The hottest NYC neighborhoods of 2015

It’s the New Year and one of your resolutions is to finally capitalize on the low interest rates and buy your first home, or at least ditch the roommate lifestyle and rent solo. But where do you start? StreetEasy data scientist Alan Lightfeldt tells us about three areas heating up in 2015.

Dumbo
For the ballers

“Dumbo is the No. 1 most in-demand market for 2015,” says Lightfeldt.“It’s already the borough’s most expensive neighborhood and it’s showing no sign of stopping.”
So what is it about the area under the Manhattan Bridge that people are so drawn to?

“The cardinal rule in real estate is location,” says the expert. “It has that waterfront location with the best views of Manhattan from Brooklyn.”

But that’s not its only selling point.“Dumbo has loft-style buildings in a way that you would see in SoHo or parts of Tribeca,” he explains. “It’s really hard to get that anywhere, and buyers are attracted to that.”This means steep competition with people with deep pockets. “A lot of foreign investors are buying in Dumbo as they would in SoHo or Midtown because it’s that exclusive type of market,” says Lightfeldt.

West Harlem
First-time buyers

“A lot of first-time home buyers are priced out of midtown and downtown, so they start their search above 110th Street,” says Lightfeldt. And according to the expert, West Harlem is one of the first neighborhoods to look at thanks to a city revitalization in the last few years that included transportation improvements as well as rezoning of city blocks.

Plus, “there’s a lot of new development happening in the area and it’s also really close to a lot of parks,” he says.

Not a fan of sleek new buildings? “West Harlem has a really charming, pre-war housing stock as well,” says Lightfeldt.

Jamaica
Budget-conscious

“There are a lot of options in Jamaica, Queens, for people who are priced out of the rest of Manhattan or parts of Brooklyn. It’s going to be one of those neighborhoods that people are moving to in 2015,” says Lightfeldt.

Besides the attractive price point, the area’s other plus: It’s transit rich. “I counted six subway lines that go through it,” says the expert. “You’re not far away from job centers in Manhattan or Long Island, and that’s really attractive to people.”

He also says the area was recently rezoned so there’s a lot of new development in the works and new inventory is already coming online.