Getting the most out of ground-floor units

Though they are often considered undesirable because of their location, a ground-floor apartment can have hidden benefits, brokers say. “The stigma is usually they think it’s a little bit dark, and they assume there’s a security issue and they also assume it’s a little bit loud if it faces the street, but not all of them do,” Josh Cohen, an agent at the Real Estate Group of New York, told NY1. “Unfortunately someone might overlook something like that and they may be overlooking a good deal or good value.” Though many buyers assume that a ground floor unit is undesirable, many are in the back of a building and are situated behind a doorman, so they are secure and private, Cohen pointed out. Also, units on the first floor generally, sell for less and have a larger layout than apartments on higher floors. “A lot of the time, typically in prewar buildings you’ll see third, second and first floor have higher ceiling heights, larger floor plates because typically they are used as doctors offices or other commercial use so now that these are used for residential, you get a lot more bang for your buck,” said Frances Katze, an executive vice president at Prudential Douglas Elliman. [NY1]