One Wall Street, #710 (Douglas Elliman) | https://www.cityrealty.com/nyc/financial-district/one-wall-street-1-wall-street/58572/710/CaHpRboxLakV
About 100 years ago, buildings full of one-room "efficiency apartments" went up to accommodate an influx of single people moving to New York City. This was around the same time wealthy artists' families were building separate studios for them to live and create in, albeit often with multiple rooms, soaring ceilings, and walls of windows. Nevertheless, the real estate industry adopted the term "studio" to give the one-room apartments a touch of glamour.
The name has stuck to this day, but current zoning does not allow for towers of studios and one-bedrooms like the ones that went up in the post-war era (h/t Curbed). If anything, a 2022 analysis by The New York Times noted that thanks to the popularity of uber-luxury boutique buildings with only a small handful of half-floor, full-floor, and multi-level apartments, newly built studio and one-bedroom apartments have dwindled. On the rare occasions that studios are available in these buildings, they are marketed as staff or guest quarters to be bundled with a larger apartment, as opposed to a single purchase.
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This does a disservice to small households who might like to enter the New York housing market, but only have the funds and/or desire for a studio apartment. According to city officials, the number of single-person households in the city grew nearly 9% between 2018 and 2023, and the number of nonfamily households rose 11% in the same time period. Between the city's housing shortage and high rents, many single people end up taking a roommate or two in larger homes better suited for families; thus causing some couples with two or more children to leave the city.
3 Sheridan Square, #7G (Compass)
As New York City's housing shortage becomes more severe, policy changes are focused on creating entry-level homes to get more people housed. Before Thanksgiving 2025, New York City Councilmember Erik Bottcher introduced a bill that would allow the construction of single-room occupancy units (SROs) for the first time in decades. These would be single rooms as small as 100 square feet with shared kitchens and bathrooms, a model not unlike the boardinghouses of old, or dormitories of today. Councilmember Bottcher sees such units as a good fit for young adults, senior professionals, seniors, newcomers to the city, and people transitioning out of homelessness.
Proponents of the bill point out that fewer kitchens and baths to carve out would allow for quicker conversions of office buildings to residential use. In any building, SROs can be delivered quickly, and they would free up larger apartments for larger households. The bill would also apply new safety standards to existing SROs. Opponents point out that the small square footage of SROs isn't ideal for older adults with limited mobility, and that adults of all ages might appreciate more privacy than SROs afford, especially where bathrooms are concerned.
The bill has the backing of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and Mayor Adams' "City of Yes for Housing Opportunity" included reforms that allow for small apartments with shared kitchens and baths. Additionally, the bill was introduced less than two years after Governor Hochul announced $50 million to rehabilitate SROs across New York State. Moreover, this is not the first time small apartments have been positioned as the answer to the city's housing shortage; pre-pandemic, microunits with modular furniture, tiny square footage, and shared amenity spaces were perceived as a solution.
Regardless of what happens with the bill, there is value in studio apartments for people who want to get their foot in the door towards owning a New York City apartment. Current CityRealty listings show studios make up just over 10% of all Manhattan listings and have an average asking price of $537K.
Finally, some studio apartments are a far cry from one sparse, single room, but rather are more creatively and thoughtfully designed than apartments twice their size. Below, we look at attractive and attainable studios for sale throughout New York City.
Studio Listings
Parker 72nd, #3R (Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales LLC)
160 East 26th Street, #2F (Compass)
333 East 53rd Street, #6B (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
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304 West 75th Street, #11D (Bond New York Properties LLC)
24 Fifth Avenue, #731 (Corcoran Group)
12 East 97th Street, #5L (Coldwell Banker Warburg)
Lindley House, #1A (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
The Theso, #19S (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
80 Central Park West, #4C (Compass)
250 West 27th Street, #5K (Sothebys International Realty)
The New York Towers, #PHL (Compass)
Convention Overlook, #15E (Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales LLC)
Parker Towne House, #7G (Compass)
Galaxy 51, #5A (Sothebys International Realty)
Lincoln Towers, #29N (The Agency Brokerage)
19 East 88th Street, #5F (Compass)
The John Adams, #8Z (Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales LLC)
The Museum 77, #3F (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
43 East 10th Street, #5F (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
99 John Deco Lofts, #523 (Serhant)
The Parc Vendome, #15C (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
The Rembrandt, #11E (Compass)
Chelsea Lane, #6FN (Compass)
The Rutherford, #1G (Compass)
The West Residence Club, #405 (Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group)
100 West 15th Street, #4BC (Compass)
One Wall Street, #710 (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
The Greenwich by Rafael Vinoly, #73C
$1,495,000
Financial District | Condominium | Studio, 1 Bath | 644 ft2
The Greenwich by Rafael Vinoly, #73C (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
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?
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