South Harlem (New York, York, Italy: real estate, apartment, condos)

[movingtonyc]

lately i've been hearing the word SOHA, mostly via real estate websites, is this just a gimmick used by the realtors or is South Harlem is actually an up and rising neighbourhood?

[ontheroad]

Hype and not hype.

Yes, Harlem is gentrifying.

But I'll tell ya, if you are not black, or a person of colour, I'd avoid the area. Why? My friends are really beginning to resent the changes in their community. One of my friends who last year won a house on a lottery (I don't know how it worked) and had lived in Harlem all her life (about 33 years or so) clearly explained that she wouldn't have been able to afford it w/o that chance.

She was very candid and told me how much she and others resented the changing landscape of Harlem that is pushing people out for economic reasons.

I have other friends who did buy a house up in South Harlem, all of whom are described as people of colour (although I never liked that term) and they appear very satisfied, and spent a bundle getting the house up to code. It is beautiful.

So, of course the choice is yours, and the realtors do hype everything by changing landmarks, changing demarcations and renaming neighbourhoods. And as we all know without them we'd not have Soho, Noho, and you-go

[movingtonyc]

Thanks. well since i'm chinese, i don't think i'll have any problem with the colour issue.

pushing this back up and hopefully i can get more inputs!!!

[Manhattan-ite]

I find many of the nicknames given to Manhattan neighborhoods utterly silly. In ten blocks, you go from Chinatown to Little Italy to Nolita to NoHo to SoHo and to whatever else. Easy-to-impress hipsters with money are always ready to pony up millions in an apartment if the 'hood has a cool name. See the recent "Sofi" (South Fifth Avenue) or "SoBro" (South Bronx).

Now, "SoHa" doesn't look like it's going to stick as easy, but of all the areas in Harlem that are said to be gentrifying and moving up, South Harlem is definitely number one. If only because it's close to the park and whites are more willing to move there!

Lots of new development is going up, and you'll find many more stores and restaurants than any other area of Harlem. Prices are still a bargain compared to mainstream Manhattan, and I doubt being whitey (I see you're not) would be an issue. Because of its proximity to the Upper West and East Sides, Columbia and Central Park, I believe South Harlem is more open to people than further north.

You can find one-bedrooms in newly constructed buildings for 300,000, and how about 4 bedrooms for 975,000.

New York Magazine has a long, in-depth report of South Harlem in the current issue. You can check their website and read about it.

[SilkCity0416]

Damn, yuppies moving uptown!

[vitalove]

Hype, as far as the name goes. Just another real estate gimmick. The neighborhood's been gentrifying for years but they are having some trouble selling a lot of the $1M+ condos and so they have to come up with names to attract people uptown.

SoHa is a new name for the Columbia area + Central Harlem area.