I still can't get over those 2 houses I saw yesterday - and I see a lot in Manhattan too. Both are illustrated on the web, so for those unseen persons who read my blog (you are out there, right?) here are the respective links:

1) 247 Central Park West (at 85th St), www.sothebyshomes.com # 0135126; and
2) 81 Barrow St., www.elliman.com # 1241325

I have a charming new listing of my own, which seems modest compared to the above. It's a 16' wide 4-story townhouse rental at 216 East 61st St., and I have to say I love it. It is so NOT perfect - no Waterworks; no granite; no Poggenpohl, but instead a lot of un-renovated old house charm. The building itself is typical of the speculative rowhouses put up by the hundreds on the East Side in the 1860s. This one was renovated in the 1920s to the tastes of that time. If I had $18,000/month, I'd rent it in a flash. I'm negotiating on a property right now - quite a luxurious one, actually - that was rented to its current tenant by a broker, who subsequently married her client and now lives with him in that house. Sounds like a good plan to me, who has been single long enough.

1) 216 East 61st St. is on the web at www.halstead.com # 1855339