If you’re looking for an affordable house in New York City, be sure to consider the Bronx. Not only is the borough home to massive parks, diverse neighborhoods, and great eats (hello, Arthur Avenue!), but it also has the lowest median asking sales price of any borough, sitting at $410K as of December 2021. Compare that to Manhattan’s median sales price of $1.5 million and Brooklyn’s $929K! Plus, if you’re looking to buy a home in the Bronx, you won’t be disappointed by the affordable choices and local amenities.
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How Affordable Is the Bronx?
“You can’t buy a townhouse, no matter which type, for under $1 million in New York City that easily. If you want to go to Kingsbridge or Morris Heights, both in the Bronx, you can purchase two-family homes for between $700,000 and $900,000. We see a lot of people looking to buy a home in the Bronx because they’re getting the space that they desire at more affordable prices,” says Matthew Bizzarro of the Bizzarro Agency, which specializes in Upper Manhattan and Bronx real estate.
Want To Buy in the Bronx?
And here’s a pro tip for those looking to buy in the Bronx, or even sell in the area. StreetEasy can match you with a verified Expert real estate agent to help with your home journey. In our humble opinion, there is no better way to find the best person to work with based on our goals.
Where Is the Bronx located?
The Bronx is located north of Manhattan and is the only borough of New York City connected by land to the mainland United States. On the north side, the borough borders Yonkers in Westchester County.
While the Bronx is generally considered north of Manhattan, the southeastern area comprised of neighborhoods like Concourse and Mott Haven borders the east end of Upper Manhattan. Real estate broker Jay Pegram says that he can hear Yankee Stadium from his home in Harlem. He was born and raised in the Bronx and regularly visits his partner there, who lives in City Island, a small waterfront community (more toward the end of this article). Transit is accessible since both the subway and Metro-North Railroad travel north up Harlem and then to the Bronx.
Geoffrey Weiss of the Aaron & Geoff Team at Compass, who lives in Riverdale in the Bronx, says that living in the borough offers easy transit to Westchester and the rest of the east coast, which is helpful for people who like to travel often. “You don’t have to go through Manhattan to leave the city,” Weiss says. “It is one great reason to buy a home in the Bronx.”
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Why the Bronx Is a Great Place To Live
About 1.4 million people call the Bronx home. For some, like Pegram, the Bronx is their hometown. But others have moved to the Bronx due to its affordability, culture, and park space. Weiss and his partner, Aaron Kass, moved to the Bronx right after college to accommodate their respective commutes to Westchester and Manhattan. “Most buyers are getting priced out of Brooklyn and Manhattan, and they’re discovering the Bronx as a viable option, and I think that that’s going to continue attracting buyers to the borough,” Weiss says.
The sense of community is also strong throughout the borough, the brokers say. Each neighborhood is unique and special in its own right. “When I talk to buyers looking in the Bronx, I also love to tell them to throw away conceptions that they already have about the borough and explore each neighborhood,” Kass says. “There’s so much diversity here, there are so many beautiful neighborhoods, we have so much great park space, and transportation options are incredible. It’s a great time to buy a home in the Bronx.”
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Can You Commute Easily From the Bronx to Midtown?
The Bronx is similar to Queens and Brooklyn because many neighborhoods closer to Manhattan are very easy to traverse through public transit, while areas further away are more car-friendly. Bizzarro compares it to owning a car in Long Island City vs. Forest Hills. “While there are buses and trains running to Manhattan, owning a car makes it easier to get around in some sections of the Bronx.”
Subway Service
That said, the borough is serviced by the 1, B, D, 2, 4, 5, and 6 trains. These trains all run north to south, but there are many buses that run east to west and buses that provide express service into Manhattan.
Metro-North Railroad
Additionally, Metro-North Railroad services parts of the Bronx, so Manhattan commuters have options. Metro-North stops include Yankee Stadium, University Heights, Spuyten Duyvil, Riverdale, Melrose, Tremont, Fordham, Botanical Garden, Williams Bridge, and Woodlawn. And four more stops are on the way, planned for Hunts Point, Parkchester, Morris Park, and Co-Op City.
Ferry Service
And if those options aren’t enough, the NYC Ferry Soundview route stops in Soundview, with another stop planned for Throgs Neck. The ferries travel south to Manhattan and make stops at East 90th Street, East 34th Street, Stuyvesant Cove, and Wall Street. The ferry makes the trip from Soundview to Wall Street in 50 minutes or less — much faster than trains. At the very least if you are looking to buy a home in the Bronx, a longer commute time, can mean more me time.
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Famous Bronx Attractions
The Bronx is home to many great attractions for adults and kids alike. The New York Botanical Garden features 250 acres of greenery and special exhibitions. Right down the street, the Bronx Zoo holds its own as one of the best zoos in the United States. (Hot tip: admission is free on Wednesdays!) “It’s a day of fun that people don’t think about,” Bizzarro says. “They think you have to have kids to go, and you totally don’t.”
Of course, you can always stop by Yankee Stadium in Concourse, Bronx. It can hold up to 50,000 fans. And not too far down the street, you’ll find the Bronx Museum of the Arts, which features a variety of contemporary art shows. When you buy a home in the Bronx, you can expect all of the attractions found in other boroughs.
Top Parks in the Bronx
The Bronx also has the most parkland of any NYC borough and is home to the city’s first and third largest parks: Pelham Bay and Van Cortlandt Park. Pelham Bay boasts 2,772 acres of land — that’s three times bigger than Central Park! It houses two golf courses and several nature trails. Van Cortlandt Park has just about every outdoor activity you could dream of, including fishing, hiking, horseback riding, kayaking, canoeing, and even bocce ball.
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Where Is City Island, Bronx?
The Bronx even has its own beach town: City Island, a small fishing town located just off Pelham Bay Park, where you can scuba dive, grab a lobster roll, and peruse art galleries. It’s also home to charming houses, including the summer home from “The Royal Tenenbaums” and quaint beach bungalows. If you’re looking to buy a home in the Bronx in a new development, you will find new condos here too.
“I think that people don’t realize, not only do you get great bang for your buck, but you get neighborhoods that are full of green space that you don’t see in a lot of other areas of the city,” says Weiss.
Where Is Little Italy in the Bronx?
Countless restaurants and shops line Arthur Avenue, a one-mile strip near the Bronx Zoo and New York Botanical Garden. It’s very European; it’s the kind of place where you can get your cheese from one shop and your bread from another.
Where and How To Find Bronx Homes for Sale
No matter what your knowledge of the Bronx entails, working with a real estate agent who specializes in the borough will help you get started. StreetEasy can help you find an agent. Pegram notes that while agents can provide guidance and advice on the borough, he expects his clients to have some idea of where they want to live.
“They know Hell’s Kitchen; they know Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Tribeca,” Pegram says. “But people don’t know the neighborhoods of the Bronx. So people come to see me saying, ‘I want to live in the Bronx,’ and I’m like, ‘where?'”
Each neighborhood also has its own unique vibe and housing stock, with areas like Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil having more single-family homes, while more high-density areas like Morris Heights and Concourse have more co-ops. Condo stock is generally low in the Bronx, Pegram says.
