Breakfast coffee

Breakfast coffee with Mei at Le Pain this morning.

New York private school cost approaching $40,000

Cost of private schools such as Horace Mann and Dalton in New York approaching $40,000 per year.  This exceeds Harvard's $37,000 per year according to New York Times article, Bracing for $40,000 at New York City Private schools. 

At Horace Mann, parents of kindergartrners pay $38,000 and additional fees.

Columbus Circle, 100 years apart

Columbus Circle today, from the Time Warner Center

Columbus Circle, at the southwest corner of Central Park, is site of three of the most expensive residential condominium buildings in New York.  Time Warner Center, Trump International and 15 Central Park West.  The area is touristy, exclusive and has the most expensive restaurants in NYC.  

Columbus Circle circa 1907

I was surprised to see how similar the two photos look.  100 years apart.

$110 million penthouse a bargain?

Extell Development recently raised its asking price for the penthouse at One57 to $110 million.  Forbes reports that Extell's President calls it a bargain at $110 million.  Reason is that at 11,000 sqft, the penthouse at One57 equates to about $10,000 per sqft.  Note that the price of the average condominium in Manhattan in 4Q'2011 was $1,295 per sqft.  So how can $110 million be a bargain?

Manhattan New York 4Q 2011 Market Report

Manhattan New York 4Q 2011 Market Report from Miller Samuel Appraisers just released.  My analysis and summary :

From 1997 to 2011, price per square foot (Condos and Coops) increased from $328 to $1,117.   This equates to about 9.2% appreciation per year.  Since most people buy property with mortgage financing, if we assume a 50% financing level, the 9.2% provides a Return on Investment of about 20%.  Now, that's a very good, stable return.

Manhattan in 1882

Nice article in today's NYTimes about development of the grid system in Manhattan.