Any opinions on apartments holding their value in Yorkville?

3rd avenue is nice but anything east of that is not so great. there are private schools in the area so it's really what you need that counts.

Inventory in this area is, like all areas, steadily increasing. Prices have already dropped by 10-20% from peak on many jur-fours I've seen listed, de-listed after not selling, and then relisted. By now and you better have closer to a 10 year time horizon and be prepared in a year to see values to have dropped another 20-30%. If you can't stomach that, you have no business buying into this market at this time. While I think values all over Manh. will continue to drop for some time, any recovery will first take hold in the A-list areas (Fifth Ave, CPW, Park Ave, GV, etc). Yorkville is not on that list. It is a perfectly nice 'hood, but when people speak of "location, location, location," that isn't the first area that comes to mind. You'll need patience and fortitude if you want to buy there now. On the other hand, you'll be in much better shape there than an outer borough area that hasn't even had time to take hold yet (e.g. LIC) or more transitional area in Manh such as by the Lincoln Tunnel.

What (if any) are the precise boundaries defining Carnegie Hill and Yorkville?

When in doubt, the numbers dont lie.
Just look at the increase of inventory for sale in yorkville compared to other areas.

Just ask yourself... why.

now, this could change with the subway extension, but it could take many years for any noticeable change.

BUGELREX: Could you or another kind StreetEasy guru illuminate me on what those numbers look like? Our preferred comp group would be 3BR or bigger.

There are too many negative posts about Yorkville on SE. I used to live (for seven years) on East 86th between York and East End--next to Carl Schurz Park and near Gracie Mansion. First of all, there are many people who seek out this area. And the reasons are obvious: great public and PRIVATE schools, some decent parks, some excellent streets and buidlings (pre war, post war, town houses), and decent restaurants, bars, shopping and food marts. From a demographic point of view, it is a very affluent part of the city--very high median family income, very high reading scores, very low crime rates. Clearly, if you live far east in this neighborhood, you are farther from the subway than other areas of the city. But, the crosstown bus service is very reliable. ALso, if you have a car, there are more reasonably priced parking options than other parts of the city. And, there is easy access to FDR drive to get out of town and to the airports. It is also close to many hospitals and doctors offices which line York Ave, and therefore many doctors and health care employees (one of the few growing parts of the NYC economy) live in the area. Yorkville also attracts many recent college grads, since the rents along york, 1st and 2nd above 86th and east tend to be lower than some other neighborhoods. In an era of austerity, college grads will continue to flock to areas where there is decent rent value. My view is that if NYC suffers further real estate price declines, then I think Yorkville will not suffer disproportionally on the whole. It depends on the building and the street you are talking about. Certainly, the new condos and developments in the high 90s and first/york are more at risk than the prominent pre war coops on East End, Gracie Square and East 86th.

I heard a rumor on StreetEasy that Yorkville will be sold to Germany.

I think all of the neighborhoods are connected and will suffer similar declines. I don't believe there will be any protected zones.

If you are a family it is great.

If you are under 30 it's going down to $500 psf or less, if it's not there yet already.