The Belaire, #23E (Corcoran Group)
While certain residential amenities cater to highly specific tastes and lifestyles, everybody needs clean clothes, as evinced by laundromats getting deemed essential businesses when New York was on lockdown. However, it can get tedious having to lug a heavy bag of clothes, sheets, and/or towels to the nearest laundromat and block out enough time in the day to finish a load of laundry. Sending one’s laundry out can cut many of these inconveniences, but the cost can add up quickly.
An in-building laundry room can solve many of those problems, but in-unit laundry is even more highly coveted. A 2022 study from the National Association of Homebuilders found that a laundry room was considered “essential” or “desirable” by a whopping 83% of first-time homebuyers, and a more recent study cited by Gothamist found that in-unit washer/dryers have become the most commonly searched "must-have" item in real estate listings over the past four years.
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Full-sized laundry rooms of the sort found in a suburban house are not likely to be found in the typical New York City apartment, but a stackable washer/dryer in a closet is far more possible. This machine is guaranteed to be available; there’s no need to worry about a stranger rifling through one’s clothes; and one can do a load of laundry at any given time. This last point is especially useful to parents with small children, and all types of households appreciate the ability to throw in a load of laundry and go about their days rather than taking time out of a busy schedule to go to the laundromat.
National Association of Homebuilders data
For New Yorkers who do not have in-unit washer/dryers, some buildings make installation easier than others. Some new developments offer washer/dryer hookups in lieu of the machines themselves. This gives buyers the choice of easy installation or extra storage space, which is especially important at a time when an investigation by Curbed found that some buildings are installing in-unit laundry at the expense of closet space.
However, older buildings tend to have “wet over wet” rules that require washer/dryers to be installed only over “wet spaces” so as to reduce the risk of water damage to other units in the building (hence the number of apartments with washer/dryers in the kitchen or next to the bathroom). Additionally, some buildings require board approval before a washer/dryer can be installed, if not approval from the Department of Buildings.
However, older buildings tend to have “wet over wet” rules that require washer/dryers to be installed only over “wet spaces” so as to reduce the risk of water damage to other units in the building (hence the number of apartments with washer/dryers in the kitchen or next to the bathroom). Additionally, some buildings require board approval before a washer/dryer can be installed, if not approval from the Department of Buildings.
Finally, some prewar buildings explicitly do not allow in-unit washer/dryers. It is important to note that this is not arbitrary or out of spite, but because these buildings were constructed at a time when everyone was doing laundry by hand; as such, the plumbing and electrical infrastructures are not equipped to handle multiple washer/dryers.
In the case of prewar townhouses turned boutique condominiums, as have become widespread in Brooklyn, the entire building will have been retrofitted to allow for new water hookups and electrical outlets required by in-unit washer/dryers. It is far easier to retrofit a building this size than a large prewar cooperative. A certain number of in-unit washer/dryers may be grandfathered into the latter, but the building literally cannot take any more.
In the case of prewar townhouses turned boutique condominiums, as have become widespread in Brooklyn, the entire building will have been retrofitted to allow for new water hookups and electrical outlets required by in-unit washer/dryers. It is far easier to retrofit a building this size than a large prewar cooperative. A certain number of in-unit washer/dryers may be grandfathered into the latter, but the building literally cannot take any more.
71 East 77th Street, #8/A (Compass)
“The washer/dryer in the apartment has become a status symbol, a value proposition, a major selling point” – The Harris Residential Team, Brown Harris Stevens
Given the many advantages of an in-unit washer/dryer, it is little wonder that a Forbes article found that co-ops with in-unit laundry come to an average price of 7% higher than those without; on the rental front, Gothamist found that units with in-unit laundry are associated with 12% higher rent than units without it.
Meanwhile, in this landscape, in-unit washer/dryers have become a key component of new construction condos. Below, we take a look at apartments throughout the city with in-unit washer/dryers.
Meanwhile, in this landscape, in-unit washer/dryers have become a key component of new construction condos. Below, we take a look at apartments throughout the city with in-unit washer/dryers.
NYC listings with in-unit laundry
86 Thayer Street, #4I (REAVIS PARTNERS LLC)
834 Riverside Drive, #2E (REAL BROKER LLC)
Hastings House, #3A (Compass)
The Diana, #304S (Compass)
Harlem SOL 123, #4 (Corcoran Group)
Liberty Tower, #17C (Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales LLC)
512 East 83rd Street, #4C (Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales LLC)
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Southgate, #2D (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
156 Somers Street, #2A (Compass)
324 East 50th Street, #4D (Corcoran Group)
65 West 107th Street, #2D (Compass)
330 West 17th Street, #2E (Corcoran Group)
Bradhurst Court, #6M (CORE Group Marketing LLC)
535 West 110th Street, #5B
$697,500 (-6.9%)
Morningside Heights | Cooperative | 1 Bedroom, 1 Bath | 750 ft2
535 West 110th Street, #5B (Coldwell Banker Warburg)
42 Rochester Avenue, #3
$695,000 (-4.1%)
Bedford-Stuyvesant | Condominium | 2 Bedrooms, 2 Baths | 1,000 ft2
42 Rochester Avenue, #3 (Compass)
Enzo, #4A (Nest Seekers LLC)
6 West 71st Street, #4A (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
136 East 56th Street, #12C (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
1 Tiffany Place, #4B (Compass)
88 Morningside Avenue, #8E (Compass)
The Belaire, #23E (Corcoran Group)
Parc North, #6A (Real New York)
Radiant, #301 (Nest Seekers LLC)
Calvert House, #3D (Corcoran Group)
Smithsonian Place, #608 (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
254 Park Place, #4C (Corcoran Group)
155 West 80th Street, #3B (Compass)
23 North Elliott Place, #4 (Corcoran Group)
109-119 East 10th Street, #20 (Corcoran Group)
The Powellton, #5G (Weichert Properties)
Cipriani Club Residences, #602
$999,000
Financial District | Condominium | 2 Bedrooms, 1.5 Baths | 1,177 ft2
Cipriani Club Residences, #602 (Serhant)
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
Just complete the info below.
Or call us at (212) 755-5544
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
Content Specialist
Michelle Merritt
Michelle is a contributing writer and editor for real estate news in New York City
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