If you’re house hunting with a budget in the millions, Victoria Vinokur is the kind of real estate agent you might want to hire. She’s a licensed broker at Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales in New York City, and has been catering to high-end real estate buyers for almost 20 years.
Victoria Vinokur
Vinokur recalls her favorite high-end sale from several years ago: a penthouse in the prestigious Sutton Place neighborhood of Manhattan. When the elevator stopped at the top floor, the door opened onto a private landing. Stepping out of the elevator and turning to the right placed you in front of the elegant main unit, and if you turned to the left, there was a studio apartment perfect for extended family and guests.
While that is indeed luxurious, especially in New York City, the definition of “luxury” among buyers has grown more expansive.
To buyers seeking a home or just a pied-à-terre in the city, Vinokur often shows newer properties, with a variety of options. “One, 520 Park Avenue, is a tall, new building, with a beautiful pool, a gym, a salon and a premier garden area where residents can socialize. Builders today consider the way people live now, and the in-building amenities buyers in an area like New York City might want,” she says.
In the 1990s, in-building amenities were more of an afterthought, Vinokur says, so if there was a gym or a pool, for example, it would be in the basement. Developers didn’t tend to think about common spaces and entertainment spaces, or about places for socializing. “But now, amenities are some of the highlights of prime real estate. Gyms have higher ceilings and offer a view, and usually the building manager hires an outside company to run the gym instead of having the superintendent run it,” she adds.
There’s also a trend toward community building, she says, referencing 15 Central Park West, which has a salon and rooms for entertaining or hosting a benefit or party. It also includes a screening room, a private dining room with butler service, a library and a children’s playroom, as well as a pool, a gym and an outdoor area.
“Today there are meditation rooms, massage rooms, play rooms for children and special pet areas. These are no longer afterthoughts, they’re beautifully done spaces that would never be offered several years ago,” says Vinokur.
One difference between buying a condo in New York City from buying one anywhere else is that New York City laws, as well as those of condo boards, have strict rules about renting it out and so forth. So, if you’re hoping to buy a property that’s slightly more than the nest egg you set aside for your dream home, and you’re looking to rent it out during the times you’re not there, that may not be a feasible way to defray expenses.
Advising would-be buyers on these unique stipulations is only one part of Vinokur’s job, she says. Another role she often plays is tour guide. Vinokur has found that even for wealthy clients, amenities include more than the building’s conveniences. In a market like New York City, her clients also want to know the ins and outs of the area, and to be treated like locals. So besides showing them the exclusive residences with extra luxuries, she shows them “secret” entrances to restaurants (ones with no sign, for example), and interesting coffee shops in the neighborhood.
“They want to see the city through the eyes of someone who lives here and knows the way ‘in’ to spots they would not necessarily know of or think of as special,” she says.
Pat Olsen is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, the Washington Post, Diversity Woman, Family Business, AARP and other outlets.
Inset photo courtesy of Victoria Vinokur.