Location really is everything! TINY 77-square-foot New York City studio with NO BATHROOM sparks a bidding war thanks to its enviable locale - pushing price up to $2,350 A MONTH
- A video of the small unit in Greenwich Village went viral on TikTok in December
- At the time, it was listed for $1,975 per month, but the price is now up to $2,350
- Tenants in the building have to use a shared toilet and shower in the hallway
A 77-square-foot New York City apartment with no bathroom is now renting for $2,350 a month after its prime location in Greenwich Village sparked a bidding war.
The third-floor rental on West 11th Street went viral on TikTok in December after real estate agent Omer Labock gave a tour of the tiny space, saying it had to be the 'smallest apartment' he had ever seen. At the time, it was listed for $1,975 per month.
'New York is a special place,' he captioned the shocking 32-second clip, which was reposted on Reddit last month.
The buzz surrounding the incredibly small apartment inspired Gothamist reporter David Brand to tour the space for himself.
A 77-square-foot New York City apartment with no bathroom is being rented for $2,350 a month after its Greenwich Village location sparked a bidding war
The third-floor rental on West 11th Street went viral on TikTok in December after real estate agent Omer Labock gave a tour of the tiny space
The meager kitchenette features nothing more than a sink, a mini fridge under the counter, and a few cabinets. There is no oven or stove
He found that there was a surprising amount of interest in the unit, which some deemed a steal considering its location.
New York City rents surged to new record highs in April, with the median price of an apartment in Manhattan climbing to an eye-watering $4,241, according to a report by Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers & Consultants and Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
Brand described the minuscule studio as being less than 7 feet wide and 11 feet long, but it's not just the size that a tenant would have to get used to.
The apartment doesn't have a bathroom. Instead, residents share a toilet and shower that are located in the hallway, much like a college dorm.
Meanwhile, the meager kitchenette features nothing more than a sink, a mini fridge under the counter, and a few cabinets. There is no oven or stove.
The amenities essentially amount to a window and a petite closet.
Labock told Gothamist that most of the 26 apartments inside the building at 49 West 11th Street have the same configuration.
'They’re tiny, man,' he said. 'The smallest units I’ve ever shown.'
The apartment also doesn't have a bathroom. Instead, residents share a toilet and shower that are located in the hallway, much like a college dorm
At the time, the apartment was listed for $1,975 per month. It is now renting for $2,350
The window overlooking the exclusive neighborhood is one of the apartment's few highlights
Labock's video tour of the apartment ignited outrage over the city's soaring rental prices after it was reposted on Reddit on May 26
The official term for the layout is a single room occupancy, or SRO, which is a unit with 'one or two rooms [that] either lacks a complete kitchen and/or bathroom or shares them with other units,' according to state code.
New York City went from having an estimated 200,000 SRO units to less than 40,000 between 1955 and 1995, City Limits reported in 2013.
However, it seems that there is still plenty of interest in SROs, and Brand came across at least one prospective renter during his tour.
The Pace University junior asked the reporter to refrain from using his name out of fear that he would lose his bid on the apartment.
'If you want to be on a prime block of the city, it's like, you can't have everything,' he said of the tiny space.
Brand also met a resident who has been living in a similar unit in the building since 1997 after moving to the city for acting work.
The renter, who also asked to remain anonymous, pays just $1,100 a month in rent. To make up for the lack of space, they have a loft bed and a retracting desk.
However, many non-New Yorkers remain baffled by the sacrifices some city dwellers are willing to make to live in an exclusive zip code.
Labock's video tour of the apartment ignited outrage over the city's soaring rental prices after it was reposted on Reddit on May 26.
'Bruh I had more room in county jail,' one person responded.
'I live in a flyover state where you can easily buy a $300K house on a couple of acres for that same payment,' another shared. 'I will never understand the attraction of living in a city and paying rent for a minuscule place to live and not even having a bathroom.'
Someone else added: 'You couldn’t pay me enough to live there…'
