What counts as prime Manhattan

I think you have to start with neighborhoods. Some neighborhoods are 100% prime where as others are 100% subprime. For example, Greenwich Village is 100% prime and Murray Hill and Turtle Bay are 100% subprime.

For example Tribeca has pockets of sub-prime next to Broadway and below Warren street. Fidi and battery park are sub-prime by most measures. So there is no simple answer to your question.

East village is 50/50. East of 3rd would not be prime for sure.

Poor Turtle Bay. Once one of the richest and most desirable neighborhoods in the city if not the entire USA. Still pockets of beautiful townhouse enclaves and many very rich people but not the same anymore.

Ximon, How long back? 100 years?

The 10022 zip code is still the third richest in NYC:

http://guestofaguest.com/new-york/real-estate/the-10-wealthiest-zip-codes-in-nyc?slide=8

Turtle bay is a small part of that zip code. There is fifth ave with Olympic Tower, Trump Tower and it goes all the way to 61st.

10022 also includes Sutton Place. It may not be trendy but always wealthy, sparkling clean (for NYC) and convenient to all Manhattan has to offer.

Depends on your definition of "the best possible quality". I'll throw some gas on the fire:

For apartments:
Prime: 5th Ave between 63rd and 92nd, Park Ave between 65th and 90th. CPW between 63rd and 81st (though 81st is a busy street). Sutton Place. A few buildings on lower Fifth. A few buildings on Riverside Drive.

Subprime: Madison, Lexington, 2nd, Ave, 3rd Ave, and anything on Broadway (all of them too commercial, though there are some specific prime buildings on those avenues).

Townhouses:
Prime: East 67th to East 86th, between 5th Ave and Madison (except 72, 79, 84th & 85th St, because of the traffic heading across the Central Park traverses). Sutton Place. Some west side blocks between 70th & 86th. Some blocks on Riverside drive. Some blocks in the W Village. Some blocks in Brooklyn Heights. Some blocks in Park Slope.

From all those areas you can remove most buildings built after WWII, however.

"From all those areas you can remove most buildings built after WWII, however."

To each his own, I always favored buildings built in the 1950's and 1960's. Generally have less infrastructure problems than building that are 80 to 100 years old and have bigger rooms and lots of closet space and are generally less expensive on a psf basis.

On the other hand if you are talking about $5M and up apartments that are gut renovated, I might be convinced to consider one. Unfortunately they are out of reach of the typical New Yorker.

Aaron, I think the definition of Prime has expanded significantly. What you listed was def true back in the day - say 15-20 years back. Now facing central park is super-prime but Park Ave coops probably have not increased much in desirability. High-end condos and increased popularity of downtown has expanded Prime Definition.

For example, if you are facing Madison Square Park, you are definitely primish if not prime - I would not thought that even 10 years back. Most of the West Village is prime, if not all. Greenwich village ex small area around Bleecker and facing Broadway is prime. 13th street was not prime before but I hear crazy sales numbers west of University/5th.

Fully agree on post WWII. Very few of them are prime which is why they trade at a discount despite many positives such as better space utilization but they just are not pretty and have low 8 foot ceilings.

Agree, 300. How people define Prime has changed. Today, Prime seems mostly defined by price point and new luxury construction. But what is now called Billionaires Row was not considered prime 25 years ago or even 10 years ago. Trump Tower was pioneering in its day as was Trump International and even Time Warner Center. Even today, I find it hard to call these locations "neighborhoods".

But neighborhoods do change over time and new Prime areas emerge. So-called "white elephants" seem increasingly less stigmatized while townhomes and pre-war coops seem comparably less desirable. These changes are very slow to develop and may not be obvious in even one lifetime.

The sense of "neighborhood" in Manhattan increasingly seems to be fading. High-rise towers have become their own neighborhoods with far less contextuality to their surrounding environs.

To me, Prime neighborhoods are defined by their overall characteristics and the same rules still apply. A Prime location is still one that is very close to transportation, work, shopping, restaurants, bars, rivers and parks, an area where you can go for a stroll day or night and always feel lucky to be living there.

Aaron, I reread your post. I never thought of prime as “best possible quality” when it came to Manhattan. I think your definition is closer to top 1-2% where as I always thought of prime Manhattan area close to at least 15-20% and now I think 30% is probably prime. Prime buildings naturally will be smaller percentage.

"East village is 50/50. East of 3rd would not be prime for sure"

What part of the East Village is west of 3rd Avenue?
Back in the early 90s I was working with a couple who had lived in the East Village as renters and were looking to buy. They told me that they would be willing to look in the West Village as well - they would go all the way to 3rd Avenue if necessary.
I ended up selling them a co-op on 7th Street between C and D.

The idea of what is prime and what is not in Manhattan has vastly changed in the past few decades. As previously pointed out what is now Billionaire's row was extremely subprime for a very long time. For example you could buy Apartments in the Osborne and Alwyn Court for a huge discounts off of similar Apartments just about anywhere else.
In Chelsea anything north of 23rd Street sold at tremendous discounts. Especially the co-op's on 29th Street between 8th and 9th Avenue (where I bought and sold a few foreclosures), or any Loft in the high West 20s and 30s. Now you've got condos lining the Highline selling for premiums.
On the upper west side being above 86th Street used to be the kiss of death - I sold a foreclosed 8 room apartment facing the park at 333 CPW in the $300k's. On the East side, traveling up Park Avenue it used to be like someone turned off a light switch when you crossed 96th St - you went from "luxury" prewar doorman buildings to blight instantaneously.
On the Lower East Side, aside from the Grand Street coops (which were Mitchell Lama and not free market), you had close to zero coops or condos. Today you've got new construction Condominiums selling at the same price as you would find in a lot of other neighborhoods that are considered "prime".

I agree with ximon that prime = convenience and transit access.

I agree the definition has slipped. To me, prime is indeed "best possible quality". That's what the dictionary says. And yes, that will be the top 1-2%, not the top 30% (unless I'm trying to persuade a buyer). So for me, 'prime' means a bias towards the 'traditional' neighborhoods, a little away from the main noise and traffic (so no, Billionaire's Row isn't really 'prime', though the buildings seem to be luxurious enough), yet readily accessible. It also means a bias toward older construction, because generally it is better: thicker and more solid walls, higher ceilings, traditional layouts. Of course, there are new buildings with these characteristics, and they might well be 'prime'.

Tough Aaron. Even USDA ranks 6-7% of the beef as Prime.

http://guestofaguest.com/new-york/real-estate/the-10-wealthiest-zip-codes-in-nyc?slide=8

this list make no sense, average net wealth is $200k in the top 10? Most people on this forum have at least $2m+

they put Queens on here? Little Neck maybe

-WEC