The Most NYC 'Wrecks' (a.k.a. Fixer-Uppers) Are On The UES

Is new construction, even in fringe areas, proving out of your price range (case in point: One Museum Mile)? With inventory as tight as it is, many buyers are seeking cheaper homes in poor condition, a.k.a fixer-uppers, a.k.a. "wrecks." Calling all flippers!

Real estate listings portal Point2Homes crunched the numbers and told us that, of all the neighborhoods in Manhattan, the Upper East Side has the most rundown properties for sale. Out of the 52 homes on the market in Manhattan whose description in some way classified them as a place sorely in need of sprucing, 14 of those listings were on the UES, while 5 were in Carnegie Hill (effectively next door), and 4 were on the Upper West Side. And when considering 183 listings that qualify citywide, the tony Upper East still emerged as the hottest spot for these dumps, with (the same) 14 listings, followed by three neighborhoods in Staten Island. Grande dames these are not.

The methodology: Point2Homes combed New York City apartment listings to see if they included any of the following telltale keywords (we've bolded our favorite euphemisms):

Wreck, fair condition, poor condition, estate sale, estate-sale, fixer-upper, unrenovated, need work, needs work, need of renovation, estate-condition, estate condition, fixer, need improvement, need-improvement, improvement needed, contractor, poor, needs restoration, for restoration, repair, renovation needed, needs renovation, adjustments needed, revision required, requires replacement, suffered some damage, TLC, needs lots of work, as is, needs some work, need of repair, need of extensive repair, need updating, needs to be completely renovated, needs to be renovated, fire damage, storm damage, suffered roof damage, upkeep, extensive damage, huge damage, large damage, in process of being repaired, or damaged. While their analysis is useful, one example of such a listing is this one, for a multi-family five-story house at 5 East 95th Street. The vacant property is asking $8.295M, which doesn't seem quite as affordable, even if it is "in need of renovation."
· Home Buyers Seek Manhattan Wrecks [NYT]
· How to Get Rich Quick by Buying an Apartment and Flipping It [Curbed]