What are the up and coming areas in Manhattan and Brooklyn (New York: apartments, to rent)
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I am looking to move to NYC next year and I would like to move to an up and coming area where I will buy and condo or house and just sit on it for a while.
There's quite a bit of that "up and coming" stuff going on in the northern half of Bushwick (Brooklyn) and Harlem (Manhattan). Here's the best advice you're going to get: do not take anybody's word regarding any neighborhood in New York City; everyone has opinions on what makes a "good" or "bad" neighborhood, but nobody can tell you how you feel in a given area. Go to areas that interest you and check them out with your own eyes.
If you're not familiar with the city (and it sounds like you're not), I would not recommend buying right now. Better to rent first and get a feel for the neighborhoods.
Part of the problem in believing hype and searching for "the next" is that there are factors that come into play where the market cannot be accurately predicted. A few years ago, for example, people would have jumped at the chance to get into a condo in Williamsburg or Downtown Brooklyn, but now there are ghost projects that are incomplete in those areas, waiting for the final dust to settle on the condo glut that plagued certain areas.
Windfall profiteering drove this mentality, where people bought and waited for the market to perk up and sold at highly inflated, and non-sustainable price levels. The best advice is to find an area that you like and can afford and purchase an apartment/house in that area. I say that's the best advice because you may be stuck with it if you buy in anticipation of a huge price spike to make easy money, though if that happens, it's a nice side benefit.
There are structural issues as to why certain markets continue to under perform, despite hype to the contrary that they are the "next...<insert trendy Manhattan neighborhood here>." There are political and social issues that constrain the ability to knock down old housing and suddenly create a new, luxury enclave. And, even in transitional areas of Manhattan and Brooklyn, it's not unfathomable to pay in excess of $1M for a townhouse/brownstone. Upside potential comes from renovations and neighborhood changes in such areas, and some units are so neglected that they require extensive renovation/remodel, adding to the cost and hassle.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
Another problem with "the next" is that these days, things are seldom allowed to happen naturally, as they used to. Now the moment realtors think they can move some buildings or some apartments, they generate as much of artificial hype as they can.
Harlem, Bushwick, Bed-Stuy, DUMBO, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, etc.
Add East Williamsburg to that. (I know neither DUMBO nor East Williamsburg exist, but this is a hipster/yuppie/move-in, so I'll use their terminology. )
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