The townhouse market has always appealed to a certain kind of buyer—one attracted to formal living, period detail, outdoor space and the like. Recently, however, the townhouse market has appeared to expand somewhat. Part of this, perhaps, can be seen as due to an influx of brokers marketing townhouses. In the past, “most brokers wouldn’t sell townhouses, because they didn’t know about them and it’s kind of a specialty,” said Douglas Elliman broker George van der Ploeg, who specializes in townhouses. “Now, as prices are going up, more and more non-townhouse brokers are getting into townhouses, because it is so lucrative.”
But the definition of townhouse has also morphed; no longer are they necessarily convenience-challenged structures from a previous century. “People have always gravitated towards apartments, and not townhouses, because of services. Now, there is a new service, called virtual doormen—before, there was a big worry for townhouses as to how you are going to get the delivery without a doorman, but now, there is a way to do that, which was never there before,” Corcoran broker Thomas Wexler said. These days, then, it’s possible to get the aesthetic with expedience.
CORE’s 1 Centre Market Place and 9 1/2 Jane Street were included in the round-up.
1 Centre Market Place
Little Italy
Built by designer and developer couple Robert and Courtney Novogratz in 2006. Underwent another renovation that included an upgraded sound system. Four stories, with a roof deck and two terraces.
Bedrooms: Five
Bathrooms: Three full, two powder rooms
Square feet: 4,100
Listing price: $6.95 million
Brokerage: CORE
Website: http://www.corenyc.com
9 1/2 Jane Street
West Village
A private walkway leads up to a gated entrance of the 25-foot-wide townhouse. The first floor has an open kitchen and floor-to-ceiling glass windows that open to a private garden with a fire pit, and there’s a planted rooftop terrace on top of the home.
Bedrooms: Three
Bathrooms: Two full, one powder room
Square feet: 3,500
Listing price: $15.99 million
Brokerage: CORE
Website: http://www.corenyc.com