Flatiron is Hot!

The residential real estate market in Flatiron is as hot as the tech companies setting up shop there.  

In terms of residential property, Flatiron is a high demand, high price, high rent area.  With low vacancy rates and an abundance of restaurants and entertainment, this one of the neighborhoods I feel definitely has strong returns from an investment perspective.  

Hot Restaurants

Blue Water Grill and Gramercy Tavern are favorites when I am hosting clients.  

Danny Meyer's Union Square Cafe was one of the pioneer "cool" restaurants back in the 1980s.  Over the years, a lot more high end restaurants opened, more workers moved in, residential buildings built, and Flatiron transformed into the much desired neighborhood it is now.  

New Developments

New developments in Flatiron include 10 Madison Square West and the revived One Madison, located to the west and south of Madison Square Park.  One Madison, with its sleek and slender shape, sells at $4000+ per square foot and is one of the priciest in the city.  

10 Madison started out with well priced one-bedroom condos which sold very quickly. I brought a client there to view 3 bedrooms, 3 months ago, which back then was priced at around $2500 per sqft, still a good deal considering the location.  The project was converted from the former Toy Building.  East facing apartments look at the park.   

A highly anticipated project is 41 East 22 St.  At 800 ft, it will be taller than One Madison.  It's dramatic because of it's height, location in Flatiron and the cantilevering feature, common with many new buildings, to take advantage of space usage.  

Madison Square Eats

One of the cool scenes of Flatiron is Madison Square Eats, where in May and Sept, vendors have pop up stores selling food!  It's very European in style, and great for the community.  People go to try various foods and vendors often test out new food ideas as well.  It started about 6 years ago as collaboration between UrbanSpace and Madison Square Park Conservancy. 


Whether buying as a long term investment or just to live in, Flatiron is a fun, activity filled neighborhood sure to provide great pleasure to the owner or returns for the investor.  

Wei Min Tan is a Manhattan condominium specialist focusing on investors and foreign buyers.  He is often interviewed by the media such as CNN, The Street and New York Times on Manhattan property.  Wei Min can be reached at tan@castle-avenue.com