Harlem Help

Harlem is a very large section of Manhattan broken into quite a number of neighborhoods (East Harlem, Central Harlem, West Harlem, Manhattanville, Hamilton Heights, and the often debatable Morningside Heights) and even micro neighborhoods (i.e. Sugar Hill). Streeteasy search functionality allows you to break down your search by the core neighborhoods of Harlem- I would start there based on your price range and desired features.

Consigliere
about 21 hours ago
ignore this person
report abuse Not really familiar with Harlem but looking to purchase a condo. Anyone have any suggestions or specific buildings? I appreciate any help since I don't know the are at all.

ask the don.

j_h: That was a good one.

Con: Could you explain exactly what you're looking for? Especially as you don't know the area well...

Hello Consigliere,
Thats a broad question as Semerun said there are many sections of Harlem.
One of the best sources of information about dining and social life would be Experience Harlem.
http://experienceharlem.com/home.asp
A good source of ear to the ground gossip and sales chatter is Harlem Bespoke.
http://harlembespoke.blogspot.com/
Look at EH's map and see where amenities that you want would be and then come back to Streeteasy and search.
The lowest prices psf would be for condo buildings above 125th Street or buildings in East Harlem.
The highest prices psf would be buildings below 125th on the West side closest to Central Park and Columbia University.
From 125th to about 148th there are a number of great buildings in the 400+ psf range. A great price point for Manhattan, but little social life or amenities.
The closest feel and fabric of a upper west side nabe would be FDB or 8th Avenue from 110th to 125th.
Good Luck Yvette

I sell the part of Harlem that's known as "SoHa" -- West Harlem around 116th Street -- and I'm happy to show you those buildings, which as Yvette points out, feel like an extension of the UWS.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

"The lowest prices psf would be for condo buildings above 125th Street or buildings in East Harlem. "

Well really East Harlem above 110th street on 5th avenue and above 100th street everywhere else. There are quite a few buildings ON 96th street, north side, claiming erroneously to be Carnegie Hill. And asking prices accordingly. Ditto for 97th-99th, and all along 5th avenue to 110th.

Strangely, even one at 120th/5th (!!!!) has a few with PPSF out of whack with their East Harlem-ness.

Whatever you look at - walk around the area day. And at least around the block at night.

Besides Ali G here, Peter Denby of Halstead knows Harlem well (he lives there). He was excellent as our buyers broker when we purchased in Harlem. We looked almost everywhere 1400 5th, Kalahari, The Lore, Livmor, Soha 118, Parc Standard, Central Park Plaza, etc. We liked the FDB corridor much more than East Harlem. Unfortunately the best buildings in my view Livmor, Central Park Plaza and The Douglass are all sold out and have no resales at present.

Yes Jason,
Fifth on the Park on 120th and 5th has high prices because of the amenities. Pool, CP views, etc
Yet as they have been on the market for awhile I would imagine they are quite negotiable!
Yvette

Hi Consigliere... I dont frequent the talk section often. However, I am one of the representatives for 2 developments above 145th. I would be happy to show you these studio, 1 bedroom and duplex homes. My email is abauza@bhsusa.com

Ybrown: Note that 5th on the Park just RAISED all their prices so I don't know how negotiable they are anymore. I personally was not a fan of that area.

harlembuyer not interested in part of harlem, haha

Walk around and get a feel for the area. It seems FDB around 116th is really picking up in terms of retail and restaurants. Only downside is its a pain to make it to the east side from there and the orange and blue trains run fairly slow, in my experience.

mrmet: There are buses to the east side. Usually if we're going to the museums I drive.
Caonima: like semerun and Yvette noted there are lots of micro-neighborhoods in Harlem.

I used to live a block away from 5th on the Park. Its not nearly as great as FDB or the southernmost part of East Harlem local services, transportation, or anything else-wise. They have been for sale for 5 years now, still not sold out, and they raise prices. RAISE them! Its insane.

Unless you have pretty much unlimited resources, if you want to stay in Manhattan, Harlem is the place to go. Whether it be the FDB corridor, Hamilton Heights, or the burgeoning Lenox Avenue area around 125th St surrounded by landmarked blocks and brownstones, Harlem is your best bet. East Harlem has a bit of a different feel to it than the rest of Harlem and is inconvenient to transportation.

"East Harlem has a bit of a different feel to it than the rest of Harlem and is inconvenient to transportation."

Yes indeed. It's has that whole crime/urban blight "feel".

