NYT - As each year passes, values of most everything increase. Is this true for real estate when compared to fine art? This question was raised when a penthouse in Manhattan was recently purchased by a Russian billionaire for $88,000,000 or $13,000 per square foot. Recent fine art has also been purchased at a high price (Cezanne's "The Card Player" was sold in 2011 for an estimated $250 million). Such a price for fine art is justified because a piece of fine art is "one of a kind" and cannot be replicated. A high real estate price is questioned for several reasons: a piece of real estate can be duplicated; a "local" piece of real estate can't be globally re-located; fine art values evolve from much scholarly research and critical appraisal which could take generations to recognize; and valuing art is a much more complicated procedure than real estate. Curator David Kusin has stated "When people get crazy over something, they like to rationalize something", like a high real estate price is justified by calling it apartment art or real estate art. It comes down to an individual opinion of someone who has money to spend to appease a strong attachment to an object like a painting or a piece of real estate. Value is in accordance with the desire of the buyer.
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