New York’s last affordable Manhattan property is way better value than London
At Inwood Hill Park, New York, there’s a metal plaque pointing out where Manhattan was sold from native Americans to a Belgian coloniser in 1626. The land was exchanged for the lowly price of some trinkets and beans. A tulip tree had marked this spot for 280 years but when it died in 1938 it severed the last living link to the Native Americans who lived in Manhattan before colonisation.
There are older things than that in Inwood Hill Park: Umpire Rock, or Manhattan Schist, formed 500 million years ago, forms dramatic stone formations including caves, as well as pathways through the undergrowth. It is the same rock that forms the bouldery landscape at Central Park six kilometres south.
The very northernmost tip of Manhattan, Inwood locals joke that Harlem is Downtown for them. Many Manhattanites haven’t heard of the neighbourhood – and yet, for the locals who live there, this is Manhattan’s affordable sanctuary. “There are parks here!” one local who gave me a tour exclaimed. In New York, green space is a luxury even the millionaires cannot afford.
The Manhattan nature problem means that if you own a five million dollar apartment anywhere south of Midtown, you’re a fairly hefty walk from Central Park, the only decent park in the city. (Piers along the west coast of the city are creating green spaces but they don’t feel like proper nature escapes.) Both Inwood Hill Park and another local option, Fort Tyron Park, feel properly escapist, with sprawling fields for sports games and picnics, and in Inwood Hill Park, the last indigenous tree population left in New York forms a huge canopy for runners to escape the heat, or just to sit for a while.
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A twenty-eight minute subway journey, or an eighteen minute drive, has you in the boisterous throws of the Upper West Side. Thirty-five and you’re in the heart of Midtown, with Broadway’s theatres, the alternative bars of Hell’s Kitchen and the tourist trap attractions New Yorkers avoid, like Times Square, within reach. In Inwood, the roads like Park Terrace East, a two minute walk from the subway station at 215 Street, are peaceful, with good parking, and many of the flats are pre-war. It is a safe area, with large Dominican and Puerto Rican populations, and an increasing number of American young professionals too, who are capitalising on what locals call one of the last spots of Manhattan where property is affordable.
One bedroom historic flats with their original wooden flooring and “sunken” kitchens – a New York apartment quirk so popular they are basically fetishished – go for around £400,00 and sometimes less. In quality terms, it’s much better than what you’d find in London the same distance away from the city centre.
We paused by a bench at the South Cove jetty and watched as the fireball sun dipped between skyscrapers on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. It was a perfect day in New York
In the apartment I viewed at 95 Park View Terrace there is herringbone flooring that dates back to the 1920s. The views out from the window look like something from Friends, with external metal fire staircases zig-zagging across the buildings. There is barely a soul on the street. A five-minute walk away to the fringes of the park, we stop for a doughy walnut cookie and oat milk iced latte at the Inwood Farm, a chirpy neighbourhood place that’s heaving at the weekend. The owner looks genuinely pleased to meet me when I’m introduced as a newcomer to the area.
Also walkable within five minutes from the flat is a good deli and one of New York’s original Irish pub dive bars, Liffy’s, which stays open until 4am at weekends, until which point the bar guy offers thoughtful recommendations on local beers. There’s also a high street with all the shops you’d need.
There are many reasons for Londoners to invest in a property in New York, says Alistair Brown from Alistair Brown International Real Estate. “There is really good price stability at the moment, so buyers are getting a good bang for their buck. This is in contrast to many parts of the UK which are incredibly volatile and unstable,” he says. “Also, New York also offers a good mix of property. Whereas in London many buyers end up fighting over a property they might actually not love that much, in New York, there is a wider range of choice.
“UK buyers are also attracted by the ease of access in and out the city. With around 40 flights – daily – between these two megacities access is both easy and short. Many who work in finance on both sides of the Atlantic are finding that the positive nature of the New York property market has created a new opportunity for the twin city living.
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“Another benefit is that the cost for a Brits is the same as for a local U.S. citizen too. There is no extra stamp duty or taxes levied on foreign buyers. The only incremental cost to a Briton is if they choose to set up a more complex entity structure to hold the property. This, along with the other facts, are no doubt helping to further drive market demand from the U.K. to the US which will continue into next year.”
Since completion of the Empire State Trial in December 2020, New York has been completely cycleable, meaning you can technically get to Battery Park at the bottom of Manhattan and up to Hudson Valley to the north of New York State and beyond – even to Canada – by following that one trail. One day we woke, hired a Citi Bike, and cycled from Inwood for around four hours to reach Battery Park for sunset.
We had intended on getting beers, but we needed water instead, so we stopped on a bench by the jetty at South Cove and watched as the fireball dipped between skyscrapers on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. It was a perfect day in New York.
BUY A FLAT IN NYC FOR UNDER $500,000
Two bedroom apartment
This spacious pre-war two bedroom apartment features its original herringbone flooring, with high ceilings and crown moulding typical of the era. With a fully modernised kitchen, and brand new appliances, this 950 square foot 1935 Inwood property has the best of old and new. Request a viewing by emailing [email protected]. 680 W 204th St, apartment 3E, New York, NY 10034 1.
Three bedrooms
This three-bedroom apartment over 1,120 square feet is an example of the type of value you can find in this stretch of Manhattan. Built in 1910, this pre-war property features its original fixtures, such as the bedroom doors with mouth-blown glass which have been restored with period-specific antiques. There are modern amenities and plenty of natural light, as well as decently sized living spaces and bedrooms. Contact [email protected] for viewings. 447 Fort Washington Ave APT 44, New York, NY 10033