Pre-Furnished Condos Are Taking Off. They Could Be Worth the Price, if Time Is Money.

Home buyers of a certain income have always had the option of buying a model home and negotiating to include the curated furniture and accessories, but a new trend in many luxury condos today elevates the concept of turnkey homes to a new level. Buyers can purchase a fully furnished condo with custom choices by an interior designer and move in with a toothbrush and their clothes. 

“True luxury today is effortless living,” said Ana Gomez, sales director at Cipriani Residences Miami, where 74 of the 397 homes come with the option of purchasing custom furniture in one of two design schemes. “Our buyers have reacted incredibly to this amenity of having a custom, bespoke furniture and accessory collection available upon their arrival.”

Whether they’re buying a pied-à-terre for occasional use, a second home, or a primary residence for themselves or their adult children, many luxury buyers prefer the convenience of furniture specifically chosen for their new condo. 

There’s also a financial incentive to skip the time-consuming process of searching, buying and waiting for furniture to be delivered in dribs and drabs. While supply-chain issues have eased since their worst in 2021 and 2022, it can still take time to choose and order furniture, forcing homeowners to find other accommodations while they wait for essentials from the bed to the fridge to arrive. In some cases, buyers can even wrap the expense of the furnishings into their mortgage.

Turnkey Is Pure Convenience

At the Parker, a new condo development in Boston, Linda Zarifi of Zarifi Design, who is responsible for the building’s interiors, also created furniture and accessories specifically for the residences.

“The condos have curved windows, and it can be hard for people to visualize how they would furnish them,” said George Sarkis, a real estate agent with Douglas Elliman who represents the building. “The units are also small—the largest is 1,268 square feet—because they’re designed for empty nesters and young professionals who want the location and the building amenities more than space. But that means having the right furniture is important.”

The condos in the boutique building are all priced under $3 million, which Sarkis said is “attainable luxury” for the area, where many buildings have units for as much as $10 million.

“Many of our buyers are purchasing sight unseen just from a video and are coming to Boston for business, buying for their adult children who will attend school here or are empty nesters with multiple homes,” Sarkis said. “They like the idea of how easy it is for Linda to pick out their furniture, meet the delivery people and have it set up. She’ll even order linens and dishes if people want that so all they have to bring are a few personal belongings.”

In some cases, the buyers just want a specific headboard or other piece of furniture because it’s been designed to fit perfectly in the rooms, Sarkis said.

“The pieces save space and often include storage, such as a shelf built-in to the bed so you don’t need two nightstands,” he said.

Time Means More Than Money

At the condo building 547 West 47th Street in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, furnished turnkey condos have been available since early 2022.

“It’s mostly pied-à-terre buyers who have purchased the furnished condos, such as a businessman from the Midwest who used to stay at a hotel nearby and loved the idea of owning a furnished place where he could leave clothes between trips,” said Matthew Drennan, a sales director with Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group who represents 547 West 47th. “But we also had someone who was renting in the city and loved the idea of buying this place without waiting for designers and furniture orders. She could move right in.”

Typically, there are eight to 10 furnished models available to view in the more than 200-unit building, Drennan said. As soon as one furnished model sells, they quickly replace it with another furnished unit for immediate availability.

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