686 Second Avenue (303 East 37th Street)
686 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
BBL 1009430001 · BIN 1021913
- Year built
- 1941
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 83
- Floors
- 6
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Permitted with board approval per listing records
- Subletting
- Permitted after two years of ownership, with sublet fees per listing records — verify current terms with the managing agent
- Pied-à-terre
- Allowed
- Financing
- 80 percent maximum per listing records — confirm with the managing agent at offer stage
- Flip tax
- Not documented in public records — confirm with the managing agent at offer stage
686 Second Avenue (303 East 37th Street) sales history: 76 recorded sales
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2026
Price-per-square-foot over time, the line- and floor-premium curves, and every recorded sale.
- Median $/sf (floor-adjusted)
- $632
- Listing discount
- 3.6%
- Recorded sales
- 76
- On record
- 2003–2026
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at 686 Second Avenue (303 East 37th Street) would likely sell for today, what it costs to sell, and what you’d walk away with — reviewed personally against condition, exposures, renovation quality, and the competition actually on the market.
686 Second Avenue — marketed almost universally as 303 East 37th Street — is a prewar Art Deco corner co-op that anchors the affordable end of eastern Murray Hill. Six stories, 83 apartments, built in 1941 and converted to cooperative ownership in 1980, it competes on carry and character rather than staff: there is no doorman, but there is an Art Deco lobby, a corner-lot footprint that pushes light into more apartments than a mid-block building would, and a policy framework built around 80 percent financing that keeps the building reachable for buyers priced out of full-service comparables.
The building's economics are the story. Self-service operation — a live-in superintendent rather than a lobby of staff — keeps maintenance below the doorman buildings a few blocks west, and the 80 percent financing ceiling (per listing records) opens the buyer pool wider than the postwar co-op norm. The trade-offs are equally plain: per listing records the building does not permit pieds-à-terre or co-purchasing, positions itself for owner-occupants, and allows subletting only after a two-year seasoning period. This is a primary-residence building for buyers who want a prewar corner apartment at a Murray Hill entry price and are content to trade a staffed lobby for a lower monthly.
One piece of the building's recent history is worth knowing: in 2014 the board explored selling the entire building as a development site, a deal that was floated and never happened. The building remains a co-op, and the episode is a useful reminder that in a low-rise prewar building on a valuable corner, land value is always part of the long-term picture — a diligence point, not a red flag.
Architecture and unit composition
303 East 37th runs six stories of prewar brick on a corner lot, with an Art Deco lobby that is the building's signature interior gesture. The inventory is predominantly studios, one-bedrooms, and compact two-bedrooms, several of them carrying the sunken living rooms that mark the building's 1941 design vocabulary. The corner footprint is the practical advantage — more exposures, more light, and more corner-windowed lines than a comparable mid-block building. Layouts are prewar-practical, with defined foyers and real closet volume; the building runs on through-wall or window air conditioning rather than central systems.
Building operations
This is a self-service co-op with a live-in superintendent rather than a staffed lobby: two elevators, a video intercom at the entrance, central laundry, a bike room, private storage, an interior courtyard, and a renovated lobby. The trade is deliberate — no doorman payroll keeps maintenance below full-service comparables, in exchange for package logistics and a leaner service layer. The offering plan, proprietary lease, and by-laws are on file in The Roebling Research Library and available to clients during diligence.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $17,892/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $18
- Modeled exposure split equally across 83 units (the city tax-lot count). Not an assessed amount; co-op shareholders are typically charged by share allocation.
Source: NYC LL84 benchmarking and PLUTO · The Roebling Research Library. City record last verified September 2026.
See full Local Law 97 analysis — emissions history, scenarios, methodology →Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available filing classified the facade as SWARMP — Safe With A Repair and Maintenance Program: the engineer identified conditions requiring monitoring or repair, with repairs due by the deadline stated in the filing. The scope, timeline, and how the building funds the work are building-specific — we review the filings and board materials for you.
How to read this, and where it comes from
QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — the licensed engineer the city requires to sign the report (the independent expert, not the managing agent).
Penalties shown are amounts DOB assessed against filings on record across 2005–10 to 2020–25. The FISP dataset does not record whether they were paid, contested or remain open, so treat the figure as history rather than a current balance and confirm the building’s standing with the managing agent.
Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library. City record last verified September 2026.
