I love capturing the incredible Halloween and fall displays that pop up across our beautiful city each year. These are just a few snapshots: from the charming streets of the West Village to the stately Gold Coast of the Upper East Side.

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” — Albert Camus

As the city slips into fall, there’s a rhythm to its change, from the golden leaves to the steady hum of new beginnings. This week, I explore how timing and strategy shape outcomes in real estate, and how art and design continue to inspire the way we live.

In This Week’s Edition:

Every week brings another jaw-dropping Manhattan sale: $20 million penthouses, limestone mansions, glass towers climbing ever higher. Yet beneath the headlines lies a quieter truth: roughly one-third of condo owners who sold this past year, between July 2024 & June 2025, did so at a loss.

The chart above tells the story clearly. Many condos purchased between 2016 and 2020 have resold below their original price, with declines ranging from –1% to –3% per square foot. By contrast, those who bought before 2010 have seen strong appreciation: up to 30–45% , while owners who purchased in the 2011–2015 window have posted only modest gains.

According to a recent report, Manhattan condo prices overall are essentially flat compared with a decade ago, even as most U.S. housing markets have surged. When you factor in inflation and transaction costs, the number of sellers losing money rises even further.

The pattern is striking:

Still, it’s not all gloomy. The upper end of the market — properties above $10 million — continues to perform, fueled by buyers less sensitive to interest rates and more focused on quality, scarcity, and architectural pedigree.

For sellers, the takeaway is clear: in today’s market, timing, strategy, and positioning matter as much as location. Smart pricing, compelling presentation, and strategic narrative, especially in a city as nuanced as New York, are what separate record results from missed opportunities.

Market data may set the backdrop, but execution determines the outcome. One of my recent transactions tells the story best where we got a signed contract on our Tribeca Penthouse listing in less than a week (story below.)

As always, I’m here to help you navigate the market thoughtfully and successfully.

$7,750,000 | 3 BD | 2.5 BA | 3431 SF Interior + 1600 SF Roof Terrace

Even in a market where many sellers struggle to gain traction, results tell a different story when timing, strategic pricing, and positioning align.

Just this month we launched a Tribeca penthouse that combined authentic prewar character with exceptional scale, light, privacy, and outdoor space — and within days, we attracted strong interest and multiple competing offers, going under contract in less than a week.

That outcome wasn’t chance; it was strategy. By reading the market correctly, setting the right price, pre-marketing, targeting the right audience, and emphasizing the home’s distinctive attributes, we created urgency in a segment where buyers act decisively when the opportunity feels both rare and right.

The lesson is clear: data and timing set the stage, but strategic pricing, presentation, and positioning drive results.

The largest exhibition ever devoted to a woman artist at MoMA.

The Museum of Modern Art is currently hosting Ruth Asawa: A Retrospective through February 7, 2026 — the largest exhibition ever devoted to a woman artist at MoMA, featuring 275 works. Coinciding with the centennial of Asawa's birth, the retrospective celebrates her six-decade career, bringing together some 300 artworks including her signature handwoven wire forms alongside bronze casts, drawings, paintings, and public works.

Born in Norwalk, California, and incarcerated with her family in war relocation camps during World War II, Asawa studied at Black Mountain College under Josef Albers and Buckminster Fuller. It was a 1947 trip to Mexico, where she took lessons with local weavers, that helped inspire the intricate metal sculptures for which she became best known. What makes this show particularly moving is how it reveals Asawa's lifelong belief in the interconnectedness of art, community, and daily life. Working mainly from her small home in San Francisco, she transformed wire and other simple materials into an entire universe of forms and shapes.

Her legacy as an artist who realized numerous public commissions such as fountains, murals, and memorials, and who stood at the forefront of arts education, offers a powerful model of what it means to be deeply embedded in the life of a city.

A handpicked selection of homes where architecture, design, and lifestyle converge.

This estate captures the timeless character of classic Northeastern farmhouses with materials almost impossible to source today, like mid-1800s water-sawn hardwood floors and hand-hewn beams more than two centuries old.

View Property>>

Nantucket coastal equestrian estate! Just minutes from Surfside Beach, this newly built 9-bedroom, 8.5-bath estate sleeps 23 and blends equestrian charm with coastal luxury. The private, manicured grounds with a resort-style pool, spa, fire pits and will feature paddocks.

View Property>>

23 Contracts Signed (Over $10M) and 110 Contracts Signed (Over $4M) so far in October. After a typically slow summer, we're seeing a strong market rebound in October.

(See below our charts showing monthly trends.)

If you’d like to receive my full newsletter, featuring insights on real estate, architecture, and curated city life straight in your inbox, sign up by clicking below: