Highbridge Listed as One of 10 NYC Neighborhoods to Watch in 2020

StreetEasy has released their yearly list of the ’10 NYC Neighborhoods to Watch in 2020′ and the West Bronx neighborhood of Highbridge, home of the Yankees, made the cut.

According to StreetEasy, they looked at four indicators to come up with the top ten neighborhoods: annual change in median asking rent, annual change in median sales price, annual change in search for a particular neighborhood, and amount of new construction in an area.

In Highbridge, asking rents have increased by 3% over the past year and interest in the neighborhood has increased with searches jumping up 55% over the previous year making it the second biggest increase in searches on the list (maybe it’s because of the “Joker” Stairs?).

The median sales price has also increased considerably at 8% to $180,000 (mostly co-op units) which is inline with a neighborhood experiencing gentrification as Highbridge is currently undergoing.

StreetEasy writes:

“Those who have been to Yankee Stadium know that Highbridge in the Bronx is just a short subway ride from Manhattan via the 4, B, and D lines. Interestingly, Highbridge saw one of the largest spikes in search activity among our 10 neighborhoods, with 55 percent more StreetEasy users searching in the area in 2019 than in 2018.“

Community Board 4, where Highbridge is located, has one of the highest rates of poverty in the city. In fact, according to a study by the NYU Furman Center, as of 2017, Highbridge was an area with more than double the poverty rate of New York City hovering at 36.4% and the 5th poorest neighborhood in the city.

It’s for these reasons why we cringe when real estate sites list some Bronx neighborhoods in their watch lists. It gives landlords more reason to try to evict people and raise rents, apply pressures on local businesses because of sheer greed.

And now that the Jerome Avenue Rezoning has been in effect since last year, several developments have been proposed and plans filed that will further change the character of the area.

What kinds of increased pressures will this lead to for local residents facing displacement?

Previously mentioned on the list was Mott Haven for 2019 and Norwood in 2018. You may recall that last year Norwood was predicted to be New York City’s hottest neighborhood — in 2068.