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NYC Neighborhoods to Watch in 2022

By Nancy Wu December 3, 2021

The city’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has solidified new preferences for where New Yorkers wish to live. StreetEasy’s list of NYC neighborhoods to watch for 2022 reflects these new trends, leading to a list somewhat different from years past. Last year, Brooklyn dominated the list. It does this year, too — but the borough’s popularity has spread even further, to the neighborhoods next door to last year’s entries. For example, this year we see Gowanus instead of Park Slope.

Table of Contents

Lenox Hill

399 East 72nd Street

$2,995 No Fee

Studio |

1

Hell’s Kitchen

554 West 50th Street

$2,276 No Fee

1 |

1

Central Harlem

252 West 149th Street

$2,225 No Fee

2 |

1

Upper East Side

166 East 82nd Street

$2,800 No Fee

1 |

1

Yorkville

401 East 89th Street

$2,475 No Fee

1 |

1

East Village

338 East 14th Street

$2,829 No Fee

1 |

1

South Harlem

115 West 117th Street

$2,500 No Fee

Studio |

1.5

Hell’s Kitchen

537 West 49th Street

$2,300 No Fee

1 |

1

Yorkville

306 East 83rd Street

$2,200 No Fee

1 |

1

Upper West Side

148 West 80th Street

$2,500 No Fee

1 |

1

East Harlem

334 East 105th Street

$2,500 No Fee

2 |

1

East Harlem

340 East 105th Street

$2,500 No Fee

2 |

1

We define our NYC neighborhoods to watch for 2022 as the areas that saw the greatest surge in interest among buyers, renters, and sellers in 2021, gearing them up for continued interest this coming year. To create this list we ranked the areas based on an index of three factors: increases in sales prices, rents, and user searches year-over-year.

^{Source: StreetEasy Data.}

Downtown Manhattan’s Amenities Draw New Yorkers Who Can Afford Them

The hottest neighborhoods in Manhattan are also among the most expensive. Topping the list is SoHo, joined by Greenwich Village and Flatiron. Now that shopping, restaurants, and nightlife have reopened, living in — or close to — neighborhoods with a lot going on has become important again. At least, to those New Yorkers who can afford to.

Note: A proposal that would rezone SoHo to expand housing opportunities for New Yorkers is currently under review by the City Council.

“Cool” Brooklyn Neighborhoods Are Cool Again

All the fun of pre-pandemic New York is not limited to Manhattan, of course. The neighborhoods in Brooklyn that have always been hot or up and coming are once again the top neighborhoods for 2022. Dumbo and Fort Greene are relatively easy to access from Manhattan’s office centers, and provide a diverse range of restaurants and nightlife that help make NYC the greatest city in the world. Interestingly, Bushwick ranks higher this year than Williamsburg, which didn’t even make our top 10. (On last year’s list, Williamsburg came in at number 7, while Bushwick was 9.) Bushwick has similar transportation options but is farther from Manhattan.

Fort Hamilton

226 97th Street

$1,950 No Fee

1 |

1

Midwood

1535 East 14th Street

$2,300 No Fee

1 |

1

Greenwood

650 Sixth Avenue

$2,600 No Fee

1 |

1

Crown Heights

1836 Park Place

$2,650 No Fee

2 |

1

Flatbush

561 East 26th Street

$2,500 No Fee

2 |

1

Bushwick

287 Cornelia Street

$2,175 No Fee

1 |

1

Flatbush

1471 Nostrand Avenue

$2,400 No Fee

1 |

1

Midwood

1792 Ocean Avenue

$2,429 No Fee

1 |

1

Flatbush

286 Linden Boulevard

$2,495 No Fee

1 |

1

Stuyvesant Heights

321 Pulaski Street

$2,550 No Fee

2 |

1

Williamsburg

53 Graham Avenue

$2,400 No Fee

1 |

1

Crown Heights

2303A Pacific Street

$2,350 No Fee

2 |

1

Working from home has changed where people decide to live in order to save money or gain space. The New Yorkers who wish to live in, say, Bushwick or Gowanus may be seeking the creative vibe SoHo once had in terms of food, nightlife, and even people watching. Before COVID, these beloved Brooklyn neighborhoods were gaining traction. Gowanus and Red Hook, though, are a difficult commute for anyone who does not have easy access to the G or F trains. In fact, Red Hook was one of the only neighborhoods on our list where rents fell year-over-year. But sales prices rose so significantly — 21%— that the neighborhood still made our list.

Another interesting note: Gowanus was recently approved for a massive rezoning plan. The plan will add 8,500 new apartments to the neighborhood by 2035, including 3,000 affordable units.

^{Source: StreetEasy Data.}

New NYC Neighborhoods to Watch in the Bronx and Queens

Many of the hot NYC neighborhoods on this list are also expensive. But two have median asking rents below $2,000: Kew Gardens Hills in Queens, and Fordham in the Bronx. These are also the only two areas on our list outside of Manhattan or Brooklyn. With plenty of green space and parks nearby, these neighborhoods are great options for New Yorkers who do not need to commute to Manhattan and are looking for more space.

Astoria

37-15 30th Avenue

$1,985 No Fee

1 |

1

Astoria

30-24 49th Street

$2,499 No Fee

2 |

1

Briarwood

142-10 Hoover Avenue

$1,750 No Fee

Studio |

1

North New York

466 East 143rd Street

$1,850 No Fee

1 |

1

Elmhurst

90-02 Queens Boulevard

$2,500 No Fee

1 |

1

Glendale

65-05 Central Avenue

$2,100 No Fee

1 |

1

Astoria

25-21 31st Avenue

$2,350 No Fee

1 |

1

North New York

417 East 135th Street

$2,275 No Fee

2 |

1

University Heights

30 West 181st Street

$2,375 No Fee

2 |

1

Astoria

28-23 42nd Street

$1,812 No Fee

1 |

1

Norwood

3291 Hull Avenue

$1,700 No Fee

1 |

1

Morris Heights

54 West 174th Street

$1,895 No Fee

1 |

1

It’s no surprise that these are also university neighborhoods, now that campuses are open for in-person classes. Fordham is home to Fordham University, and Kew Gardens Hills is a stone’s throw away from Queens College. According to a report by the NYC Comptroller’s office, the reopening of in-person learning coincided with an improvement in net residential migration to the city.

How We Did It

We identified our 10 NYC neighborhoods to watch for 2022 using an index of three key performance indicators: annual change in median asking rent, annual change in median sale price, and annual change in user searches that include a given neighborhood on StreetEasy.

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