@ NYCMatt
East Harlem is less attractive because it has always been an area with poor housing stock, walk-ups, SROs, immigrant boarding houses, some sweat shops as well. There are great deals and amenity laden new developments in East Harlem but there is still a lot of "sumptin, sumptin' going on. Everything changes in Manhattan. The city is fluid. But West Harlem was once the home of the upper middle class and those monied professionals lived in the large stately brownstone and limestone homes.It is true once again, that those homes are occupied by the Upper middle class, only those with a substantial cash flow can afford to renovate and restore these homes to their original state. Skilled craftsmen in NY charge more than some lawyers and the high restoration costs price out most working Joes.The middle class people coming to Harlem are buying condos in the 400-600psf range.
Yvette - Paramount Properties

"Skilled craftsmen in NY charge more than some lawyers"

As well they should.

Lawyers are a dime a dozen these days. Skilled craftsmen are rarer than eyebrows on eggs.

Supply and demand.

Look around 125th Street and Lenox. The area has tons of transportation options, retail, dining, etc. What size unit are you looking to buy?

FDB below 125th is infinitely better than Lenox/125th.

But of course, TOP should walk around and see for herself.

I like lenox more than I like FDB - not as busy and really nice. There aren't too many condos there, but great real estate / townhouses on either side. If you are going to be in Harlem, why would you buy a condo when you could pick up a nice townhouse. The stock of houses is FAR superior off lenox. The houses by FDB are most 14' - 16' wide; 20-footer or bust!

Hi,

I am a Harlem specialist at Prudential Douglas Elliman at their Harlem office. I am also a native of Harlem and I know every nook and cranny as does my partner. We provide unparalleled service, are familiar with what is on the market and we work prodigiously to make every prospective buyer as much an expert as we can with the time we have.

If you are interested in finding out what we can do to make the process as seamless as possible, feel free to email me at rwilson@elliman.com.

"If you are going to be in Harlem, why would you buy a condo when you could pick up a nice townhouse."

Because "nice" townhouses that are move-in ready are asking $2MM and "nice" 2 bedroom condos can be had starting at 30% of that. And people like me prefer doorman living.

I agree about the area around Lenox and 125th. It has even greater growth potential than FDB because of the retail proximity, restaurants and bars; Red Rooster, Chez Lucianne, Lenox Social, and more to come along with the historic blocks. And the Fifth Avenue area is very pretty and quiet between 125th and 130th. But there aren't many new high rise condos; just elegant smaller buildings.

@NYCMatt,
LOL about skilled craftsmen!

Yes, people are heading uptown to find condos at a lower psf. Most people who can afford a $2MM-3MM purchase will stay downtown. The only client with that cash flow uptown are those with large families. In NY anything over 1-2 kids is considered "large". Manhattan developers don't build apartments for those "crazy" folks who decide to have large families.
Yvette

Back to the OPs original question, I really can't suggest a building right now that I would buy in (and obviously I'm bullish about Harlem). Besides 5th on the Park, The Apex, The Gateway, and Soha118 have all recently raised prices. Now before Jason points out that these 4 different developers are nutz let me point out some recent sales: Apt 9a at 5th on the Park went for $35,000 over ask http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/646343-condo-1485-fifth-avenue-central-harlem-new-york
At Soha118, Apt 8A (a fairly ordinary 3 bedroom with courtyard views) which we could have bought for $899,000 in 2010 is now in contract for over a million http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/525496-condo-301-west-118th-street-central-harlem-new-york
I certainly don't say "buy now or be priced out forever" but the only low prices now in Harlem are in truly troubled buildings with high maintenance and/or land leases.

I'd be careful about a listed that traded 35k over asked. be verry suspicious

The problem is that the inventory is not going up in Harlem, yet the prices are still so much lower than twenty blocks south people are making the move uptown. Even over asking price, which I agree, I'd be careful of as well, they are better deals than the Upper West or East Sides.

the one harlembuyer mentioned that enter contract over million, should be a broker trick

i guess they signed the contract on 1/26 around asking price 920K (builder will pay back a big incentive for closing, prepaid maintenance, etc), then the broker immediately changed the listing price online to fool people.

there are some well known dirty trick of harlem brokers:

1. if you cannot sell something, raise the price
2. if you just sold something, immediately raise the original listing price

What is the criteria for switching between Brooks2 and caonima?

There are many apartments and condos to choose from at this moment in Harlem. Again it depends on if the buyer wants to stay below 125th as all the apartments listed by Harlem Buyer are situated. Or if he will move East or further uptown.
Even if prices rise in Harlem at this time they are still considerably less than skyrocketing prices only 20 blocks south. Recent condo developments opened on the UWS with average askings of $1500psf.
That being said Apex offers a good mix of ppsf, amenities, location with attractive finishes.
Yvette

Same criteria for switching between j hones and huntetsburg

Call Tony Oakley @ Corcoran. I have friends who bought from him and he is fantastic and knows the area really, really well.

Thanks for the help. I am looking for a condo in the area of $300,000 - 400,000.00 with a tax abatement. I want to rent it out and hold for about 10 years.

I am more curious on what areas are good.

I saw fifth on the part and thought it was rather overpriced but very nice.