To understand what’s happening in the Inwood real estate market, we interviewed an award-winning Certified TopAgent who specializes in the area.
Kelly Cole, The Corcoran Group: Kelly has been representing buyers and sellers in Inwood and the Upper West Side since 2003, with over 300 deals to her credit. She is a member of Corcoran’s Multi-million Dollar Circle and has served on Corcoran’s Advisory Counsel. Because she also lives in Upper Manhattan, Kelly has a detailed, intimate perspective on specific apartments, buildings and blocks throughout the area.
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What are some of the unique aspects of Inwood?
I refer to Inwood as the last great frontier in Manhattan in terms of value and untapped possibilities. It’s the Northern-most neighborhood in Manhattan. West of Broadway is strictly residential, but there’s a large area along Broadway and on the Southern border with shops and restaurants. On the Western border sits bucolic 196-acre Inwood Hill Park offering Manhattan’s only salt marsh along with great hiking trails, eagle watching, dog runs, ball fields and outdoor Shakespeare concerts. It really is the heart of the area, and the anchor of this close-knit community.
What is important for a potential buyer to know about the Inwood home market?
Inwood has become a destination for people who want to live in Manhattan, but are either priced out of lower Manhattan, or want a calmer place to call home. In terms of prices, no other neighborhood offers the value that Inwood homes do. You can find real quality homes for $400 psf or less, if you are lucky.
Inwood homes are mostly low-rise co-op buildings from the Art Deco era. There aren’t many condos in Inwood. The streets are wider, there are a lot of single family homes peppered throughout some of the blocks – but they never seem to be for sale! You get tons of sky, fresher air, and it just feels different – as I say, Inwood is in Manhattan, but not of Manhattan.
What is the transportation situation like in Inwood?
Inwood is only a 25 minute commute to Midtown via train, and via car, it’s easy to get anywhere in the major Metropolitan area. Metro North is also walkable (Marble Hill Station). The 1 and A trains service Inwood. The 1 veers to the West, so it’s very accessible to Northern Inwood (215th street). There is also an Eastside Express bus.
What are you seeing in the Inwood real estate market these days?
You can get amazing deals on some Inwood homes – one bedrooms are typically $300K to $350K. Two bedrooms are anywhere from $400K -$490K. These are good-sized apartments in very nice buildings. Typically the maintenance costs are also reasonable. Inwood offers the first-time buyer a chance to enter the Manhattan home market without having to compromise quality of neighborhood. That said, many of my repeat clients stay within the neighborhood because they love the community.
What advice would you give to potential Inwood buyers?
Inwood is an easy commute to downtown Manhattan as well as points outside the city, thus it can be the perfect spot to plant roots if one family member needs to do a reverse commute while the other is in Manhattan. If considering Inwood, one should be prepared for a lifestyle and environment that feels a bit less urban and a bit more peaceful and green. It’s not for the buyer who needs to be in the thick of city life and is willing to sacrifice space just to be walking distance to five Gap stores and 10 Starbucks. Inwood is a bit more Zen than that! My advice is to soul search to determine what your lifestyle is and where your priorities are at this point in your life. Inwood could be your slice of Heaven if the fit is right.
What advice would you give to sellers of Inwood homes?
More than ever, you need to be competitive with your pricing. Prices have come down all over Manhattan – in years past people were willing to go a few extra stops on the subway because they got twice the space for half the money. Now that prices have fallen in downtown neighborhoods, Inwood sellers are competing with homes on the Upper West Side, Upper East Side and Washington Heights. While you still get far more home for the money in Inwood, buyers who care less about size and more about location will be lost without the incentive of very enticing pricing. Sellers should list their home with a broker who really understands this micro-market yet has outreach to ALL neighborhoods and knowledge enough to be conversational about the differences to give an honest education to prospects considering Inwood as a place to call home.
