New York Habitat Blog

New York Habitat continues its new feature on our blog called Guess the Price. We ask anyone who is interested to guess the price in the comments section of this blog entry. The person who guesses the correct price will be offered 10% off the agency fee of a Vacation Rental (30 day or less rental).

The apartment: One bedroom apartment near the Arc de Triumph in Paris

This is a one-bedroom apartment in Paris with a separate office area near the entry. The apartment has large windows, which open to the exterior courtyard below, and the building has an elevator to help with luggage. The apartment has a full bedroom with a Murphy bed to make it more space during the day. The kitchen is fully equipped including a space saving stove and dishwasher.

The neighborhood and other apartments:

This new one bedroom apartment is centrally located in the 8th arrondissement with a short walk to the Champs-Elyees and the Arc de Triumph. The closest subway station is Charles de Gaulle – Etoile.

We features several other properties in the area which can help to determine the price. For example there is a Studio in Champs Elysees (PA-2819) for 594 euros per night with a fold out sofa bed. A one bedroom in Champs Elysees area (PA-3284) costs 743 euros for 2 people and 810 euros for 4 people. Finally a large four-bedroom apartment in Champs Elysees (PA-3006) that can accommodate 6 people cost 3240 euros a week.

To learn more about the area take a look at these references:

• Paris Vacation Accommodations choose Area Champs Elysees to see more apartments in the same neighborhood
• Paris in Song - “Paris – Picture Perfect”

Piece together the clues and then make your guess by submitting a comment to this blog article. The person who makes the closest guess to the correct price will be notified via e-mail that they are the winner of the 10% discount on 1 vacation rental.

So, if you are interested in knowing more information about the apartments and accommodations New York Habitat offers take a look at the new Guess the Price section of the blog and submit your guess for a chance to Win!

The results will be posted tomorrow afternoon about 4 P.M. New York time.

Rules:
10% discount on agency fees is only good for the vacation rentals
Only one guess per e-mail address
Discount is good for 30 days after you are notified that you are the winner

—————————————————————-

This contest is now closed.

You can view the result and the winner here: Guess the price results: one bedroom apartment in Paris
To see the apartment visit the One bedroom apartment in Champs Elysees Paris

On April 26th, 2007 the New York Sun featured an article titled, “A Global Boom Converges on the New York Market.” The author, Michael Stoler, detailed the advantages of investing in New York properties.

Today we look at the advantages of considering investing in a furnished apartment in New York.

Before considering an investment in New York property, it is important to consider a few key questions that will help you to determine if a furnished property rental could be your best choice:

• Q: What sort of involvement do I want with the investment?
  New York Habitat’s Tip: Furnished rentals tend to be more active investments because there is more turnover in clients.
• Q: What is my objective from the investment?
  New York Habitat’s Tip: The objective is less important but one advantage of furnished rentals is that you can also use the apartment when you come to New York.
• Q: What is my budget?
  New York Habitat’s Tip: The great thing about furnished rentals is that the budget is flexible. For $300,000 and up you can find single apartments and if your budget is higher you can consider entire buildings or several units in a building.

Once you answer these questions, you will have a better idea whether a furnished rental apartment makes sense for you.

The advantages of offering Furnished Rentals include:

• Ability to use the apartment when you travel to New York
• Higher rates of return versus unfurnished rentals (Rental costs remain high in New York)
• Strong demand for short-term housing options (Global Tourism: High demand for accommodations)
• Ability to convert to unfurnished housing at any time

New York Habitat would be happy to speak with you about the benefits of investing in furnished properties and one of our listing agents can give additional tips on what types of apartments make the most sense for each type of investor.

To read more about listing your apartment: Tips from the Pros: How to list your apartment

Well, thanks to everyone who made a guess in the first guess the apartment’s price contest. Our first winner is Emmanuel who correctly guessed $3800 per month and is entitled to the 10% discount off of a vacation rental.

This 5 bedroom apartment Uptown (NY-12302) is now online and if you would like to reserve this apartment give us a call at (212) 255-8018 or complete a request form.

Here are more details on the apartment and neighborhood:

The apartment:

As noted before this apartment is in a historic brownstone building in Harlem. The apartment has been nicely restored including refurbishment of the original wood floors, decorative fireplaces and wainscotings in the bathroom.

Neighborhood:

The neighborhood features some of the cities top rated restaurants featured in the Zagat guide including Charles’ Southern-Style Kitchen on Lenox Avenue between 125th and 126th Streets, Revival a French restaurant on Frederick Douglass Blvd. at 127th Street and Pier 2110 a seafood restaurant on Adam Clayton Powell Blvd between 125th and 126th Streets.

