Last April, Douglas Elliman’s quarterly market report marked an inevitable, if stunning, milestone: The price of the average Manhattan apartment surged past $1 million. (In 1994, the average sale was $450,000.) But not all million-dollar apartments are created equal. Below, a few samples of what seven figures bought your neighbors in the past year.

(Photo: Donald Bowers for New York Magazine)

Chelsea
155 West 15th Street
Two-bedroom, one-bath triplex 1,200-square-foot co-op
Sold for: $962,000
What you get: Sixteen-foot ceilings, new kitchen, a high-end bath, and a private deck. It’s also likely to be a good investment—prices near the meatpacking district have been rising fast.
What you don’t: A view—it’s on the ground floor.

(Photo: Donald Bowers for New York Magazine)

Harlem
136 West 121st Street
4,300-square-foot townhouse
Sold for: $1,175,000
What you get: A four-story, four-bedroom house, outstandingly renovated, with central air and new oak floors.
What you don’t: Strivers Row, or anything like it. “People have misconceptions, thinking they can get a house for $500,000 in Harlem,” says Corcoran’s Spencer Means. “Even the shells are selling for a million these days.”

(Photo: Donald Bowers for New York Magazine)

Upper West Side
220 Riverside Boulevard
One-bedroom, one-bath, 903-square-foot condo
Sold for: $999,000
What you get: In Donald Trump’s Riverside South, this is a starter apartment. But it does have a stainless kitchen, a garage ($300 a month), and great views. Plus the usual Trump goodies: sauna, pool, masseurs on retainer.
What you don’t: An architectural gem—you’re living in a disco.

(Photo: Donald Bowers for New York Magazine)

Williamsburg
330 Wythe Avenue
1,800-square-foot condo loft
Sold for: $1,075,000
What you get: Dazzling amounts of room, with double-height windows and east- and north-facing views of the river. It’s also a green building, with a geothermal heating system that keeps utilities low and social-conscience points high.
What you don’t: Someone else to renovate for you. It sold as unfinished white space.

(Photo: Courtesy of the Corcoran Group)

Tribeca
295 Greenwich Street
Two-bedroom, two-bath, 1,222-square-foot condo
Sold for: $1,075,000
What you get: Great light and your own laundry room in a postwar building, not to mention P.S. 234 right across the street.
What you don’t: The classic Tribeca loft—it no longer exists for less than $1.5 million (that’s $1,000 per square foot).

(Photo: Courtesy of the Corcoran Group)

Lower East Side
7 Essex Street
1,900-square-foot duplex condo (raw space)
Sold for: $1,060,000
What you get: A split-level garden with access from both levels, thanks to a bridge over the sunken patio, and a striking façade.
What you don’t: A tan—half the apartment is subterranean. Also, it won’t be habitable for a while.

(Photo: Courtesy of Tamir Shemesh/Douglas Elliman)

Upper East Side
30 East 85th Street
One-bedroom, 11⁄2-bath, 840-square-foot postwar condo
Sold for: $998,000
What you get: Condo benefits, plaster walls rather than Sheetrock, and a great (million-dollar) view of the park.
What you don’t: Elbow room. At 840 square feet, the space should near capacity when furnished with a Barcalounger and an ottoman.

(Photo: Courtesy of Toni Scott/Brown Harris Stevens)

Clinton Hill
315 Clinton Avenue
Two-bedroom, two-bath, 2,000-square-foot condo
Sold for: $950,000
What you get: Besides 2,000 square feet? Mahogany details, a great bathroom, and a working black-granite fireplace.
What you don’t: The run of the entire house, or the bourgeois swank of Brooklyn Heights or even Cobble Hill.

Related:

• Archive: “Features”
• Articles by Will Doig
• Table of Contents: December 20, 2004 issue of New York | Subscribe!