If you're considering investing in New York City property, 2024 could be a great year. But how does one determine which New York City neighborhoods will deliver the highest returns over the next decade? While only time will tell which New York City neighborhoods ultimately perform best between now and 2034, historically, a few key factors have played an essential role in stimulating local markets. This article highlights the New York City neighborhoods that offered investors the greatest returns. It also identifies which neighborhoods appear best positioned to provide strong returns over the next ten years.

With the help of CityRealty data which analyzes core NYC submarkets, as well as CoreData.nyc which looks at NYC sales data on the whole, we gathered the neighborhoods that have seen apartment values appreciate the most in the past decade and which ones to watch in the upcoming decade.

Factors to consider when investing in New York City real estate

If you’re looking to invest in New York City real estate, past market trends indicate that it is strategic to search for properties in neighborhoods that meet one or more of the following criteria.

Invest in neighborhoods with room for growth

While investing in a neighborhood where prices are already above average may be a safe bet, it is unlikely to yield an exceptionally high return in a short period. As condo values during the 2010s revealed, the highest returns generally emerged from neighborhoods where there was still plenty of room for growth. For investors looking to buy in 2024, the question to ask now is where buyers, including first-time buyers, will head once interest rates start to decline.

Invest in neighborhoods bordering highly valued residential markets

CityRealty and CoreData.nyc data alike indicated that the value of some New York City neighborhoods goes beyond their traditional boundaries. After all, there is no question that Morningside Heights, one of Manhattan's top gainers by both counts, benefited from its proximity to the Upper West Side.

A borough away, Crown Heights/Prospect Heights leveraged its proximity to Park Slope/Carroll Gardens, and Woodside/Sunnyside likely benefited from being just across the borough line from Greenpoint and Williamsburg. If this pattern holds over the next decade, now could be a great time to look for strategic investments in neighborhoods such as Hamilton Heights in Manhattan and in neighborhoods that share a boundary with Woodside/Sunnyside in Queens, including Steinway, Jackson Heights, Maspeth, and Elmhurst.

Invest in neighborhoods scheduled for rezoning

Another common thread connecting the city’s top-performing housing markets in the 2010s is that nearly all the neighborhoods that reported high increases in property values were also on the radar of city officials. With that in mind, future investors would be wise to keep their eyes on potential opportunities in Midtown Manhattan. While the Garment District is currently home to few residential units, there are plans to rezone the neighborhood, and if this happens, thousands of residential units could be added to the neighborhood over the next decade. Given the successful transformation of the Financial District in the 2010s, this could make the Fashion District a strategic target for investors over the coming decade.

Below, see the Manhattan and Brooklyn neighborhoods showing the greatest returns on condo price per square foot from 2013 to 2023. All figures are determined by CityRealty data.

Morningside Heights' proximity to beautiful prewar architecture, abundant parks, and convenient public transportation have made it an excellent alternative to buyers priced out of the Upper West Side. However, towering, amenity-rich new condominiums like Vandewater and Claremont Hall have sent values up and made it a destination in its own right.

Are we in the middle of another Harlem Renaissance? Columbia University's northward expansion, gentrification that includes the neighborhood's first Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, state-of-the-art makeovers and new homes for beloved cultural institutions, and a veritable building boom would indicate yes.

Over the past decade, several previously overlooked Manhattan neighborhoods saw their condo values rise. Among them was Washington Heights.

Not only is Inwood one of Manhattan's northernmost neighborhoods, but it also saw one of the biggest increases in condo value from 2013 to 2023. The small handful of current availabilities entirely includes co-ops and townhouses, but a 2018 rezoning could bring new condos to the area.

In the early 2010s, the Lower East Side was best known for downtown hot spots and glassy new condos that transformed a neighborhood formerly known for its tenement buildings. More recently, the delivery of the Essex Crossing mega-development and skyline standout/disruptor One Manhattan Square have introduced a new standard of luxury to the neighborhood and sent property values soaring.

Bedford-Stuyvesant has long been a destination for buyers looking for brownstones, and this beautiful architecture remains in high demand. However, some of those prewar buildings have been converted to boutique condominiums in recent years.

Between stunning skyline and bridge views, close proximity to Manhattan, and creative residential conversions of old industrial buildings, DUMBO has long been appealing to buyers. However, the arrival of Olympia, the neighborhood's tallest building and 6sqft's 2022 Building of the Year has done a number to increase its gains.