Recent sales
Recent transfers at this building, from The Roebling Research Library. Prices are the transfer amounts recorded with the NYC Department of Finance; apartment-level detail is checked against the building’s own file in The Roebling Research Library before publishing.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 3, 2026 | 1F | 1 BR · 1 BA · 1,000 sf | $513,000 | $513/sf | -12.8% |
| Jul 30, 2026 | 3B | 1 BA · 550 sf | $375,000 | $682/sf | -1.1% |
| Jul 30, 2026 | 1D | 1 BR · 1 BA · 800 sf | $510,000 | $638/sf | -5.2% |
| Jul 10, 2026 | 3A | 1 BA | $382,000 | +1.9% | |
| Nov 18, 2025 | 2K | 2 BR · 1 BA | $725,000 | +3.7% | |
| Aug 25, 2025 | 3C | 1 BR · 1 BA · 850 sf | $560,000 | $659/sf | -4.3% |
| Oct 1, 2024 | 3J | 1 BR · 1 BA | $550,000 | -2.7% | |
| Jul 24, 2024 | 4J | 1 BR · 1 BA | $540,000 | -9.8% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $632/sf (floor-adjusted) across 3 sales. Floor-adjusted means each sale is restated to a constant mix of floors, so the figure can differ from the plain median of the sales listed above. Median listing discount 3.6% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.
The retrade record
Lines that have traded more than once in the public record — the building’s appreciation arc, apartment by apartment.
Full closing history with price-per-square-foot over time, the complete retrade record, and every line that has traded.
Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-00943-0001). Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified in The Roebling Research Library. Not all transactions cross-verify with ACRIS records — sponsor and LLC purchases sometimes record at stipulated values rather than market price; square footage on co-ops is not officially recorded, figures shown are approximate.
At the recent median sale of $513K (6 transfers since 2024), a buyer putting 25% down would pay about $10,474 to close, or 2.0% of the price.
- Mansion tax: $0
- No mortgage recording tax or title insurance on a co-op purchase
- Attorneys, lender, building fees and filings: $10,474
Assumes a resale (the seller pays transfer taxes), a $4,500 attorney fee and a mortgage on the rest.
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What to know if you’re buying
This is a primary-residence building. Per listing records, no pied-à-terre and no co-purchasing — the board positions for owner-occupants. If your situation requires either structure, confirm current posture with the managing agent before investing diligence time.
The financing ceiling is a feature. Eighty percent financing per listing records widens the buyer pool and is a real advantage at this price tier. Confirm the current maximum before offering.
Price the no-doorman trade honestly. Lower maintenance is real; so is the absence of staff. If your life runs on deliveries, weigh the logistics before falling for the carry.
Prioritize the corner lines and light. The corner lot is the building's design advantage — corner-exposed apartments carry it. Walk the difference in person.
Run the board math early. The Co-op Board Qualification Calculator is the right first step.
What to know if you’re selling
Lean carry is a closing argument. Self-service maintenance compares favorably against doorman buildings nearby; put the monthly number next to the full-service alternative in every conversation.
Condition drives the spread. In a prewar building where light varies by exposure but views are modest, renovated-versus-original is the pricing axis. Price estate-condition units to the renovation math — the Renovation Cost Calculator frames it for buyers.
Sell the prewar character. The Art Deco lobby, the sunken living rooms, and the corner light are differentiators against the postwar white-brick stock nearby. Name them.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 686 Second Avenue, also evaluate:
- 222 East 35th Street — The Gregory House, a comparable no-doorman Murray Hill co-op with a flexible policy stack
- 225 East 36th Street — postwar Murray Hill co-op with entry-tier inventory
- 201 East 36th Street — Murray Hill co-op nearby
- 155 East 38th Street — full-service Murray Hill condominium; the staffed, flexible alternative
- 132 East 35th Street — Murray Hill House; the full-service co-op step-up with a roof deck and garage
The full playbook — what goes in the package, how boards read your financials, the interview, and the timeline — plus sample cover, reference, and personal letters you can adapt.
How to read the facts on this page. Items attributed to an offering plan describe the building as it was offered at that filing — unit mix, square footage, the amenity program as planned. They are not a statement about how the building operates today. Tax and compliance figures are sourced separately to current City records and carry their own dates. House rules, staffing and fee policy can change by board resolution without any public filing: treat every policy line here as a starting point for diligence and confirm it with the managing agent. Where this page compares one building or neighborhood to another, that is our analysis of the recorded record — it names the measure, the period and the sample it rests on, and it is an observation about medians rather than a prediction about any particular apartment.
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