Location: Southernmost tip of Manhattan

The Financial District encompasses roughly the area south of City Hall Park but excluding Battery Park City. The center of the area is often considered to be the corner of Wall Street and Broad Street.

The area is a great fit with anyone that works nearby due to the lack of a commute. Further, virtually all subway lines converge in the Financial District, providing a surprisingly quick ride to pretty much everywhere, including the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Midtown—even Brooklyn.

The residential population of the area has increase to 56,000 from approximately 17,000 before 2000. It is considered a small emerging neighborhood. If you first view homes here during the workday, be sure to come back at night–the hustle and bustle of Wall Street really dies down after 6:00 PM. The Financial District is extremely quiet after hours and on weekends. Some love it that way, but some say it a bit like a ghost town at times.

The architecture in the Financial District is unique, with many old office buildings that have been converted into residential apartments. The local services (i.e. dry cleaners, grocery stores, laundromats) haven’t quite caught up yet, so your choices are limited and you may need to reach beyond your neighborhood to get everything you want.

The Financial District borders Tribeca, which provides most of the high-end dining and shopping options for the area. Recently, the Financial District has become known for real estate bargains due to the large number of developments that have come to market over the last few years. If you are looking for maximum space at the lowest cost, the Financial District is an ideal place to search.

Note due to the small size of the area, there are not that many top real estate brokers that specialize here. Typically, agents that serve Tribeca also reach across to handle the Financial District. We were able, however, to identify a small number of very strong agents that have built a substantial practice in the area and that were able to meet our qualifications.

Click for independent reviews & profiles of top agents who specialize in the Financial District.

To understand what’s happening in the Financial District and Battery Park City real estate markets, we interviewed several award-winning Certified TopAgents who specialize in the area.

Jon Phillips & Ginnie Gardiner, Halstead Property: A husband and wife team, they almost exclusively represent sellers and developers. They are members of Halstead’s Gold Circle, Platinum Circle and Producer’s Council and have extensive experience in the Financial District and in Battery Park City.

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Paul Gavriani & Vincent Falcone, The Corcoran Group: Paul and Vincent lead a team of seven agents. Since 2006, they have been members of Corcoran’s President’s Council (Top 25 agents in entire company). They have extensive experience working with investors and first-time buyers purchasing in the Financial District and in Battery Park City.

What makes the Financial District and Battery Park City different than other neighborhoods in New York City?

Paul Gavriani: Obviously, you have Wall Street there…this area is where many of the international banks and financial institutions have their offices. However, since 9/11, the Financial District has become much more of a residential area. New York City enticed residential development in the Financial District by offering developers tax abatements, such as the 421-a tax abatement. For ground-up development, the abatements typically last 10 years but in the Financial District, New York City provided up to 12-15 years of abatement, so that attracted a lot of buyers. New York City wants to make the Financial District an 18-hour neighborhood. They have tried attracting retail stores to provide the services that are necessary to live in the area—such as grocery stores. However, quite a bit of the retail that has leased space in the Financial District has been more high-end retail, such as Tiffany’s, not the everyday services that people who live in the neighborhood want.

Jon Phillips: The Financial District has great ambiance and architecture. You have the Seaport, a number of parks and a large amount of restaurants. Still, the retail element is mostly missing. The residential market in the Financial District has the potential to be very vibrant if the City could figure out the symbiosis with the retail aspect. The retail never came in to support the residential development. There should be a Whole Foods in the Financial District just as much as “Pink” Shirts. They need the basics; they need the neighborhood stores. If there was that support, and the educational support was maintained, the Financial District could become a new, vibrant area. It’s halfway there, but having an awkward adolescence.

Vincent Falcone: Battery Park City is next to the Financial District–you simply need to cross West Street–but has a much different feel. Battery Park City started as 27 acres of landfill from the World Trade Center development project. New York City literally built more land onto the island. The City leased the land to developers who build condos and rental buildings. Because the land is owned by the state (which acts as a landlord of sorts), property owners don’t pay taxes to New York City.  Instead, they pay PILOT — Payment in lieu of taxes. PILOT is much higher than the taxes you would pay in other neighborhoods, so the cost of ownership is pretty high. On the upside, most of the buildings are relatively new and have great amenities, and the physical space, with its parks, waterfront, and art is fantastic. It’s a relaxing neighborhood and right next to the Financial District.

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