How much does a condo hotel cost?  For example, would $400,000 normally get you a one-bedroom unit while a million dollars could get you a penthouse suite?  Or is it more that a $400,000 investment could get you a condo in Wichita, Kansas and a million will get you Key West, Florida?

  Like any type of real estate, each market for condo hotels has different price ranges.   Markets like New York City and Hawaii, for example, command much more than places like Biloxi or Wisconsin Dells.  And then, within any random market, each condo hotel building can have numerous prices for any particular unit.

What affects the prices?  Everything from floor height to view, size and location in the building.

To be more specific, two identically-sized units on the same floor of a Trump International condo hotel could be priced very differently if one is located closer to the ocean and provides magnificent panoramic views, while the other is next to the noisy elevators and offers partial ocean views, visible only by standing out on your balcony and craning your neck at a 105 degree angle.  (This description was for the benefit of anyone that is "all about the details.")

I sometimes kid with buyers on the phone, when they ask this question: "Your data sheet says prices are from $500,000 to $750,000.  What does ‘from’ mean?"

I respond, "For $750,000, you get the nicest unit on the top floor with the direct ocean views.  For $500,000, you get the second-story unit overlooking the dumpster."  Of course, I'm being facetious, but it does stop the dreamers from thinking that they'll get the premier units at the cheapest possible prices available in the building.

Going back to the difference in pricing based on the local market, let me give you a specific example.  Right now, I have studio units in Ras al Khaimah, UAE 45 minutes from Dubai,   for as low as $175,000.  This is for the purchase of a five-star, fully-furnished unit.  By comparison, a studio in the W on South Beach might cost you north of $800,000, and you'd pay double that, $1.6 million plus, for a unit at The Plaza Hotel in New York.

The above questions were submitted via e-mail by a visitor to www.condohotelcenter.com. The answer was prepared by Joel Greene, a licensed real estate broker with Condo Hotel Center, which specializes in the sale of condo hotel units and fractional ownership in private residence clubs.