Wash. Hts, Inwood, Hudson Hts, Ft George - broker agencies

I purchased an apartment last year in Inwood (and looked at apartments in all of the neighborhoods that you listed). Some of the good local realtors are New Heights Realty, Simone Song and Anshell. Of the big brokerages Prudential has a fairly high profile (esp the realtor Perry Payne who reps alot of the apartments in Hudson Heights) and Corcoran is making inroads so you should continue to check out their websites.

Emmitt--what are your thoughts on the area? i've looked in that general area and am contemplating buying something agove 181st.

Corcoran has worked their way quite nicely into the area. I would check them out. Have not used her but Kelly Cole seeems to show up a lot. As does Jeff Gardier (sp?) and this guy named Bruce, who's last name I am blanking on--but you will see his listings.

Thanks!

I love the area. I have lived in Manhattan for slmost 30 years and have lived in multiple neighborhoods (as far south as Tribeca and now up in Inwood) and I must say that this neighborhood has exceeded all of my expectations. The area west of Broadway is dominated by two large beautiful parks and several smaller parks. The housing stock is pretty uniformly art deco pre-war buildings which in general have great open layouts (ie no long winding hallways and little rooms that you find in other pre-war apartments) and large windows making them feel modern. I work uptown (Columbia) so for me the commute is not a big deal. If you have a commute past midtown or if you go out downtown alot then the commute could be pain. I have seen comments online that there are noise issues. However, I have not experienced this issue - the noisiest thing in my apartment are the birds singing in the morning.

I remember a few years ago seeing more listings in the Inwood / Wash. Hts area that were "affordable" than I do now. Is this the case, has the market moved more upmarket? Or does this reflect the inventory on the market this summer? Seem to be listings leaning heavily towards "luxury" (I use this term loosely since many apartments priced at luxury levels happens in buildings that are not luxury)

I used to live in Inwood and it is indeed a great and affordable area, of course without the benefit of walking to lots of restaurants/bars. The parks there are ok in terms of size, but I remember being horrified by all the litter people drop on weekends during the summer. That is the park near the river across from Bronx and that park can also become crowded and dangerous in the summer afternoons, with people playing baseball in unprotected areas. The park terrace garden area is the nicest area in inwood (it is a five building complex, well-managed). Most of the listings in the area are with smaller firms. I recommend New Heights Realty with Lisa Castro. She is great!

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Stein-Perry. They don't have the best rep, but they do have a lot of listings.

I have been renting in Inwood for the past 5 years.

There is a good mix of people up here, but there are drawbacks. There are definitely noise issues if you live on a lower floor on one of the main avenues -- don't even think of buying below the fourth floor if you are looking on a street with any kind of thru traffic.

The other big issue is car vandalism. I park on the street and have had all kinds of things broken on my car -- the driver's side rear view mirror was broken off (by teenagers no doubt), my battery was stolen out from under the hood, and many other destructive episodes.

There are certain streets where you just don't park your car if you want it to stay in one piece, and the parking in Inwood can be tight in general.

The demographics among the ethnic groups that have been here a long time skew heavily toward the young -- there are many, many hispanic teens here. Like most teens, they like to cruise up and down the avenues at 3 or 4 in the morning on Friday and Saturday nights in very large vehicles, with their windows rolled down and with music blaring.

You can avoid this buy sticking to the quiet streets, like Payson Ave, but there are probably more noisy streets than quiet ones in Inwood.

The other thing to consider is the commute. I moved here from B'lyn and several friends still live there. It is a very very long trip by subway to see them -- 3 hours roundtrip, most days. On weekends, the A train often runs local rather than express, and it always runs local after 11 pm -- that adds half an hour to your commute time no matter where you are coming from.

Prices have gone up here but it's questionable whether or not apartments will hold their value in Inwood. As the rest of the city sees some softening, I think Inwood will become less desirable in comparison, and prices here will fall too.

Thanks for the all the feedback. i'm working in midtown, so will definately have to think about the commute and may even go up and actually try the commute sometime before work.

Tandare - I would not call anything up in Inwood/Wash Heights "luxury" by any reasonable downtown standards. The poshest nabe in my opinion (and in pricing) is definitely Hudson Heights which is above 181 and up to 191 on top of the hill. In terms of affordability it is all relative. I began my search in Harlem and Hamilton Heights but quickly realized that the deals were much better in Wash Heights/Inwood. Nicer apartments in better neighborhoods (IMO) at lower prices. Prices drop substantially again if you cross the river to Riverdale but there are some transportation issues (such as taking a bus ride to get to the subway).

I think of those big prewar buildings up in the 150s as "luxury" -- the Riviera, the Grinnell, the River Arts -- I DK if you guys would consider that "Washington Heights" or not.
ali r.
{downtown broker}

Ali, I agree...the 150s has some of the most beautiful pre-war apatments in the all of NYC. The Grinell is amazing.

Ront porch - I agree that those buildings are beautiful (and there are equally beautiful buildings in Hudson Heights). But to me "luxury" denotes amenities and other than doormen I dont think that the buildings up here much in the way of amenities.

Thanks again folks for all the helpful comments.

@Emmitt / @front_porch -- I agree with Emmitt. When I think "luxury" I think amenities (which really I am not interested in, being more of a "budget" buyer) not just the pre-war construction - even if great, art deco quality - which I love - the building to me isn't luxury (and doesn't justify luxury pricing) unless it has all those bells and whistles. Just my humble opinion though... Like I said I'm hoping to find that needle in a haystack as we have limited funds yet an actual need for large space.

@Front_porch - of course those beauties of pre-war are luxury in another manner of thinking -- great construction, beautiful details... when compared with some of the monstrosities people consider *construction* in NYC

Actually, one great but little-remarked feature of prewars is the quiet -- a couple down the hall has a new baby, and I can barely hear him when he's in the hall .. .but I know what you guys mean, "luxury" marketing has trained us all to expect a gym in every building!

ali r.
[downtown broker}

@front_porch --
that's funny, I didn't mention it, but the quiet is one of the reasons I am hoping we end up in a prewar!
But, yeah to me luxury means amenities. I get annoyed when things are listed as luxury (and have prices that reflect that) and the apartment is in a building that may or may not have an elevator, may have no storage space or bike space, and no outdoor access, gym, doorman, the finishes in the apartments are basic or outdated --- and I think, "What exactly is luxury here? The fact that it has a door?"
Anyway, just my opinion!