Manhattan, New York, the city that never sleeps, the place where all the action is, Broadway, shopping on 5th Avenue and the place where you want to live and work. It is also the place with some of the highest priced real estate in the country. So if you are going to live in Manhattan, and your price range is between $400,000 and $500,000 you are going to find co ops and condos spread over a wide variety of neighborhoods. This is a lower/middle range for Manhattan and the competition for these properties can be fierce. When you reach this price range, there will be few if any studios, mostly one and two bedroom and the price range is not that different from one neighborhood to another.
In the Upper East Side you can get one bedroom co ops for about $470,000, but these are rare, usually on the lower floors of a building. Studio condos will go for about $470,000
Midtown West , right near the theater district and Central Park, one bedroom co ops in this price range will start at about $470,000
Midtown East, just south of the Upper East Side, is where all the good shopping on 5th Avenue is done and you can get one bedroom co ops starting at about $470,000.
Murray Hill is just south of Midtown east, right by the East River and near the garment section. One bedroom co ops will start at $470,000.
Way down at the foot of Manhattan, in Battery Park City, you can get one bedroom condos for about $470,000.
And in Harlem, way up north you can get one bedroom condos for $470,000
In Washington Heights, which is just north of Harlem and the neighborhood where the George Washington Bridge is, you can get 2 bedroom co ops for about $470,000.
Down in the East Village, part of Greenwich Village, with the great night life and trendy shops, you can get 2 bedroom co ops for about $470,000.
The Inwood section of Manhattan is as far north as you can go and still be on the island. Two bedroom co ops will start at about $470,000.
The Upper West Side is directly on the other side of Central Park from the Upper East Side and a one bedroom co op will go for about $470,000.
The Financial District comes in at the highest end of this price range, with one bedroom co ops starting at $500,000. There are not many homes available in the Financial District and the ones that are go fast. It is very conventient, of course for the executives of the top financial institutions.
So for $400,000 to $500,000 in Manhattan, you have quite a choice of neighborhoods. Make a note of the ones that have condos at the same price as a co op would be elsewhere. If the neighborhood is what you desire, a condo is definitely a better buy than a co op.
