Drew Kelly for the Wall Street Journal
Tina Naser knew she wanted to live in Manhattan’s West Village, a vibrant neighborhood with historic buildings and distinctive shops and restaurants. But after two years of searching for a one-bedroom apartment, she gave up.
Instead, she opted for a place in a pre-war building within the same neighborhood. Her choice: a 650-square-foot studio apartment, which she purchased in 2012 for $600,000; she spent another $200,000 on renovations, including the kitchen and bathroom. By going with a studio, Ms. Naser, a 42-year-old management consultant, could live in a popular neighborhood in a home with high-end finishes.
“I figured out the parameters, and I needed to marry them with price,” says Ms. Naser.
Bigger is not always better, some home buyers say. Studio apartments allow them to live in desirable neighborhoods and splurge on small units with interiors that resemble sleek hotel suites. Developers marketing studios in large condo buildings say buyers are less focused on hosting dinner parties inside their units, because the buildings offer plenty of communal spaces for socializing. “Studios are always in demand because of the price point,” says Kipton Cronkite, a real-estate agent at Douglas Elliman, a New York brokerage. Square footage “is not so much of a concern.”
For buyers who compromise on space, the key is to optimize every square inch and include furnishings that serve multiple purposes.
Dirk Ward’s 330-square-foot apartment in L.A.’s Venice Beach neighborhood has long, narrow storage columns that run the full height of the space “to hide the mess” and separate his living, sleeping and office areas into distinct spaces. The divisions create a natural flow to the tiny living space, Mr. Ward, a 56-year-old software entrepreneur, says. A front door opens up to a small patio space, which makes the studio feel larger, he adds.
His studio is located on the ground floor of a building he purchased in 2011. He rents out the two top units in the building and plans to rent out another later this year. By living in his studio, Mr. Ward can earn income on his real-estate investment.
“Initially when I got the building, I thought we’d need to turn [the ground-floor space] into storage,” says Mr. Ward, who paid $1.4 million for the entire building and estimates he spent $100,000 on his studio renovation. He moved in last year.
Creating ample space to store belongings makes a studio more livable, says Lisa Little, principal at Vertebrae, a Los Angeles-based architecture firm who designed Mr. Ward’s space. “When you live in such a small space, you need to be able to put everything away,” she says.
Drew Kelly for The Wall Street Journal
Maria Yuan, a 35-year-old founder of a tech startup, toured roughly 50 units in Manhattan, worked with three real-estate agents and bid on several studios before her bid for a Gramercy Park L-shaped unit for about $600,000 was accepted. She spent less than $20,000 installing bamboo flooring and buying furniture that wouldn’t feel bulky in the space. A long oversize window ledge now serves as a makeup vanity on one side and a desk on the other. A small kitchen bar area doubles as the dining room table. She’s not looking to entertain. “I don’t have people over for dinner parties,” says Ms. Yuan, who purchased the unit last year.
While larger units can pull off different furnishing styles in various rooms, it’s more challenging to achieve a harmonious feel along the different areas of the open layout, says Damon Liss, a New York-based interior designer who worked with Ms. Naser. “If the kitchen is part of your bedroom and living room, it’s important to keep [the space] looking terrific,” Mr. Liss says.
To take up less “visual space,” the designer prefers furniture that’s raised off the floor on delicate legs or armchairs with see-through arms. High-end finishes in small spaces can create a luxurious feel without breaking the bank, says Mr. Liss. “You can use the most beautiful materials because it’s on a small scale,” he says.
Kelly Marshall for The Wall Street Journal
Studios comprise just 11% of properties sold in Manhattan, with an average sale price of $764,630, up from $683,405 just two years ago, according to Douglas Elliman’s data and research team. Nationally, less than 1% of buyers purchased a studio last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. But high demand in pricey metropolitan areas has prompted some developers to add more studios to their buildings.
In Miami, about 10% of the units at the Bond on Brickell luxury condo building are studios—and these sold out the fastest, says Diego Ojeda, vice president of the Rilea Group. A previous project by the developer allocated only 5% of the units to studios, he says. The 550-square-foot studios at the Bond on Brickell range from $330,000 to $450,000. Amenities in the 44-floor building, which was completed earlier this year, include a resident lounge, resort-style pool with cabanas, executive business center and children’s play room.
Since monthly assessments at condo buildings are typically calculated on a per-square-foot basis, owners of studio apartments typically pay less to enjoy the same amenities. When budgets are tight, studios are “the best way to get inside a luxury building,” Mr. Ojeda says.
Having a high proportion of studios may be a turnoff to potential buyers of pricey apartments who worry that studio owners are more likely to rent their space, he adds. As a result, some developers, building managers and boards prohibit or limit short-term rentals.
At 1450 Franklin, in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood, eight of the 67 condo units are 699-square foot studios priced at $820,000. The units are aimed at the single luxury buyer looking to live in an open layout, says Josh Nasvik, project director for Polaris Pacific, which handles sales for the building. For an extra $10,000, the developer will install a sliding door that can cordon off the bedroom nook from the living room. The building also has one-bedroom units priced at $850,000 with a similar square footage, but these have been less popular than the studios, Mr. Nasvik says.
Drew Kelly for The Wall Street Journal
Studio owners have to get especially creative once they need room to grow. Rather than moving from the 537-square-foot “bachelor pad” that Donnie Wang, 34, purchased for $350,000 in 2009 in San Francisco’s Financial District, he opted to redesign the unit to create more space for his wife, Nicole Chiu-Wang. The couple worked with two of Mr. Wang’s friends, both architects, to create a steel-and-concrete loft structure for their bed. Underneath, they created an office area with built-in benches, a stand-up desk, white board and a dining table. The $25,000 free-standing structure also has a Murphy bed that can fold down to accommodate overnight guests. A custom steel ladder allows them to easily access the loft space.
It took some adjusting to sleep in the loft, which can feel a little like a top bunk. But the tradeoff was worth it to avoid having to leave the downtown location and look for a new home in the city’s hot real-estate market, says Mr. Wang, a software developer who is a fan of minimalist living.
“We want to stay here until we have our first child, and that child is walking and running around,” he says.
The post The Designer Shoebox: Studio Apartments That Use Every Inch appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com.
from DIYS http://ift.tt/2d0az0q
No comments:
Post a Comment