Park Slope vs. Hamilton Heights
A few months ago, I posted a question on Park Slope vs. the Upper West Side and got a lot of great feedback. To recap briefly, my partner and I live in a great but small apartment on the UWS and have been thinking about buying a brownstone. Our focus has been mainly on Park…
A few months ago, I posted a question on Park Slope vs. the Upper West Side and got a lot of great feedback. To recap briefly, my partner and I live in a great but small apartment on the UWS and have been thinking about buying a brownstone. Our focus has been mainly on Park Slope because we like the housing stock and the amenities. The main drawback of PS is the commute to work, which involves an unpredictable 30-40 minute subway ride, plus walking 5-10 minutes on each end, as compared to the 20-25 minute walk (no subway) that we each currently enjoy.
I don’t want to trouble folks with endless neighborhood smack-downs, but lately we’ve started reconsidering Harlem, specifically Hamilton Heights, and we’re wondering if anyone has any thoughts on HH vs. PS. The reason we’re drawn to HH is that the housing stock is also very good (lots of unique houses in the vein of Montgomery Place and nearby park blocks in PS) and the commute to work is much shorter (about 20-25 minutes total, including the subway ride and the walk on each end). Obviously the amenities aren’t close to those of PS, but there are signs of improvement. One additional plus is the pricing. In October 2007, there was a posting here on “Brownstone Brooklyn vs. Harlem,†and one of the main points of contention back then was that houses in Harlem were more expensive than comparable houses in Brooklyn, even though Harlem offered fewer amenities.
Based on numerous open house visits in PS over the last year (and a handful of recent visits in HH), that situation seems to have reversed. In some cases, asking prices in HH and other parts of Harlem are 40-50% off peak asking prices and are considerably lower than current asking prices for comparable PS houses (and by “comparable,†I mean size, character and condition – obviously the locations are totally different). I would love to get people’s views in light of current market. Thanks again!
lived in PS all my life and love it, but I would totally go for the shorter commute. You can still get to central park, right? the north side of CP is so beautiful. This may sound silly to consider, but if you go out of town ever on weekends you’re already a lot closer starting in harlem than brooklyn for points north. for LI/FI, maybe no difference.
yes, I have 2 tenants and adds to responsibility but also sense of security because when we are away someone is there to monitor the house. Shovel the snow, take out the garbage, call me if problem occurs. And they always occur when away.
Of course they are long-time tenants, paying undermarket rents and not transient 20,30 year-olds.
Thanks, Pete — I remember your prior comment. I agree that having a house can be time consuming. I think you mentioned that you have multiple tenants, and I think I assumed the last time that being a landlord may have factored into your views. If that’s not the case, then I’d love to know (also because we’re debating whether to have a garden rental).
As for Ft. Greene, I know I’m going to sound like a crazy person, but I actually prefer the romanesque and renaissance revival houses from the 1890s and early 1900s over the mid-19th century greek revivals and italianates that you tend to find in Ft. Greene and BoCoCa, for a variety of reasons (most of which I admit are trivial). You tend to find more of the later styles in Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights and Bed Stuy. Crown Heights and Bed Stuy don’t seem much better from a transportation perspective, so we focused mainly on Park Slope and Prospect Heights, given their proximity to the park, restaurants, retail, etc.
I think I said in earlier thread that since you have weekend house not the smartest thing to buy a city house especially if in walking distance to jobs right now.
But why so focused on PS? If commute time to work is so important- try Ft. Greene near A train stations(Fulton st station). great area- and maybe quicker commute.
Pigeon, I guess I was basing my pricing estimates on $/square foot for comparably renovated houses in HH and PS, but I have to admit that I have mostly been looking on the PA blocks east of 7th Ave and north of 9th Street. Prices on the blocks further away from the park tend to be lower. For example, a few renovated houses on the park block of 2nd Street and one unrenovated house on the park block of 4th Street recently sold in the $650-$700/square foot range, while there are currently two renovated, limestone houses in HH on the market for roughly $500/square foot, and one unrenovated limestone house (with original details intact) for under $400/square foot. And those are the asking prices. Some of those houses have been on the market for months or even years, and have seen significant price cuts before landing at the current asking prices.
LowerUWSider,
Are HH prices really lower than PS prices?
I’m not in touch with HH pricing, and I’m surprised to hear that it’s less pricey than PS.
I’m curious, are you referring to prime PS (2.5M and up) or non-prime PS (2M and under)?
Hamilton Heights has many beautiful brownstones and a great history as a neighborhood/community. But in spite of the new pricing trend you are seeing, I would still be concerned about houses holding their value. It’s not so much that the prices are more reasonable now; it’s that they were SO over-inflated a few years ago. I reckon they have room to fall some more.