Slicing the Big Apple.
May 7, 2012 5:37 AM   Subscribe

Which Manhattan neighborhoods consistently rent at higher prices? Which Manhattan neighborhoods tend to be more affordable?

I'm trying to get a feel for rental trends in Manhattan, but it seems that adjacent blocks--and sometimes adjacent streets--can vary considerably in terms of demand for rental units and the upward pressure on prices. To keep things simple, I'm trying to zero in on rents in walk-ups or brownstones (in the $2000 to $6000 range), rather than pricier elevator or doorperson buildings.
-Over the long term--extended through ten years or more--which Manhattan neighborhoods have shown consistently high demand for rental units, with prices to match?
-Which neighborhoods seem to buck the above trend, and offer rents that are more affordable, despite being located a block or two from more exclusive neighborhoods?
-What are the up-and-coming neighborhoods in Manhattan in which rents are trending upward? What's becoming gentrified right now?
-Crystal balling the situation, which neighborhoods--due to infrastructural improvements, like the 2nd Avenue subway, and so on--are likely to trend upwards in the next ten years? (Wild guesses are fine here).
posted by Gordion Knott to Work & Money (5 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
$2000 to $6000 is a pretty broad range. What size apartment are you looking for?

One bedrooms in luxury doorman apartment buildings rent for rather less than $6000. They tend to go for between $3,000 and $5,000. Of course, some can be had for more.

As to up-and-coming Manhattan neighborhoods: the Washington Heights area around Columbia University's Medical Center (168th & Broadway) has seen some change in the five years I've been living here.
posted by dfriedman at 6:35 AM on May 7, 2012


You could start to answer these questions by pulling some data from NYC Open Data

Rental Income would be a good indicator of which neighborhoods are better compensated; some data sets on this site break down revenue per square foot by street address.
posted by teabag at 6:45 AM on May 7, 2012




You're going have to define what "high demand" means. As far as I can tell, ALL of manhattan has been in what I would consider high demand for decades. Does high demand mean a majority of the apartments on a block would go for >$2000 easily(or adjusted for inflation, even)? That's still a tricky metric, because apartment size/quality can vary, obviously
posted by Patbon at 8:02 AM on May 7, 2012


Central and West Harlem are gentrifying pretty rapidly--say W 116th to W 130th between 5th Ave and Amsterdam. W 110th to 116th is getting some halo effect but is still kind of a rough neighborhood.

East Harlem is also slowly trending upward price-wise but not with the speed of its neighbor to the west, and lacks a bunch of the yuppie businesses that are starting to blossom in Central and West Harlem.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 9:42 AM on May 7, 2012


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