Empty Nesters Find 2nd Perch in New York
Once a pied-à-terre had a whiff of rarefied wealth, suggestive of an apartment kept by a well-traveled European baron, a Hollywood star or even a Greenwich, Conn., mogul who might use it to stash such amenities as a mistress.
But while second homes have always represented a sliver of the New York City real estate market, sales in this category are booming, and the surge is being driven to a surprising degree, realtors say, by a relatively new breed of buyer: hard-working, middle-aged suburbanites.