The neighborhood has many new restaurants opening along the main avenues as the neighborhood’s renaissance continues.

Attractions:

Harlem is best known for the Apollo Theater where many famous musicians have preformed throughout the past century but also has many other attractions, which are often overlooked. Some of the favorites include Mount Morris Park, which is located between 120th and 124th Street at Fifth Avenue and is surrounded by beautiful brownstones, which have been featured in various Hollywood productions.

Also popular in the area is the Museum of the City of New York (El Barrio) located at East 103rd Street and Fifth Avenue. Finally, you can find an authentic jazz club at Showman’s Bar on 125th Street between Morningside and St. Nicholas Avenues.

Transportation:

The apartment features an easy commute to the east or west side with access to the 2,3 trains at Lenox Avenue and 125th Street or for West Side Service and the 4,5,6 trains are available at 125th Street and Lexington Avenue for East Side service. For those traveling cross-town there are four bus routes that transverse 125th Street including the M60 bus, which travels from Columbia to La Guardia Airport.

For those looking to dodge Grand Central the metro north commuter rail has a station at 125th Street and Park Avenue offering service to Westchester, Stanford, CT, New Haven, CT, Newberg and Poughkeepsie with connections available to Albany, Boston, MA and Providence, RI.

Check in next week for the second installment of Guess the Price. Once again we will be offering a discount on agency fees to the winner of the contest. Next week prepare to guess the price of an apartment in Paris, apartment in London or a villa in the South of France.

To see the original clues for this apartment Guess the Price: Harlem 5 bedroom apartment.

Again, congratulation to Emmanuel, the winner of our first contest.

New York Habitat is inaugurating a new feature on our blog called Guess the Price. We invite you to guess the price in the comments section of our Blog.

The apartment will be posted on our website tomorrow evening. Check back for an additional blog tomorrow with the results and a link to the new apartment.

The person who guesses the correct price will be offered 10% off the agency fee of a Vacation Rental (30 day or less rental).

The apartment: 5-bedroom in a renovated Harlem townhouse

This 5-bedroom apartment is located on the top floor of a renovated Harlem townhouse. The building is on a block with historic significance and has been land marked because all of the buildings have the same façade as well as green verandas in the front. The apartment’s owner has worked on renovating the entire building saving and restoring many of the original details. The kitchen and bathroom in the apartment have been completely refinished.

Other offering near the apartment:

New York Habitat features several furnished apartments in Harlem. Some of the other availabilities include:

2-bedroom apartment uptown (NY-12256) for $3000 per month
Studio uptown (NY-12062) for $1300 a month
One-bedroom apartment uptown (NY-12209) (in the same building) for $1800 per month

These offerings should help you to come up with a price for this new offering.

For more info on the neighborhood check out the following blog entries:

Harlem Bed and Breakfasts
New York In Song - “Uptown – The New Harlem”
Harlem apartment rentals near the Renaissance Theater

Once you have collected all of the facts about this apartment submit your entry via comment to this blog. The person who makes the closest guess to the correct price will be notified via e-mail that they are the winner of the 10% discount on one vacation rental.

Rules:
10% discount on agency fees is only good for vacation rentals (30 days or less rental)
Only one guess per e-mail address
Discount is good for 30 days after you are notified that you are the winner

—————————————————————-

This first contest is now closed.

You can view the result and the winner here: Guess the Price results: Harlem 5 bedroom apartment
To see the apartment visit the 5 Bedroom Apartment in Harlem

One of the world’s most famous flower shows takes place at the Royal Hospital along the Thames River in the Chelsea section of London.

The 2007 Chelsea Flower Show is from May 22nd to May 26th, 2007. New York Habitat, one of the premier providers of furnished apartments in London, would like to share some possible accommodation ideas in the area for those looking for the perfect place to stay.

The Show:

The Chelsea Flower Show is open to the public from May 24th to May 26th with tickets costing 40 pounds per day for full-day admission, 22.50 pounds for afternoon admission and 17.50 for evening admission. The closest subway station is Sloane Square, which offers service on the Circle and District lines. The exhibits at the flower show include everything from Country to City Gardens as well as Floral Art, and, new for 2007, the Roof Gardens display. At the end of the show, awards are given out for each category, so make sure to track your favorites.

The accommodations:

Chelsea is one of the most popular locations to stay in London because of its proximity to both the major downtown attractions as well as the River.

New York Habitat has a wide selection of apartments in the area ranging in price from around 600 pounds for a small studio in the northern part of Chelsea to 2,000 pounds or more a week for three- and four-bedroom apartments.

