Washington heights

Please post links to the articles.

http://www.brickunderground.com/reasons_to_move_to_Upper_Manhattan

http://www.brickunderground.com/live/best-nyc-neighborhoods-for-college-grads-2016

You have to be critical and consider the source of the info. The guy quoted in the article is a broker for an agency specializing in Upper Manhattan RE so of course he is going to puff up the area. Almost anyone who bought anywhere in Manhattan in 2013 would have seen large price appreciation through 2015 because that was a time of record price growth. This is not to say that there may not be more room to grow in Upper Manhattan but you have to consider the context. There is also always going to be a cap on the area vis a vis other areas of Manhattan simply because the area is not as desirable as more prime locations.

Also, historically the last area to go up is the first area to go down when the market contracts.

I lived at 160th and Edgecombe for two years going back to about 2011. It was actually very nice living along winding and tree-lined Edgecombe avenue. We had great neighbors and access to some very good Dominican and Mexican food. We did miss the lack of diversity regarding cafes, coffee shops, restaurants etc that we had within walking distance in Brooklyn.

I think if I were going to buy up there I would want to be north of 165th street on the West side . That said there were some very nice buildings on Riverside and 160th such as the Grinnel. If I was constrained by budget and had a long view towards ownership I would certainly purchase in Washington Heights. I would not suggest buying because you think this will be the next Fort Greene or Harlem etc. It certainly could be, but who knows, I certainly don't. However just as things are WH's is a pretty nice place to live IMHO with access to some very beautiful real estate that would cost close to double below 96th street or prime Harlem. Access to the A train made getting around pretty easy. Also we often found ourselves going out in Harlem where there is no shortage of things to do.

And if you road bike (like I do) it's really easy access to get over the GW and head North up to Bear Mountain or take the car out of the city. Oh, and easy trips to Arthur Ave in the Bronx!!

Just some thoughts on the Heights...

Keith Burkhardt
The Burkhardt Group