Where are decent values to be found?

I know it's not 'lower' Manhattan, but I still think Murray Hill from 35th to 40th, and from 5th over to Lex, is still undervalued. Clean, quiet, safe, centrally located, taxis plentiful, subway and buses nearby, easy walk to Grand Central, Todaro's Grocery at 31st is fab, and you can get uptown or downtown, eastside or westside quiickly. Also, the prices seem quite fair considering how well located it is. I think it's a good value.

I never considered this area. I'll look at this.
Thank you!

Try Central and West Harlem.... a lot of residential and commercial development going on. Also, some who have purchased in the area are actually true heavy hitters...from very famous poets, actors/actresses, and models to publishers. Pretty unbelieveable what's going on in Central and West Harlem...although it's got some ways to go. If you can afford it now, I'm sure that in a couple of years you'll make a ton of cash and will have the pleasure of having to worry about capital gains.

To the OP - I used to live in Murray Hill also and LOVED the area. My old building at 20 East 35th (corner of Madison) was a really great location and a very pretty block. They also did a really nice job on the Morgan Library a few block north with the recent redesign and the glass atrium area - very beautiful (great for lunch or afternoon coffee, too!). Some great restaurants within walking distance (I'm a big fan of Artisanal for Saturday/Sunday brunch).

But #4, really, West Harlem is not exactly super conveient to lower Manhattan.

Thanks for your inputs.

Although I am nervous about possible reversals in the crime trend, i'll look at West Harlem too.

I agree Murray Hill is very undervalued and only gets better and better with more restaurants/services etc. Also Tudor City is a good deal too. They are both safe and clean with good restaurants. They are a good alternative to the UES.

If you'd like to feel more comfortable regarding safety just check out the crime stats for Harlem vs you other options (link is below). What's surprising is that Harlem actually has a much lower crime rate (Note: the higher the crime index the more likely you are of falling victim to crime):

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/realestate/communities/index.html

tUDOR cITY APTS ARE ABOUT AS CRAMPED AS YOU CAN GET, but it is a very quiet area and better if you live in the building with the gym--think its #5. Agreed Murray Hill is value but the maintenances there are skewed high. Gramercy might be best overall value.

I didn't find my maintenance high in Murray Hill - what exactly are you referring to?

10--who asked you. what you live in every coop in mh??? do a search b4 you talk.

Financial District -- you can still get brand new luxury construction there at under $1000 per square foot (as recently as a month ago, you could still get it at under $800 per square foot at 90 William). And if you don't need "brand new luxury", then the existing apartments there are still cheap. Best of all, most everyone agrees that the neighborhood is trending upward, so it should be a investment with a fairly quick return.

Morningside Heights is great! Look there!

#11 - have you ever lived in Murray Hill? I lived there for five years, and knew many others who also did. We obviously talked about our various maintenance charges as one point or another. I think I can say with reasonable authority that, in general, for existing coops in MH (not new build condos) in the area I described, maintenance charges ARE rather reasonable.

Maybe you should do a search for an anger management class.

I realize at any moment someone is going to come online and slam Murray Hill. But I wish to agree with the above posters that Murray Hill is a great place to live and is a good value. While Murray Hill is not known for it's "green" space, I live on a street that has 2 "public private parks." For those of you unfamiliar with "public private parks," the City gave variances to commerical buildings in exchange for park area. I'm very lucky to also have a roof deck as well. Also being located in mid-Manhattan, it's really made commuting around town less hectic.

I lived in Murray Hill for 15 years - just sold my apt. and am searching for a larger one on UES since I now have 2 children. It is a great neighborhood all around. Try the Carlton Regency on 36th Street - fabulous building that is extremely well run. I think the apts. in there are a "steal" given the central location and the services the building offers. And yes, the maintenances are reasonable. You can get a good size one bedroom for maybe $600,000 with full services - doormen and concierge, outdoor garden. I had a small one bedroom which I just sold for $520,000 with maintenance of $1000.They also have studios and alcove studios for much lower prices. After looking at apts. in other neighborhoods, I know this buidling is a bargain.

I just moved in to Murray hill apartment after living in Tudor City for 5 years. Tudor city is great, but apartments are tiny!! The 1BR I moved out of was 525 sq. feet. But the #5 building I lived in had great amenities, storage, nice gym, park across the street, etc..

Just bought a 1br in Murray hill near the Morgan Library, It was a great deal. Most apartments are $75-$150 sq ft lower then the rest of manhattan. Better part of murray hill is between lexington & fifth, I can get anywhere in manhattan within 1/2 hour, not as crowded on weekends. Definately a great little neighborhood!

Try Yorkville or Kips Bay (east of Murray Hill)

To the OP - Murray Hill is an EXCELLENT suggestion, given your initial post - you should check it out. The buildings along Park, as well as 35th - 40th between Madison and Lex are for the most part, really lovely. Good luck!

I agree that Murray Hill and Tudor City are the best bets for value. Harlem isn't safe yet and Wall Street is going to be a construction site for the next 20 years. I don't consider it value if you can't walk around and feel safe, or if you have to suffer through construction noise/dust/debris. I think for something to be of value, it has to be clean, safe, have nice restaurants, grocery stores, etc. Murray Hill and Tudor City seem the safest and cleanest for way less money than the UES/UWS. To compare them to Wall St. and Harlem is apples and oranges.

Thank you all! Some great suggestions, i'll look into them.

Any opinions on Red Hook?

Red Hook: Too far from public transportation. If you're willing and able to have a car, it's do-able. Otherwise hugely inconvenient.

Fort Greene has good values and some new construction. Very convenient to lower manhattan as well as park slope, cobble hill, bk heights, etc

Fort Greene has good values and some new construction. Very convenient to lower manhattan as well as park slope, cobble hill, bk heights, etc

Is Fort Greene reasonably safe today?

It was a hell-hole when I went to school in that area in 1970's. (Not that Red Hook was any better back then.) I walked around Fort Greene Park last week and thought it looked a lot better.

Panama, you really should see the price per square foot there on some waterfront condos.