Kardashians boost unit prices at Smythe Tribeca?

Can you put a value on celebrity cache? Yes, yes you can, according to the Wall Street Journal. After the Kardashian sisters (Kourtney and Kim) stayed in a penthouse at Smyth Tribeca, at 85 West Broadway, a listing for the 14th floor unit at the address shot up $195,000 to $4.995 million. The Kardashians stayed in the combination hotel/ residential development while they filmed the first season of “Kourtney and Kim Take New York.”

“Want to live where the Kardashians lived — who doesn’t?” the listing reads, according to the Journal. It also boasts that some of the same furniture seen in the show is “still there.” Upon further investigation, the reality television pair actually stayed in a unit a few floors down, but Sean Turner with Stribling & Associates, the listing broker, doesn’t think that matters much.

“The Smyth Hotel resonates with their fan base, which is huge,” Turner said. “The Kardashians inhabited the hotel and took it over with their security and paparazzi. It was their scene.”

This is contrary to what the Journal said has long been the folk knowledge with regard to celebrities and Manhattan real estate — they might help sell a property more quickly, but nothing alters market reality.

During the show’s second season, the sisters stayed at The Gansevoort Park Avenue. It’s unclear how, or if, prices were affected. [WSJ]