Here, some of the offerings that are available in Chelsea during the flower show:

- A spacious 2-bedroom duplex Accommodation in Kensigton - Chelsea (LN-486) with an easy acces acces to Portobello Road and Notting Hill.

- Or, this bright and modern Kensigton - Chelsea one-bedroom Vacation Rental (LN-450) just 2 minutes from Hyde Park and close to the restaurants and bars of South Kensington.

- You also have this cozy one-bedroom Accommodation in Westminster (LN-174) just down the river from the fairgrounds.

The area:

The Chelsea area is dominated by expensive houses due to its proximity to the business center of London.

The neighborhood has access to several subway lines, including the District, Circle, Piccadilly and Victoria lines. Knightsbridge, Westminster and Piccadilly Circus are all within walking distance from the area of the Flower Show, though subways can also take you to these locations. The area along the river, like much of the rest of London, has developed into a popular place for people to walk.

When visiting the Chelsea Flower Show, consider NY Habitat’s London accommodation offers that include well-located apartments in Chelsea, Knightsbridge, Kensington and Westminster, many within a short walk from the event.

If you are interested in the Flower Show, you may also be interested in visiting Kew Gardens.

Every year since 2002, the Tribeca Film Festival has been held in southern Manhattan to showcase top independent films.

Finding a hotel room in the area can be difficult if not impossible because there are limited rooms in the neighborhood, but New York Habitat can help find the perfect vacation rental in TriBeCa whether you are a viewer, a critic, or part of the cast and crew of a movie. We have options to meet most everyone’s needs.

The 2007 Tribeca Film Festival:

The 2007 Tribeca Film Festival is taking place from April 25th to May 6th and includes showings of hundreds of movies at venues scattered throughout Manhattan. In the beginning, movies were generally shown just around the Tribeca area, but as the event has grown, showings have grown to include theaters in Midtown as well as the Upper East Side and Upper West Side. Tickets generally are available from $14 to $18 with special multi-movie packages available on the Film Festival’s website.

Tribeca Accommodations:

Tribeca offers a unique mix of apartments. The neighborhood largely consists of loft buildings from the 1800s as well as newer buildings in the Battery Park area, which was developed after the original World Trade Center was built.

Some of New York Habitat’s listings there include a two-bedroom rental in Tribeca (NY-11252), a four-bedroom loft just off Canal Street (NY-1965) perfect for a family, and a one-bedroom accommodation (NY-207).

For other information about Tribeca and the neighboring areas, take a look at: TriBeCa: Lofts and more, a neighborhood of change and New York in Song - Greenwich Village.

For all of your accommodation needs during the Tribeca Film Festival, remember to take a look at New York Habitat’s vacation accommodations and furnished rentals in New York.

Feel free to share your tips, advise and experiences about Tribeca and the Tribeca Film Festival.

From March 20-25, 2007, one of the largest global forums for dance music took place: the Winter Music Conference, Tommy Boy Sunset Sessions, at the Victor Hotel in Miami. New York Habitat was proud to showcase its apartments and to participate as a sponsor for this major event, which presents the latest innovations and gathers the top professionals of the music industry every year.

In its 22nd year, the Winter Music Conference attracted 600 attendees from more than 60 countries, making it a prime opportunity to highlight the services that New York Habitat can provide. New York Habitat knows that suitable accommodations for guests is a key element in the success of an international conference; therefore, our company offers its experience and expertise to help you arrange accommodations in quality furnished apartments.

For more information about the annual events that our international clientele attend, visit these blog posts: French Open 2007: Apartments in Auteuil, Rent an apartment in Paris for fashion week and New York Auto Show: Spend the night.

Doreen Fuentes, a member of the New York Habitat roommate share rental team, was our representative during the conference. She not only has skills in connecting people and apartments, but also in managing events. She handled the sponsoring strategy for New York Habitat during the whole event and produced the Winter Music Conference on behalf of her company, Industry New York.

The conference included performances of worldwide famous artists such as DJ Bob Sinclar, as well as roundtables and meetings.
 
New York Habitat is an ideal solution for visitors, artists, professionals and individuals who travel the world for events such as the Winter Music Conference and are looking for a more private and personal atmosphere than a hotel. We have a large choice of apartments, lofts and villas located close to major conference centers, pressrooms, concert halls and the fashion districts in New York, London, Paris and the South of France.

If you are traveling to London for business, one of the most up and coming neighborhoods for offices is Canary Wharf and the Docklands area. Canary Wharf is located on the north bank of the Thames and is east of Central London. New York Habitat offers apartments in the area, including choices around Tower Hamlets and Canary Wharf as well as apartments in the City neighborhood of London to the west of the Docklands area.

