The Christmas Eve "spectacular" you needed (or just a "Feliz Clickmas" message?)

What’s it all worth?

That’s not an existential question, necessarily. (And certainly not on Christmas! )

It’s the next piece we’ll look at from 20 Years, 4 Co-ops, & 10002 , our longitudinal study of the four major LES co-ops: Seward, East River, Hillman, and Amalgamated.

You can download the complete report here

The data shows us that a clear pricing hierarchy exists across the four major Lower East Side cooperatives. While individual transactions vary, the relative positioning of each co-op remains stable across market cycles. Here’s what I mean (and note that “PPSF” means “Price Per Square Foot” ):

Seward Park
Average Price: ~$706K
Average PPSF: ~$999
Listings / Sales with Prices: 1,178
Listings with PPSF Data: 60

East River
Average Price: ~$670K
Average PPSF: ~$715
Listings / Sales with Prices: 1,119
Listings with PPSF Data: 469

Hillman
Average Price: ~$559K
Average PPSF: ~$651
Listings / Sales with Prices: 551
Listings with PPSF Data: 202

Amalgamated
Average Price: ~$669K
Average PPSF: ~$850
Listings / Sales with Prices: 151
Listings with PPSF Data: 34

What does this tell us?

First, at the top of the valuation spectrum sits Seward, which commands the highest overall pricing among the four . Its concentration of renovated inventory , modernized building systems , proximity to public transportation , adjacency to Essex Crossing , and more direct access toward the west side of Manhattan all contribute to elevated outcomes .

Where square-footage data is available, Seward also posts the highest price-per-square-foot metrics in the neighborhood . Its inventory skews heavily toward studios and one-bedroom units , making it particularly attractive to singles , couples , first-time buyers , and downsizers .

East River occupies the middle tier of the LES pricing hierarchy . Its valuation profile reflects an unusually deep supply of family-sized apartments and the ability to accommodate a wide range of household configurations . As a result, East River delivers some of the strongest price-per-bedroom value per in the neighborhood, particularly for larger layouts.

Hillman remains the most cost-efficient cooperative in the Lower East Side . With the lowest price-per-square-foot and price-per-bedroom metrics , Hillman consistently delivers the strongest livable square footage per dollar . Its inventory is relatively evenly divided between one- and two-bedroom units, with a meaningful but more limited supply of three-bedroom apartments .

Despite its smaller scale , Amalgamated consistently delivers stronger price efficiency than its size alone would suggest . Limited inventory and infrequent turnover create a scarcity effect that supports stable valuations over time . Its unit mix skews toward one- and two-bedroom apartments, with only a small number of three- and four-bedroom units .

What does this not tell us?

A lot, actually — which is why 20 Years, 4 Co-ops, & 10002 is 25+ pages! Snarky answers aside , square footage valuations can only take us so far — especially when we don’t have the data for all of the properties .

Plus, although we’re looking at four co-ops, we’re actually talking about 12 buildings . Within these buildings there are multiple towers with up to 21 floors and 7 units per floor . That’s more than 1,600 total units in one co-op alone . That’s also before we examine the number of bedrooms .

So, the answer is this: While Seward outranks the other co-ops by between ~$150–350/sq ft , the devil is in the details —meaning stay tuned for our next edition when we get down to the building level .