Next door neighbors are teaming up to sell their luxury apartments, illustrating NYC’s newest real estate trend: the higher demand for three-bedroom apartments and more. The “combination apartment”, in which owners sell their apartments together so the buyer can break down walls and created a “super-sized” unit, also provides for a higher profit for each individual luxury condominium or co-op owner. However, this is not simply a means to make apartments more marketable to buyers; it also falls in line with a general rule of thumb within NYC real estate, which states that unlike most other areas in the U.S., the larger the space, the more a seller can charge per square foot.

While there are a variety of factors influencing this trend, there are two main reasons for this increase in combination apartments within NYC real estate. A one bedroom that can be potentially transformed into a three bedroom often increases the buyer pool, especially if each individual unit is offered as separately as well. This falls in line with the growing desire of those searching for larger luxury apartments, especially as more and more Manhattanites choose to remain in NYC to raise their families. And even though demand has risen for “super-sized” apartments in recent years, new construction has been unable to match this desire with available supply.

We haven't written about LEED Gold Chelsea condo HL23 that often here at New Construction Manhattan, and that's totally our fault. Both relative to other condos for sale in Chelsea and other green condos for sale in Manhattan, HL23 is a really impressive NYC condo -- both better-looking and greener than its competition in Chelsea and among Manhattan's other green apartments, respectively. If it seems like we're kind of amping it up about HL23 right now, um, that is probably true. But it's one of our favorite green condo listings at NCM and... well, for awhile back there we were worried that we might've lost it. But it turns out that what looked like a serious fire at HL23 this weekend was all smoke and no fire, Curbed reports.

There's no shortage of places in which to read about Manhattan real estate online -- although obviously you both already know this and have excellent taste if you're reading the New Construction Manhattan blog. But one of the New Construction Manhattan blog's favorite places to read about Manhattan real estate is the weekly 30-Minute Interview at The New York Times, which offers an opportunity for the biggest developers in NYC real estate to talk shop without, you know, talking too much. This week, the Times catches up with Christopher Albanese, the visionary behind The Visionaire, the much-loved green condo building located in Battery Park City. When Albanese speaks, New Construction Manhattan is definitely going to be listening.

Green Buildings? Sounds nice and all, but what can they offer homebuyers who aren't all that worried about the environment? Plenty... from better air and water to long-term savings due to efficiency. Check out Shades of Green: Builders, buyers differ on importance of eco-friendly living for some accounts from real buyers like yourself. What comes through from these buyers is clear: buying Green means buying a part of a great building. That it's terrific for the environment is a big bonus, too. Here's a good clip:

It's easy to philosophize about how good it is to go Green, both for the environment and for your investment portfolio. But let's get down to business. Let's look at some cold hard data on why Green is great, especially in a recession. (Click for an overview of owning an apartment in a Green building).

• Have you seen the Green Building Market Barometer's survey of 754 real estate executives? 3/4 of execs--from brokers to engineers--believe in Green, recession or otherwise.