HGTV’s “Selling New York” follows CORE agents as they navigate the country’s most competitive—and compelling—real estate market. Here’s our behind-the-scenes look at Episode #413, which first aired on January 26, 2012. For more SNY recaps, click here.

CORE's Parul Brahmbhatt (center), flanked by Steampunk devotees.

In “Press Worthy Properties,” CORE agent Parul Brahmbhatt faced an unusual challenge in this week’s episode: How to market a New York City property with bizarre elements such as a green submarine door and a 32-foot model zeppelin suspended over the kitchen? Yep, we’re talking about the Steampunk-inspired loft at 120 West 29th Street. With a homeowner determined to sell the quirky apartment “as-is,” Parul’s goal was to find a buyer that would preserve the property’s unique character. The episode began with Parul and CEO Shaun Osher discussing a pricing strategy. While the owner expected over $2 million as a listing price, Parul and Shaun knew that wasn’t feasibile with such a buyer-specific property. It was essential to price slightly lower and generate interest from a larger pool of property hunters. After a conversation with the homeowner, a listing price of $1.75 million seemed ideal.

Next came finding the right strategy to market the property. After extensive research and a visit with Steampunk expert Joey Marsocci, Parul concluded that the best way to bring the property to market was to throw a Steampunk-style open house. In the end, Parul’s creative marketing approach and out-of-the-box thinking paid off, resulting in an overwhelmingly positive response from fellow brokers, potential buyers and the press. Keep on reading for some exclusive behind-the-scenes information about what didn’t make it into last night’s episode of “Selling New York” and what happened after the cameras stopped rolling!

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A sampling of last week’s press coverage of CORE and CORE properties.

“Where History Meets Industry”
New York Times
The Times‘ “Living In” column took a trip to Brooklyn over the weekend, to the historic neighborhood of Wallabout. CORE’s Doug Bowen, who lives in the neighborhood, gave the paper a primer on what real estate sells for in the area. We’ll have more on this story on the CORE Blog later today.

Listing of the Week
MSNBC
The press can’t get enough of Parul Brahmbhatt’s Steampunk-inspired loft listing at 120 West 29th Street (right), and neither can we. The latest outlet to cover the quirky pad is MSNBC’s The Bottom Line blog, which calls it a “dramatically-inspired space straight out of a Jules Verne novel.”

“Three Developments Change the Stigma of Upper Fifth”
New York Condo Blog
CORE founder and CEO Shaun Osher was interviewed about the changes along Upper Fifth Avenue, where there’s been a boom in construction, including the new CORE project at 1280 Fifth Avenue. Here’s our take on the piece and the neighborhood’s transformation.

A sampling of last week’s press coverage of CORE and CORE properties.

“Added Life, Costs on West 29th Street”
Wall Street Journal
The WSJ included Parul Brahmbhatt’s quirky listing at 120 West 29th Street (right) in its look at how the boutique Ace Hotel has transformed the neighborhood now being referred to as NoMad. We took a closer look at the topic last week.

“Manhattan Sales and Rental Projects Hitting the Market in 2012″
Curbed
The 54-unit Walker Tower, an ultra-luxury Art Deco condo conversion being brought to the market in the spring, is highlighted in Curbed’s map of new developments to watch in 2012.

“Development updates”
The Real Deal
The Real Deal reported that just two apartments remain available at 83 Franklin, the new Tribeca luxury rental building that starred on an episode of “Selling New York” last month. Apartments in the building have rented for up to $22,500 a month.

New York City’s neighborhoods are always evolving, whether it’s an established area like Fifth Avenue by the park, or a neighborhood without a name. Today the Wall Street Journal shines a light on the area that’s not quite Chelsea, not quite Midtown, and, up until a few years ago, was only known for its discount electronics and fragrance stores. Now the neighborhood has a flashy nickname, NoMad (for north of Madison Square Park), and a boutique hotel, the Ace that is driving all sorts of new restaurant and retail development.

Who stands to profit? Local property owners, of course. “Real-estate people predict the pace of development in the area will continue in the next few years,” the Journal writes, hinting at high-end projects to come like the NoMad Hotel a block away from the Ace on Broadway and 28th Street. Will residential real estate prices mirror the neighborhood’s rise? The paper highlights a handful of for-sale apartments in its look at NoMad, including the one-of-a-kind apartment at 120 West 29th Street listed by CORE’s Parul Brahmbhatt, seen here. (It also made the WSJ’s neighborhood map, right.) It just goes to show that sometimes all it takes is a spark, or in this case, a hotel, to change a neighborhood’s fortunes — and a wise buyer knows when to check in.

Who doesn’t love a popularity contest? The Wall Street Journal just published a video counting down the newspaper’s most viewed Houses of the Day in 2011, and CORE properties took the top two spots! Coming in second was the quirky and whimsical “Steampunk apartment” at 120 West 29th Street, known for its interesting antiques and sci-fi soul. The most popular House of the Day was also located in Chelsea, at 232 West 15th Street, a historic townhouse that happens to have a full-size swimming pool in its living room. Check out the video above to get a glimpse inside both one-of-a-kind homes.

The WSJ is also asking readers to pick their favorite 2011 House of the Day. Click here to cast your vote!

“Steampunk fandom heats up”
CBS News “Sunday Morning” (10/30)
Comedian Mo Rocca got an inside look at “Steampunk” culture on the long-running TV news show, including a tour of the fantastically decorated loft at 120 West 29th Street (right), listed by CORE’s Parul Brahmbhatt.

“Buying up domain names in order to turn a profit”
The Real Deal (11/1)
CORE CEO Shaun Osher commented on the practice of real estate companies buying up Internet domains to direct more web traffic their way.

Dream Homes
New York Post (11/3)
The Post did a little bit of salivating over CORE broker Stuart Sussman’s four-bedroom, 4 1/2-bathroom, 3,579-square-foot penthouse listing in Chelsea’s Yves building, which is asking $10.4 million.

“Chelsea Housing Gets Google Lift”
Wall Street Journal (11/4)
CORE’s 305W16 development was highlighted as one of the new residential buildings contributing to a post-Google housing boom in Chelsea. Read more: The Real Deal, Betabeat

“Psst, Seller: Your Stove Is Showing Its Age”
New York Times (11/6)
In the weekend’s Real Estate section cover story, veteran CORE broker Michael Garr talked about the benefits of sellers renovating their homes when putting them on the market.

Photos by Ian Reid for CORE.

If you build it, they will come. And in the case of the loft at 120 West 29th Street, “they” means the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, The Real Deal, Curbed, Steampunk aficionado Dr. Grymm and a decked-out group of his faithful devotees. Following last week’s launch party, one of NYC’s most unique apartments is now one of NYC’s most famous apartments. And since the event was being filmed for HGTV’s Selling New York, this retro-futuristic fantasy pad (yep, the color-changing zeppelin is included in the $1.75 million price) may soon be sweeping the nation.

See CORE’s Shaun Osher, Parul Brahmbhatt and a host of well-dressed characters plucked straight from a sci-fi flick in the photos below, and check out CORE’s Facebook page for more.

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Even in seen-it-all New York, submarine doors, antique pulleys and large Technicolor zeppelins are not what we would call standard apartment décor, which is why the one new CORE listing sure to catch everyone’s eye is the second-floor apartment at 120 West 29th Street. And we’re showing it off!

This unique Chelsea 2-bed/2-bath co-op listed by Parul Brahmbhatt is such an attention-grabber that the New York Post and Curbed NY discovered it mere moments after it launched on the CORE website. Curbed loved the “neon steampunk aesthetic,” and for those scratching their heads, “steampunk” refers to the blending of 19th century Victorian style with modern gadgetry and science-fiction elements. Steampunk has spawned an entire sub-genre of fashion and art, and what better venue to showcase some of those creations than 120 West 29th Street? Dr. Grymm has already RSVP’d, but please note, there is limited dirigible parking available on West 29th Street.