A cheap two-bedroom condo is just minutes away from the ultra-exclusive West Village, but there's a massive catch.
The railroad-style home sits inside a red-brick building on a car-lined street in one of the most prime cities in New York's metropolitan area.
The $259,900 home is priced well below the metro's averages and is a mere 10-minute drive from the famous Carbone restaurant in the West Village.
It's also located near public transportation, parks and restaurants.
It sounds like a dream come true, only the aging condo is located across the Hudson River in Jersey City, and the 10 minutes it takes to get to Carbone is only doable in a rare, trafficless commute to New York City.
Despite that, the 15th Street condo has caused quite the chatter online, with real estate developer, John Blatchford, saying the listing proves the 'affordability crisis is a myth if you're even slightly motivated.'
By Blatchford's standards, those wanting to live near the prized West Village neighborhood could still have it all without actually living along the cobblestone streets if they're willing to sacrifice little things, such as fixing up a cheaper property and 'riding your bike a little.'
Blatchford, who lives in Cincinnati, said his entire point is that people can live close to New York City and not pay the eyewatering prices. In the West Village, homes sell for an average of $1.9million and the average rent price is just under $6,000.
A Jersey City condo has been listed for $269,900, which is significantly lower than the metropolitan averages
The home has created a lot of discourse online about the metropolitans affordability crisis
Blatchford, of Cincinnati, argued the Jersey City location is only an eight-minute drive to Carbone
Similar affluent neighborhoods, such as the Upper East and Upper West Sides, sell for similar average of $1.4million. Manhattan as a whole has an average sale price of $833,000.
But city dwellers will tell the Ohioan he's wrong, with many pointing out the ride to Carbone would actually take between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on traffic, plus would cost the driver bridge tolls, congestion pricing and more.
They also pointed out to Blatchford that the home isn't located in the best area of Jersey City, where the average home price is $670,000.
Jersey City also isn't comparable to the West Village, Tara Benson, a realtor with NYC-based Douglas Elliman, told the Daily Mail.
Benson currently represents 96 Perry Street #B2, which, on paper, seems like a comparable listing to the Jersey City unit. Both are two bedroom, one-bath homes with limited square footage.
The pre-war home, however, goes for $1.07million.
Another West Village home, 99 Bank Street Apt 3H, has been listed for $2.75million. It is also a two-bedroom, one-bath, pre-war home.
Some might ask what makes the pre-war spaces worth four and eight times the amount of the Jersey City home.
96 Perry Street #B2 is located in the West Village and is on the market for $1.07million
Listing Agent Tara Benson said the Perry Street unit and the one in Jersey City are incomparable, as it depends on what the buyer values
The Perry Street location has access to many famed restaurants, like Carbone, and is near a lot of subway lines, making travel within the city easy
For one, the West Village homes are modernized, with new appliances, and with tons of natural light – a rarity in the Big Apple.
But Benson also argues that a lot of it simply comes down to location. Just because the neighborhoods are separated by the 'narrow Hudson River' doesn't make them comparable, she told the Daily Mail.
'The property can be cheaper, but not be a substitute,' she said.
The West Village also has walkable access to famous restaurants, like Carbone, Dante and Taylor Swift approved Via Carota.
It also has quick and easy access to any part of Manhattan and to other boroughs via public transit, as well as that 'village' feel, which can provide a cozy feeling compared to Midtown's monstrous office buildings.
There's also a scarcity of listings in the neighborhood, which is only 0.57 of a mile.
'Those elements are extremely desirable to people in the West Village, and those elements come at a premium that people who want to live in the West Village are willing to pay,' Benson said.
Benson said those who are worried about getting more square footage, among other concerns, wouldn't be the right buyer for the West Village, nor does jumping across the river fix the housing problem in the City That Never Sleeps.
'The property can be cheaper, but not be a substitute,' Benson told the Daily Mail
'The existence of a cheaper alternative doesn’t negate New York’s affordability crisis,' Benson told the Daily Mail.
'It does raise the separate question of what an individual buyer considers genuinely comparable, and that depends on which attributes, i.e. square footage, space, location, commute, walkability, character, etc. they’re willing to trade.
'If you're just comparing apples to apples, it might not make sense, but there are so many other variables that go into the equation when a buyer is deciding whether or not the West Village is where they should put their money versus Jersey City.'
Benson said you could certainly find similar neighborhoods in Jersey, such as Hoboken and Montclair, but that doesn't automatically make it the West Village, especially when commute time is taken into consideration.
Whether one works in the city or simply wants to spend more time there, time is money.
'You assign time a value,' Benson, who used to live in Hoboken before moving to Manhattan, said.
'Eight minutes sounds like nothing on paper, but there are so many other variables that you just can't even take into consideration until you're living it,' she said.
Another West Village condo, 99 Bank Street Apt 3H, has been listed for $2.75million
Some might ask what makes the pre-war spaces worth four and eight times the amount of the Jersey City home. Benson argues that a lot of it simply comes down to location (pictured: 99 Bank Street)
'If you miss the train, and the next train is 15 minutes, and you've got to be somewhere and you're expecting to be in the city within 12 minutes, now everything is delayed. You can't just hop in a cab so easily when you're in Jersey City
'You're at the mercy of what transportation options are available to you. Whereas, in the city, when you're here, you sort of have more flexibility, more optionality, and that's worth something to people.'
The Daily Mail has reached out to Blatchford and Anthony Gomes, the Jersey City realtor, for comment.
