'd get just over an inch of space in an average Manhattan condo. Check out the rest of your options above, and take comfort in knowing that even if you can't get much in exchange for your mobile device, you might still be able to arrange some sort of bartering deal with the landlord.

Source note: Average Manhattan and Brooklyn condo prices based on Miller Samuel's report for the third quarter 2014. Average rents calculated from MNS Real Estate's September 2014 market report.

Related:

What you'll get for $130 million, the price of NYC's most expensive home

How to find a roommate on Craigslist (and avoid the freaks)

12 of the best NYC neighborhoods for recent college grads: 2014 edition

9 NYC neighborhoods where you can still get a bargain

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: