5 East 17th Street
$14,950,000
Four bedrooms, four bathrooms
If you ask New York City real estate agent Brian K. Lewis, the people in his industry are like thoroughbred horses: “Right now, we’re not able to run. We are all at the gate at the Kentucky Derby and we are waiting and we’re biting at our bits.” Though movers are considered essential workers in the city that was once the epicenter of the country’s outbreak, shelter-in-place orders and new restrictions on real estate transactions have thrown a wrench in the process of renting and buying property. According to Compass, the brokerage where Lewis works, the market in New York City hit bottom around April 12. However, by the end of that month, the average number of Compass listings going into contract were 24 percent higher than before the shelter-in-place order went into effect, as some residents—now more intimately acquainted than ever with the shortcomings of their current living spaces—sought a change.
153 West 85th Street
$799,000
One bedroom, one bathroom
