From left: Nicholas Ricci, Daniel Kozlov, Eric Liftin and Mark Martinez

From the September issue: New York City homeowners are doing far fewer gut renovations than in the past. Instead, many are opting for cheaper cosmetic upgrades like refinishing floors, installing new appliances and replacing countertops.
In this month’s Q&A, The Real Deal talked to residential contractors and architects about what kind of activity they’re seeing in the home renovation business in the city, given the touch-and-go economy.
Many said that while the wealthiest of clients are still breaking down walls, most others are sticking to kitchens, bathrooms and surface-level fixes. The one exception is for price-conscious young families that are leaving Manhattan for cheaper, farther-flung neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens, where they’re buying old, dilapidated homes and buildings as fixer-uppers. [more]