February 9th 2011
New York Magazine
Led by slick new condos among the brownstones, Harlem’s real-estate market is starting to shake off the recession. And, maybe, its uniqueness.
Median prices in Harlem are, after a long dive, scrabbling their way back up. According to statistics furnished by Streeteasy.com, 98 properties went into contract in Central, East, and West Harlem in the fourth quarter of 2010, up from 89 the year before, and 62 in 2008. Brownstones and starter apartments composed many of those sales, but buyers are also being drawn by a new breed of amenity-stocked condos that are barely distinguishable from any others in Manhattan. Is this a fabulous new Harlem—or the homogenization of a highly distinctive neighborhood? Probably both.
130 Bradhurst Avenue, Apartment 1003
What: An 1,152-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bath in a development that opened last year. Each of the two bedrooms has a terrace, and there’s also a small study. Listing broker Charlie Lewis says the building was explicitly designed to make the most of its views of Jackie Robinson Park.
Monthly maintenance: $1,127.
Agents: Charlie Lewis and Robert Williams, Warburg Realty.
Price: $599,000