Million Dollar Listing New York

My new television obsession is with Bravo's Million Dollar Listing New York (MDLNY).  Now that Selling New York's season is over on HGTV, I have to get my New York real estate fix from another source.  (As a side note, I blame my sister for getting me addicted to these real estate shows in the first place!)

MDLNY is not even a great show, but it's like a train wreck I just can't look away from.  I didn't even really watch the last season, but I'm into it now.  The deals are ridiculous and you just know most of what they show is phony, but it's still entertaining.  The three agents, Ryan, the nasty but good looking former hand model, Fredrik, the Swedish former adult film star, and the new guy Luis, the tiny Puerto Rican with the accent that comes and goes, all bring such a level of ridiculousness to the show that it's must-see TV for me right now.  I even had to stay awake last night and watch Andy Cohen interview the agents on his Watch What Happens Live show because I didn't want the tomfoolery to end.  Luis acted like he was on drugs.  He was so hyper, even more than usual.  I kept waiting for him to spontaneously combust.  Ryan acted like he didn't want to be there and had a shade of lipstick on that matched the pink shirt he was wearing.  (I don't know what that was about.)  Fredrik just seemed happy to be there.  (He's growing on me...like a fungus.)  Ryan and Fredrik wouldn't even sit next to each other.  They had to put Luis in between them.  Damn, is the hate that strong?  Those two need to either fight it out or hug it out.  (I believe there's a level of attraction there that neither man wants to cop to, but that may just be in my warped mind.)

I am constantly amazed at the outrageous New York city real estate prices.  I complain about the rent I pay for my apartment in a non-hip-and-trendy part of Brooklyn, but the Manhattan prices are off the chain.  How can anyone who doesn't make at least a healthy (and I do mean HEALTHY) six-figure salary even afford to live here???  Uh, most folks can't!  No one should be paying over $1 million for a two-bedroom apartment, I don't care where it is.  That's crazy, but it's not crazy in New York.