Eastlight in Murray Hill-Kips Bay is a new development condo with many units with corner windows (CORE)
In a city where exposures can be a home’s best feature, there is no underestimating the value of a great view. This article explores the high value placed on exposures and how to determine the ideal exposure when renting or buying a New York City apartment.
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Questions to ask when weighing the pros and cons of exposures
While some exposures are considered more valuable than others, there are pros and cons associated with every exposure, which means that the right exposure for you may be the wrong exposure for someone else. The following are five key questions to ask when exploring exposures.What quality of natural light do you prefer, and at what times of day?
While there is no such thing as a right or wrong answer to this question, it is worth mentioning that each direction has pros and cons.
While there is no such thing as a right or wrong answer to this question, it is worth mentioning that each direction has pros and cons.
Eastern exposure
If you're an early riser, you may want to look for an eastern exposure to take advantage of the day's first light streaming into your apartment. However, if you're not a morning person, an eastern exposure, especially a bedroom with an eastern exposure on a high floor, may not be the best way to start each day.
The Ardsley, #18B (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
Western exposure
A western exposure will give you a great view of the sun setting over the city. In addition to the great sunsets, a western exposure will also deliver many hours of direct sunlight later in the day.
165 Charles Street, #RU14 (OFFICIAL)
Southern exposure
Southern exposures also tend to get a lot of direct light during the day. If you love a bright apartment, you'll likely love a southern exposure, but during the summer months, it may impact the overall temperature of your unit. Also, compared to a western exposure, a southern exposure will bring somewhat harsher light into your unit. Investing in heat-reflective blinds or even treating your windows with a heat-reflective film may be necessary.
Sutton Tower, #39C (Corcoran Group)
Northern exposure
If you’re seeking less direct sunlight, opt for a northern exposure. This may sound like the least desirable at first blush, but less sunlight means a somewhat gentler morning wake-up, and may not bring as much heat into an apartment.
Stella Tower, #PHC (Compass)
Do you own furniture or collectibles that need to be protected from direct sunlight?
However welcome sunlight may be, if you've ever looked at a bookshelf that has been exposed to direct sunlight for many years, you will already appreciate that direct sunlight does bleach out color. Unless you're an antiquarian, you may not care if your book spines grow paler by the year, but if you own any precious works of art or light-sensitive items of furniture (notably, upholstered items are generally at risk), you may want to take this into consideration when exploring the pros and cons of different exposures. While light-reflective window dressings and window films can help, both represent an additional investment that may not be worthwhile, especially if you’re renting.
However welcome sunlight may be, if you've ever looked at a bookshelf that has been exposed to direct sunlight for many years, you will already appreciate that direct sunlight does bleach out color. Unless you're an antiquarian, you may not care if your book spines grow paler by the year, but if you own any precious works of art or light-sensitive items of furniture (notably, upholstered items are generally at risk), you may want to take this into consideration when exploring the pros and cons of different exposures. While light-reflective window dressings and window films can help, both represent an additional investment that may not be worthwhile, especially if you’re renting.
Are you concerned about the impact and cost of cooling and heating your apartment?
The only thing more coveted than a great view and amazing natural light may be a climate-controlled environment. If you care about keeping your apartment cool during the summer months, both western and southern exposures, which deliver ample direct sunlight in the afternoon and later in the day, may not be ideal since they will raise the temperature of your apartment and, in turn, your reliance on air conditioning. For this reason, if you're concerned about cost or about reducing your carbon footprint, an eastern or northern exposure may be preferable.
The only thing more coveted than a great view and amazing natural light may be a climate-controlled environment. If you care about keeping your apartment cool during the summer months, both western and southern exposures, which deliver ample direct sunlight in the afternoon and later in the day, may not be ideal since they will raise the temperature of your apartment and, in turn, your reliance on air conditioning. For this reason, if you're concerned about cost or about reducing your carbon footprint, an eastern or northern exposure may be preferable.
Is an ideal exposure a deal breaker or just a nice-to-have?
A final consideration is how much you are or are not willing to pay for a great view. With very few exceptions, the best deals in most buildings are found on the first and second floors, which generally have the least desirable exposures. In some cases, however, even a higher-level floor may still be more affordable. If the tenth floor of a building doesn't have unobstructed views but the eleventh floor does, expect to pay less for the tenth-floor unit. The bottom line is that if you're willing to compromise on your exposure (e.g., a northern versus southern exposure in Manhattan or an obstructive versus unobstructed exposure), you may be able to save tens of thousands of dollars in the process.
A final consideration is how much you are or are not willing to pay for a great view. With very few exceptions, the best deals in most buildings are found on the first and second floors, which generally have the least desirable exposures. In some cases, however, even a higher-level floor may still be more affordable. If the tenth floor of a building doesn't have unobstructed views but the eleventh floor does, expect to pay less for the tenth-floor unit. The bottom line is that if you're willing to compromise on your exposure (e.g., a northern versus southern exposure in Manhattan or an obstructive versus unobstructed exposure), you may be able to save tens of thousands of dollars in the process.
In West Side apartments, southwest-facing apartments are coveted for their river views. (One High Line - Corcoran Group)
The market value of great exposures
In New York City, great exposures are often worth tens of thousands of dollars, which is why comparable apartments in the same building nearly always cost more on higher versus lower floors. But floor level isn't the factor that impacts the value of an exposure. In Manhattan, southern-facing exposures that offer a bird's eye view of the city's skyline tend to be worth more than northern-facing exposures. Likewise, a western exposure offering views of the Hudson River will generally be worth more than an eastern exposure offering city views.It also goes without saying that obscured exposures (e.g., an exposure that looks onto the wall of an adjacent building) are generally worth less than unobstructed exposures. In fact, great exposures are so coveted in New York City that some owners are even willing to pay to preserve them. A case in point took place at City Prairie, a Chelsea cooperative where owners paid $11 million to buy the air rights to an adjacent property in a bid to keep a developer from building a 145-foot tower that would have marred their views of the Empire State Building and reduced their natural light. A smaller retail building rose on the site instead.
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Developers and designers have taken notice of the value of open exposures and abundant light, and worked that into their projects. The original plans for 262 Fifth Avenue called for 41 residences, but that has since been revised to 26, allowing for full-floor apartments with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out on unobstructed views of the iconic Midtown skyline, the ever-evolving Lower Manhattan skyline, and both the East River and Hudson River.
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Further up Fifth Avenue, the apartments at 520 Fifth Avenue start on the 42nd floor, the better to make the most of open exposures and city views. This is likely a factor in the building's reported 20 contracts in 20 days, and it shows little sign of slowing down.
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In Downtown Brooklyn, Nine Chapel was designed so that every apartment is a corner unit with at least two exposures, allowing for an abundance of natural light in multiple directions. It is now nearly 50% sold approximately six months since sales launched.
Active Listings with Multiple Exposures
Eastlight, #24B (CORE Group Marketing LLC)
520 Fifth Avenue, #66B (Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group)
Nine Chapel, #9A (Corcoran Group)
601 Baltic Street, #PH9 (Corcoran Group)
242 Broome Street, #10D (Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales LLC)
88 & 90 Lex, #605 (Compass)
30E31, #35 (Modlin Group LLC)
Madison House, #51B (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
The Belaire, #45AB (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
One Clinton, #33B (Compass)
Morgan Court, #22A (The Agency Brokerage)
The Orion, #44B (Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales LLC)
300 East 74th Street, #35C (Corcoran Group)
The Park Laurel, #21A (Corcoran Group)
Hampton House, #11/12
$13,500,000
Park/Fifth Ave. to 79th St. | Condominium | 6+ Bedrooms, 6+ Baths | 5,117 ft2
Hampton House, #11/12 (Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales LLC)
Sutton Tower, #PH71
$19,500,000
Beekman/Sutton Place | Condominium | 4 Bedrooms, 4.5 Baths | 4,765 ft2
Sutton Tower, #PH71 (Compass)
Vesta 24, #PH2 (Corcoran Group)
315 Gates Avenue, #5G (Compass)
Cielo, #10B (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
538 Union Avenue, #4A (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
50 United Nations Plaza, #27A
$4,575,000 (-12.6%)
Turtle Bay/United Nations | Condominium | 3 Bedrooms, 3 Baths | 2,609 ft2
50 United Nations Plaza, #27A (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
The Elisa, #2A (Serhant LLC)
One High Line, #W10C (Corcoran Group)
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
Just complete the info below.
Or call us at (212) 755-5544
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
Contributing Writer
Cait Etherington
Cait Etherington has over twenty years of experience working as a journalist and communications consultant. Her articles and reviews have been published in newspapers and magazines across the United States and internationally. An experienced financial writer, Cait is committed to exposing the human side of stories about contemporary business, banking and workplace relations. She also enjoys writing about trends, lifestyles and real estate in New York City where she lives with her family in a cozy apartment on the twentieth floor of a Manhattan high rise.
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