Investors have always played a big part in the Manhattan real estate market. Which, given that Manhattan condominiums remain one of the premier real estate investments this side of the private island, makes plenty of sense. But while investors hoovering up NYC condominiums isn't news, the number of investors currently buying up Manhattan condos -- and the percentage of the Manhattan condo market that those investors currently represent -- is looking more and more like news. And in this moderately slow and still-recovering Manhattan condominium marketplace, investors are making a bigger impact than ever. Which is nice, but what impact will it have on those -- to take one example -- who are browsing Upper East Side condominium listings less to find an investment than in hopes of actually moving to the Upper East Side?

From the beginning of the last NYC condominium boom up to today, Manhattan condos have been locked in a strange and occasionally silly sort of arms race. It's not one that puts anybody's lives at risk, thankfully -- this sort of arms race pertains mainly to amenities, and which condominium can have the biggest and best extras to go along with those condos for sale. It makes a certain type of sense, given that there are only so many ways that one luxury condominium for sale can differ from another luxury condominium for sale. And so we get the spectacle of The Aldyn with its 40,000-square-foot fitness center and the Cipriani Club Residences' 20,000-volume library and 20 Pine's private subway entrance. These are all nice things to have in a condominium, of course, which is why the aforementioned rank among the most popular Manhattan condo listings at New Construction Manhattan. But the appeal of those elaborate amenities is a bit more abstract than the simple joys of one of Manhattan's rarest and most sought-after amenities -- a private terrace.

We've got no real quarrel with Donald Trump here at New Construction Manhattan. Aesthetically, we might favor Superior Ink or HL23 over the "big gold box" style of the older Trump Manhattan condominiums, but we can certainly see the appeal in new Trump condominiums such as   and Trump Place. And while The Donald's shouty, humorless self-promotion and cartoon ego can make him a little tough to take on television, even we have to give it up for Trump Park Avenue, which is one of the more impressive pre-war condo conversions on Park Avenue, and among the elite pre-war condo conversion listings in all of Manhattan. Yes, Trumpian real estate grandiosity . But no, we've got no problem with his luxury condominiums; luxury condominium listings are kind of our thing. But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy a good laugh at his expense from time to time. This would be one of those times.

At New Construction Manhattan, we are not unaware that people browsing Manhattan apartment listings are often looking for different things. This is why we've built our advanced condo search function so that NYC apartment hunters can search condos in specific price ranges and apartments near specific landmarks and so on. It's our hope that a more focused and specific way to search Manhattan condos will lead to a more satisfying and successful experience. That said, there is not currently a search function at NCM that enables you to find an apartment located near a delicious hamburger. For that, we use the NCM blog. No, seriously: we've covered pretty extensively in the past, and we're not going to stop doing that. We do it for you, readers. And also we do it because we're hungry, and because (in this specific case) Shake Shack is delicious. And so it is with no small amount of delight that we inform New Construction Manhattan readers that condo listings in Battery Park City will very soon be rental listings near a delicious hamburger. And we are further pleased to announce that they are not alone.

We are not, by nature, a morbid bunch here at New Construction Manhattan. We love us some New York City, we care about Manhattan real estate, and we're not so much in the bad news business as we are in the news about NYC real estate/helping people find luxury condos in NYC business(es). But while we're generally averse to tales of woe in the NYC real estate market, we find ourselves writing about One Madison -- formerly known as One Madison Park, and still one of the most star-crossed luxury condos in New York City -- fairly often. Why is this? Several reasons. One is that One Madison< is a (as we have ) pretty amazing looking new construction condo, and could yet become one of the most impressive high-end condominiums in NYC. Another reason, though, is that One Madison is just interesting. Already a striking part of the greater Gramercy Park condo scene, One Madison is a building in limbo that could become a blockbuster once it finally figures some things out. Unfortunately for One Madison Park, though, all that figuring-things-out has been taking place in court, thus far. Fortunately, though, things at One Madison Park just might be getting figured out.

 It didn't exactly come out of nowhere, but when the Manhattan condo market experienced an absolutely boffo week back in the middle of February, real estate watchers took notice. () As regular readers of the New Construction Manhattan blog know well, we've spent the last few months watching the marketplace for NYC condos bloom back into health, then slip into sudden frailty, and then return the next week (or month, or quarter) to its previous 10-feet-tall-and-bulletproof status. But while the Manhattan condo market is inarguably improving, it also had a long comeback ahead of it given the dark days of 2009 and 2010 -- well, dark for sellers: it was something of a buyer's market if you were searching for NYC condos. So while recent months have shown steady improvement, it has been hard to totally believe the good news about NYC condos. "Even the most Pollyanna-ish real estate watchers usually added a mouthful of caveats to any declaration of victory," Sarah Kershaw writes in the New York Times. We certainly did. But as February's NYC condo sales stats continue to filter in, it's getting harder not to believe that the market for high-end Manhattan condo listings is all the way back.

The recent boom in luxury condo construction saw plenty of new entrants hit the Manhattan skyline, with more than a few of these new condo listings bearing the brands of some heavyweight architects. With all the attention given to deserving star-architect condominium listings such as Jean Nouvel's Nouvel Apartments (in Chelsea) and Robert A.M. Stern's 15 Central Park West (at, yes, 15 Central Park West, on the Upper West Side), as well as Frank Gehry's luxury rental at 8 Spruce Street, I.M. Pei's first NYC condominium seemed to slip through the cracks somewhat. But The Centurion, the first Manhattan condominium from the Pritzker Prize-winning architect, is belatedly getting the attention it deserves -- and selling out its condos for sale at a brisk rate. It took longer than usual, but this superstar architect's first Manhattan condominium is increasingly looking like one of the superstar apartment listings in Midtown West.

Three, two, one… that’s how long it takes for freshly signed New York Knicks Carmelo Anthony to win a basketball game. But while Melo's a great talent, all those big buckets came thanks to a lot of practice. That work ethic should serve Melo well during his NYC condo search, since finding the right apartment in New York City takes a lot of effort as well -- whether you're Carmelo Anthony or someone shorter and less famous trying to find the right condominium in Manhattan. When he's not making shots for his employers, the Knicks’ new superstar -- and wife Alani "La La" Vazquez -- are tirelessly scoping out places in Manhattan. And although the New York Knicks have made a huge investment in the former Nugget all-star, Anthony is apparently not ready to invest in New York real estate and was originally searching for a rental apartment in a downtown condominium -- something in the, um, $30,000 a month range. What, it’s not that much if you're getting paid like he is. Now, though, Melo's sites have shifted uptown, and he has reportedly identified two all-star Upper West Side condo listings as his new top choices.

A Park Avenue apartment is a Park Avenue apartment, but when people brag, dote and obsess on the idea of a Park Avenue condominium, they're not talking about the comparatively modest stretch of Park Avenue south of Grand Central Station. Long considered a poor relative of the “real” Park Avenue of the Upper East Side, Park Avenue South has lately stepped out as an address worth attention in its own right -- both because apartments for sale on Park Avenue South offer some decent value per square foot, and has lately come into its own as a place to live and socialize. Convenient, walkable and steadily breaking its associations with unromantic Midtown East, Park Avenue South is finally getting its due.