In 2013, HBO series Girls was at peak popularity and drawing attention to Bushwick in the process. Ten years later, Girls' legacy is being reconsidered and an influx of several new condo units has led to a surge in Bushwick property values.

Crown Heights' close proximity to Prospect Park was, and remains, a major in its popularity among New York City buyers. However, a new wave of condo development has turned it into a residential powerhouse in its own right as opposed to a consolation prize for buyers priced out of Park Slope.

Much like its contemporary Crown Heights (see above), Prospect Lefferts Gardens rose to prominence as it rode Park Slope's coattails to popularity among buyers. It is now home to the highest condo average price per square foot gains in Brooklyn, not to mention home to a new influx of boutique condominiums.

We also look at data pulled from CoreData.nyc, a housing and neighborhood data hub powered NYU's Furman Center. This tracks New York's median sales price per unit data from 2010 to 2021 and looks at neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs.

Manhattan

Coming out of the recession in 2010 and into the height of the pandemic in 2021, nearly all Manhattan neighborhoods reported gains, but a few outshined all others.

Manhattan's top-performing neighborhood was Morningside Heights, where many properties more than doubled in value over the decade. Two factors likely contributed to this small district's impressive market performance between 2010 and 2021: the gentrification of Central Harlem to the north (partly accelerated by Columbia University’s northward expansion) and the exceptionally high prices in the Upper West Side that continued to price out many potential buyers. Unique pre-war architecture, an abundance of parks, and access to major transportation routes also likely worked in Morningside Heights' favor. Still, it wasn’t the only Manhattan neighborhood that offered investors great returns in the 2010s.

Condo values in the Financial District also reported impressive gains in the 2010s, but in this case, the writing was on the wall. Thanks to the work of organizations such as the Downtown Alliance, between 2010 and 2021, Lower Manhattan underwent a massive transformation, welcoming both new types of businesses and tens of thousands of new residents. It also saw the rise of dozens of new condo developments. As young professionals looking to put down roots in Manhattan started to search for alternatives to the sometimes-sleepy Upper East Side and Upper West Side, the Financial District became a go-to destination to work and live, resulting in property values rising nearly 70% by the early 2020s.

Although the big winners in Manhattan were Morningside Heights and the Financial District, several previously overlooked neighborhoods also saw condo values rise between 43% and 55%. These neighborhoods included Central Harlem, Washington Heights/Inwood, and the Lower East Side/Chinatown. On the flip side, many of the borough's highest-valued neighborhoods, including the Upper East Side and Upper West Side, recorded only modest increases in property values.

Brooklyn

The biggest real estate story of the 2010s was Brooklyn, but even in Brooklyn, some neighborhoods performed better than others. Riding on the coattails of Park Slope/Carroll Gardens, Crown Heights/Prospect Heights led the pack, reporting the highest property value increases in the 2010s. Between 2010 and 2021, values jumped from $506,637 to $1,183,043, representing a 133% increase.

In addition to the surge in values reported on properties in Crown Heights/Prospect Heights, Greenpoint/Williamsburg, which was transformed by the addition of thousands of new condo units, and Bedford-Stuyvesant, which became a new destination for buyers looking for Brownstones, also performed exceptionally well in the 2010s.

Queens

Between 2010 and 2021, condos across Queens saw their values rise, but one neighborhood outperformed all others—Woodside/Sunnyside. Back in the early 2000s, few New Yorkers had their eye on this Queens or even knew where Woodside/Sunnyside was located. By 2010, its attractive prices, proximity to Manhattan, and great access to transportation, combined with its adjacency to Long Island City and Greenpoint/Williamsburg, started to attract an influx of new residents and investors. With the support of a rezoning initiative, between 2010 and 2021, property values in Woodside/Sunnyside increased by more than 70%.

The Bronx

Coming out of the recession in 2010 and into the height of the pandemic in 2021, The Bronx offered investors mixed returns, depending on the neighborhood. A few neighborhoods saw values increase by approximately 50% over this period. Morris Park/Bronxdale’s condo market performed exceptionally well. However, compared to other NYC neighborhoods, a few Bronx neighborhoods, including Mott Haven/Melrose, Kingsbridge Heights/Bedford, and Williamsbridge/Baychester, also saw the median sales price per unit decline in the 2010s.

Staten Island

If slow and steady wins the race, Staten Island continues to be a safe bet for investors. Between 2010 and 2021, all three of the island borough's neighborhood districts reported modest increases in condo values, though St. George/Stapleton reported slightly higher gains.