articles about “neighborhoods”
Not All Neighborhoods Created Equal (DC Edition)
To help celebrate Independence Day, we decided to look for the right mix of mansions and modest homes in our Nation’s Capital
So far we’ve looked at the mix of home prices in San Francisco and Boston. This month, we’re focusing our gaze on our nation’s capital – Washington, DC. Long synonymous with power and politics, the city designed by Pierre L’Enfant is home to the White House, the Capitol, the Lincoln Monument, and many, many Smithsonian museums. Attractions like these bring flocks of tourists and American history buffs year round, but what’s it like to live there? Are there any affordable neighborhoods where you can rub shoulders with DC elites (and we’re not just talking about the infamous “Real Housewives of DC”)?
If you’re hoping to live near the “DC Cupcakes” shop in Georgetown or be super close to iconic buildings like the Capitol Building and the Supreme Court in Capitol Hill, it might be a bit more difficult to find an affordable place. However, contrary to popular belief, you may actually find a steal in Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan or Logan Circle, granting you easy access to some of DC’s most famous attractions. But if you’re looking for a much more affordable, residential area, you might want to check out what’s east of the Anacostia River. When you’re looking at homes, it’s not just about the median prices in a neighborhood, it’s important to look a bit deeper at the mix of home prices on the market. It turns out that there’s something for everyone in our nation’s capital, whether you want to have the nicest house on the block or be surrounded by mansions.
0 commentsWelcome to the Gayborhood
From Provincetown to the Castro, gay men and women have made neighborhoods their own. Many are pricey, but we’ve found some affordable neighborhoods where you can be out and proud.
In honor of Gay Pride month, when New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and many others cities across the country hold their annual parades, we wanted to find the gayest neighborhoods across America. No surprise that San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood is at the top of the list, but throughout the country there are suburban and small-town neighborhoods with high concentrations of gay people. Even in the big, expensive cities, it’s possible to find a gay community without spending a fortune. And the picture looks different for gay men and women, who often cluster in very different neighborhoods even in the same metro.
Here’s what we did. For each ZIP code in the U.S., we calculated the share of households that are same-sex male couples and same-sex female couples, based on the 2010 Census. Then, we combined the Census data on where gay people live with median price per foot of listed homes in each ZIP code on Trulia over the past year.
(The fine print: The Census doesn’t ask sexual orientation, of course, so the only way to measure gay neighborhoods is based on where couples live. The Census data requires some corrections and adjustments, described here. Finally, ZIP codes don’t line up perfectly with neighborhoods, but we did our best to use the closest neighborhood names that correspond to the ZIP codes in our analysis.)
0 commentsBest-Kept Secret Neighborhoods Across America
Where are the locals looking? Find out which neighborhoods in major U.S. metros are being overlooked by out-of-town house hunters
House hunters typically don’t venture too far from where they live today. Most people look for homes for saleor rentals across town, not across the country. However, more than one-third of searches are to homes at least 100 miles away. And as anyone who’s had to move knows, finding the best place to live isn’t easy — especially if you’re moving to an unfamiliar place.
Using the same analysis behind our Metro Movers report – a forward-looking housing report that starts with where people are today and offers insights on where they want to live tomorrow — we found that out-of-towners tend to look in name-brand neighborhoods such as Tribeca in New York, Beverly Hills in Los Angeles,Miami Beach in Miami, Pacific Heights in San Francisco and Georgetown in Washington, D.C.
But if you’re moving to a new city, maybe you want to find the neighborhoods that locals know but aren’t nationally famous. (Or maybe you’re a local trying to avoid the transplants and carpetbaggers.) These are what we call a city’s “best-kept secret” neighborhoods. They’re not secrets to most local house hunters, but outsiders looking to move in typically overlook them.
To find out which neighborhoods are the locals’ best-kept secrets, I looked at the zip codes within a city where locals account for more search activity than other similarly priced neighborhoods where out-of-towners tend to search. In general, pricier neighborhoods that are more famous tend to get more attention from non-locals. But many of our best-kept secret neighborhoods are pricey, too: many have been recently gentrified or redeveloped, while some have been quietly upscale for decades.
Using this methodology, here’s our list of America’s best-kept secret neighborhoods – we’ve also thrown in pics and links homes for sales (that are in the ballpark of the median list price) to give you an idea about what’s available in each neighborhood.
New York’s Best-Kept Secret Neighborhood: Hunters Point (Long Island City, Queens)
Zip Code: 11101
Median List Price: $695,750
What’s kind of pad can I get there? Check out this 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 1,060 sqft condo at 2415 Queens Plaza North for $699,000.
Los Angeles’s Best-Kept Secret Neighborhood: La Brea / Hancock Park
Zip Code: 90036
Median List Price: $959,000
What’s kind of pad can I get there? Check out this 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 1,871 sqft single family home at 800 South Burnside Avenue for $995,000.
Chicago’s Best-Kept Secret Neighborhood: West Town / Wicker Park
Zip Code: 60622
Median List Price: $350,000
What’s kind of pad can I get there? Check out this 2-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom, 1,600 sqft condo at 2121 West Schiller Street for $375,000.
San Francisco’s Best-Kept Secret Neighborhood: Diamond Heights / Glen Park
Zip Code: 94131
Median List Price: $779,000
What’s kind of pad can I get there? Check out this 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom, 1,280 sqft single family home at 119 Joost Avenue for $689,000
Miami’s Best-Kept Secret Neighborhood: Key Biscayne
Zip Code: 33149
Median List Price: $832,500
What’s kind of pad can I get there? Check out this 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 1,320 sqft condo at 200 Ocean Lane for $875,000.
Washington DC’s Best-Kept Secret Neighborhood: Logan Circle
Zip Code: 20005
Median List Price: $499,000
What’s kind of pad can I get there? Check out this 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom condo at 1401 Church Street Northwest for $474,900.
Boston: Fort Point / Seaport District:Fort Point / Seaport District
Zip Code: 02210
Median List Price: $927,000
What’s kind of pad can I get there? Check out this 1-bedroom, 2-bathroom 1,914 sqft condo at 35 Channel Ctr for $899,000.
Houston’s Best-Kept Secret Neighborhood: Spring Branch East
Zip Code: 77055
Median List Price: $332,000
What’s kind of pad can I get there? Check out this 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom, 2,667 sqft single family home at 7527 Woodvine Place Court for $335,000.
Dallas’ Best-Kept Secret Neighborhood: Greenway Parks
Zip Code: 75209
Median List Price: $448,975
What’s kind of pad can I get there? Check out this 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom 1,768 sqft single family room at 5523 Druid Lane for $478,000.
Seattle’s Best-Kept Secret Neighborhood: Sunset Hill / North Beach
Zip Code: 98117
Median List Price: $419,000
What’s kind of pad can I get there? Check out this 4-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom, 1,870 sqft single family room at 9209 7th Avenue NW for $425,000.
Philadelphia’s Best-Kept Secret Neighborhood: Bella Vista / Southwark
Zip Code: 19147
Median List Price:$320,000
What’s kind of pad can I get there? Check out this 1-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 946 sqft condo at 712 South 12th Street for $304,900
Atlanta’s Best-Kept Secret Neighborhood: Virginia-Highland
Zip Code: 30306
Median List Price: $385,000
What’s kind of pad can I get there? Check out this 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom, single family home at 1225 Carol Lane NE for $339,900.
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