Reasons to choose the Docklands/Canary Wharf area:

The advantages of this neighborhood include lots of new and reconstructed housing, a new train line and less congestion than downtown. The area has many renovated and reconstructed buildings that include converted factories, cleaned up brown fields and new high-rise buildings. Furthermore, the Docklands Light Rail was initially constructed to connect the Canary Wharf area to downtown but has expanded to several other lines. The Jubilee line, built in conjunction with the millennium events, also offers rapid service to the main area within the city. The neighborhood has several parks lining the Thames River and offers views of the new water control gates along the water. Finally, the Docklands area tends to be less congested because the new infrastructure has been built to provide plenty of capacity in the neighborhood.

Accommodations available around Canary Wharf:

The neighborhood offers all different types of accommodations to meet your needs and our London Housing and Corporate Relocation team can aid in finding unique apartments in the Docklands and Canary Wharf area.

- For instance, this stylish 1-Bedroom Accommodation in Tower Hamlets - Canary Wharf (LN-752) that has a beautiful view of Canary Wharf.

- Also available, a 3-Bedroom Vacation Rental in Tower Hamlets - Canary Wharf (LN-373) located within walking distance of the Thames.

- Another option is this comfortable Tower Hamlets - Canary Wharf Studio Accommodation (LN-376). Located in a building constructed in 2005, it has been specially designed with space and convenience in mind.

For other London neighborhoods near the Thames, take a look at Apartments along the South Bank of the Thames and London Accommodations near Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, both located to the west of the Canary Wharf area. Remember, New York Habitat has apartments throughout London that are suited to all different needs.

Paris Photographs

Well, we have reached April and that is prime time to list your apartment for summer rental. New York Habitat’s vacation rental service sees some of its highest traffic levels during July and August when schools are on recess throughout much of the world.

Also, our furnished rentals and shared divisions generally have a high demand from summer interns and students as well as from business professionals and people vacationing for the entire summer.

With the weather beginning to get warm (except in New York where we are having snow flurries today) and people starting to make their summer plans, now is the perfect time to list your apartment for the summer months. For more information about listing your apartment, take some time to look at our helpful hints:

• Tips from the Pros: How to list your apartment
• Tips from the Pros: Clear the clutter

So, for those of you thinking about listing your furnished apartment, give us a call so that we can begin the process. Our specialists in New York, Paris, London and The South of France will be happy to discuss the details.

One of London’s hot neighborhood is the Southwark area along the South Bank of the Thames (Bankside). The neighborhood has changed over the past 10 years with significant new development, including the opening of the Tate Modern Museum, Shakespeare’s Globe Theater and London’s new City Hall.

The furnished apartment market in Southwark:

The neighborhood has become increasing popular for apartment rentals because of its convenient location to London City.

Accommodations in the area range from 714 pounds a week for a one-bedroom Vacation Rental in Bermondsey, Southwark (LN-467), near Waterloo Station.

To as much as 1,588 pounds for a two-bedroom Accommodation in Bermondsey, Southwark (LN-257), with a garden near London Bridge.

In between there, you can find a Bermondsey, Southwark two-bedroom Vacation Rental (LN-409) with a balcony, also near London Bridge at 907 pounds per week.

Furnished Apartment are limited in the area, though prices are more reasonable than comparable offerings in Knightsbridge, Kensington and Chelsea. For instance, this bright and beautiful 1-bedroom Furnished Apartment in Southwark (LN-865) for 3,400 pounds per month.

Reasons to select Southwark:

Whether coming for a short or long stay, Southwark’s location on the South Bank of the Thames is ideal because it is just a few subway stops away from major attractions and a short walk from others.

With easy access to three major subway lines — the Northern, Bakerloo and Jubliee — most areas of the city are readily accessible. The Jubilee line offers quick access to Knightsbridge, Oxford and Bond Streets for shopping and Westminster Abbey.

Taking a walk from the apartment leads to the new construction mentioned above as well as the Millennium Pedestrian Bridge that was constructed across the Thames in front of the Tate Modern. Also, the neighborhood is convenient to Waterloo Station, the terminal of Eurostar rail, which makes the three-hour trips to Paris and Brussels on a frequent basis. If you decide to enjoy a few days in Paris during your London stay, remember to take a look at our Paris Vacation Rentals.

When you decide to book your London trip, remember to consider Southwark as a good alternative to some of the most popular neighborhoods in London. If you decide to make Southwark your home during a relocation, our London Corporate Housing and Relocation services would be happy to find the perfect apartment for your needs. If you are coming for a short stay, our Vacation Rentals team can help you find a suitable apartment.