Bronx

riverdale

How is the commute to Riverdale? The local transportation (Subway/Bus).

Where do you work? Rockefeller Center? Wall Street? Downtown Brooklyn? Stamford??

Matt, I would in columbus circle.

This is for investment though.

Unless you're an astute investor with enough cash to buy entire buildings, New York City real estate is not really a wise "investment".

i would use hopstop.com to see. there is some train, express bus and metro north options in that neck of the woods.

Matt (you may disagree),

I think some damage can be done in the Bronx and Queens.

IMO, someday people are going to stop renting in Manhattan and purchase MORE FREQUENTLY in the Bronx or Queens. They will (assuming they can afford) realize why pay $3,500.00 - $4,000.00 renting some 1-Flex or 2 Bedroom, when you can start owning in those areas and take advantages of home ownership.

If you rent an apartment for 3 years at $3,500.00 per month (assume no rent increases), that is $126,000 in rent expenses.

At some point taking this place (just for an example)
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/575842-coop-5601-riverdale-avenue-riverdale-bronx

If you put 10% down on a 30 year fixed 4.0%, your total payments (including maintenance) is under $2,000.00.

Even if the market in 3 years is the same (in Riverdale), you saved $54,000.00 in monthly rental payments, by purchasing a little further away.

At some point the above becomes much more attractive. At some point people, will RENT MORE FREQUENTLY in the Bronx and Queens and save the money and commute a little further.

At some point renting in Manhattan to the average 27-32 year old will become less attractive financially. Starting incomes out of college are not getting that much greater, but people still need housing in the area. Go rent in these areas where the apartments don’t cost 70% of your monthly income.

That is just me (I know you know all this), this isn’t new stuff.

SE calling Ino, Ino you are needed to educate Consigliere and set him straight.

matt lives almost in the bronx himself. he just wanted the manhattan zipcode.

Consigliere, I think you have an interesting strategy -- worth some thought.

The New York Times says Mott Haven has already gentrified, but it still looks pretty dicey to me. There is some nice brownstone-style housing stock there, though, and you can buy a house there pretty cheap.

Morris Park is okay, and Morris Heights is coming along. Both areas are populated by mostly middle-class blue-collar folks, and there are mom-and-pop style stores in both areas. But in terms of crime, and coming home late by yourself on the subway, it might be a little edgy on some blocks.

Areas like Pelham Bay, Throggs Neck and City Island are all safe and secure, but they are all really far away.

I'm told that Arthur Avenue is only good on Arthur Avenue itself, and the surrounding streets are pretty scary.

Certainly Riverdale is very nice, with gated communities and large single-family homes and very nice co-ops. The city schools are good in Riverdale and if you were to buy a 2- or 3-bedroom in order to rent it out to a family, I would think you'd do fairly well.

But Riverdale is a long way away from the center of town.

"But Riverdale is a long way away from the center of town."

Indeed.

Public transportation-wise, it's accessible via only the 1 Train and the first opportunity to catch an express train is 168th Street (A) or 96th Street (2/3).

And much of Riverdale isn't accessible to ANY subway.

"The New York Times says Mott Haven has already gentrified, but it still looks pretty dicey to me."

Agreed.

The NYT apparently has a rather broad definition of what constitutes "gentry".

Thoughts on Belmont?

Belmont -- no. Most of the neighborhood is at least 20 blocks away from the nearest subway.

Consigliere, New York real estate is still dramatically hyper-inflated. I see a secondary bubble that's waiting to burst. Why? Because everything that's within an easy 30-minute subway commute to Midtown still costs nearly twice what the median household in *Manhattan* can afford ($70K-ish), let alone the median for NYC ($55K-ish). There are only so many rich people who can occupy all these $4,000+/month apartments, and everyone else is stretching themselves to do it. Something eventually will give, and it won't be pretty.

Rents will not -- and cannot -- continue to spiral upward when they're already this far away from the affordability of those who would be living in them. What I'm saying is that rents will never get to a point where cosmopolitan 20- and 30-somethings would find neighborhoods like Belmont as an attractive option. Never. Going. To. Happen.

Kingsbridge (right down the hill from Riverdale) may be a good option. The 1 train is right there along with Metro North (20 minutes to Grand Central) and a solid working class community. Not sure what its like at night but during the day it seems very safe if anything but trendy.

I've also heard Kingsbridge is nice.

Thanks Matt.

"Public transportation-wise, it's accessible via only the 1 Train and the first opportunity to catch an express train is 168th Street (A) or 96th Street (2/3). "

Uhhhh...there are endless express buses to the Bronx. And 2 metro north train stations! They count, not just subways!

From where I work near Lexington/59th Google maps says 35 minutes to the exact center of Riverdale. Take the 6 train 96th street, walk to 3rd avenue, take the BXM1. 35 minutes.

Guess how long it takes to get to 168th/Broadway, where Matt lives? 34 minutes. The 7 to the 7 to the A or the 5 to the S to the A. One minute faster. One more transfer.

If you work at our other office at 42nd/Park, it takes 26 minutes on the BXM1 to west 230th street (southern RD) or 35 minutes on the metro north. With NO transfers.

To Where Matt lives? 28 minutes WITH a transfer.

From east 50th, it take 36 minutes,

As usual, Matt speaks out of his ass without doing any BASIC fact checking.

Sounds like Matt regrets being an owner.

I think Riverdale is beautiful and super cheap versus Manhattan. I don't think its a super conevient transport wise, but its not New Haven, CT, the way Matt would have you believe.

riverdale is not a good area, not safe

"riverdale is not a good area, not safe"

Sigh. Riverdale is the 13th safest out of 69 NYC neighborhoods per the crime stats.

http://www.dnainfo.com/crime-safety-report/bronx/riverdale

http://www.dnainfo.com/crime-safety-report/

Its safer at 9.46 major crimes per year per 1,000 people (down 5% YOY)than Chelsea's 20.1/1,000, GV's 24.6/1000, Gramercy's 22.8/1000, Brooklyn Heights's 20.4/1000, or Tribeca's 21.7/1000.

Its about the same as the UES's 8.9/1000, or the UWS's (below 86th!!!) 9.45/1,000.

In other words, safer than all of Manhattan save the UES, and than Brooklyn's best and its barely below that.

Of course, you like to be an asshole, always.

"From where I work near Lexington/59th Google maps says 35 minutes to the exact center of Riverdale. Take the 6 train 96th street, walk to 3rd avenue, take the BXM1. 35 minutes."

Good for Google Maps. What does Google Maps tell you when it's after hours and the BXM1 isn't running?

***

"Guess how long it takes to get to 168th/Broadway, where Matt lives? 34 minutes. The 7 to the 7 to the A or the 5 to the S to the A. One minute faster. One more transfer."

East versus West is always a time-killer, no matter where in this city you live.

"Good for Google Maps. What does Google Maps tell you when it's after hours and the BXM1 isn't running?"

The last bus back to RD is at 12:40 AM except on Sunday when its 11:40 PM. So I would do the same thing I do now, and take a cab home. In fact, if its DARK I take a cab home. If its below 65 degrees, I take a cab home. If I am carrying more than five pounds, I take a cab home. I can afford it, because my rent is as cheap as it was when I mean 70% less money.

MY LL has a building in RD, as new as mine, that even cheaper PSF than my East Harlem one, so I assume it would be the same if I lived up there.

"made" not "mean"

Jason, I'm not arguing against Riverdale. I'm arguing against Belmont, where presumably, if one is forced to live in such a dump, one is not in a position to just take a cab when it's dark, chilly, toting a gym bag, or wearing blue on a Tuesday.