It’s not as if New Yorkers are moving away to the sunshine, either. Many are moving within commuting distance to the city. Those relocating to New Jersey, Connecticut, the lower Hudson Valley and Long Island swelled from 187,034 in 2015 to 223,423 in 2016.

Once out of the Big Apple, your buck goes a lot further. According to City-Realty’s year-end report, Manhattan apartments priced at $10 million and above made up 18 percent of condo and co-op sales in 2017. The average sales price was $2.2 million. In the suburbs that amount of money guarantees the kind of space and luxury unimaginable in NYC.

Greenwich, Connecticut

If it’s complete opulence you’re after, earlier this year a Greenwich, Connecticut mansion went on the market with a newly slashed $12 million price tag — a discount of almost $20 million from when it was first listed in 2007.

The 18,307-square-foot, six bedroom mansion on Taconic Road has 10 bathrooms, a handcrafted wood-paneled library, a billiards room, a first-floor guest suite with a separate entrance, and a 3,000-bottle wine cellar. There’s also a home theater and an indoor pool, according to the listing with Jason Kinard of Kinard Realty Group, who is handling the sale. In fact, in recent months the luxury market in Greenwich, CT, where many Wall Streeters call home has seen a lot of activity. The average sales price of the top 10 sales in the market rocketed up 68.7 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2018 to average $8.92 million and a median of $6.46 million, according to a recent Douglas Elliman report. However, the same report also states that overall, luxury homes have been moving  in the area because of more realistic pricing compared to 2 or 3 years ago.

Chappaqua, New York

Another affluent NY Suburb, Chappaqua, home to Bill and Hillary Clinton, has a few spacious spreads on the market just below and above the $2-million mark. For instance, 71 Leroy Rd, priced at $1.795 million, is a 4-bedroom, 5-bathroom 6,250-square-foot home with a total of 14 finished rooms. 66 Haights Cross Rd, is a 6-bedroom, 8-bathroom 7,693-square-foot home priced at $2,275,000.

Bucks County, Pennsylvania

If buyers don’t mind moving further out from New York, Pennsylvania is where they get the most bang for their buck. A 90-minute commute to the Lehigh Valley almost doubles the square footage of the kind of luxury property available in tonier parts of Westchester. At 1721 Wildberry Rd in Bethlehem buyers can purchase almost 10,000 square feet of property with 5 bedrooms and 6 baths on a 2 acre lot, for $1,950,000. It has a pool, multiple livable rooms and a gym, though it is a slightly older home.

An area best known to New Yorkers wishing to get away from it all is Bucks County, PA with its country spreads, rolling hills and progressive outlook. It’s the closest liberal New Yorkers can get to their own mindset, without having to live in a city.

“Bucks County has been a draw for New Yorkers for decades,” says Michael Strickland, a realtor with Kurfiss/Sotheby’s International Realty. “ I am an ex-NYer myself and refer to Bucks Co as NY’s best kept secret. It is literally easier to get to than the Hamptons or Upstate NY — 90 minutes from the city. The Recession slowed down the buyer traffic from NY, however, I have definitely felt an uptick in my NY client base since the recovery began and the numbers of NY clients continues to increase. Lower property values, lower property taxes and proximity make it a viable alternative for full-time living with a daily commute to the city.”

For the average price of a Manhattan apartment — $2.2 million, Strickland says worn out Manhattanites could buy “a 50+ acre pristine equestrian property with an award-winning, energy-efficient 6,000-square-foot home in the Lehigh Valley or the quintessential 200-year old Pennsylvania County stone farmhouse on 10 acres in Central Bucks”

As for a perceived lack of culture, Strickland says, not so fast.

“We have a thriving arts community with numerous galleries in New Hope, Doylestown, Bethlehem and Easton, as well as museums such as the Michener Museum. The world-renowned MusikFest is an annual occurrence in Bethlehem. Fine dining, quaint country inns and avant-garde eateries can be found everywhere.”

The post New Yorkers Are Flocking To The Suburbs In Search Of Luxury appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

Greenpoint, Brooklyn’s northernmost neighborhood and home to some of the borough’s best coffee shops, restaurants, and music venues, is adding luxury apartments to their list of traits, courtesy of Million Dollar Listing: New York's Ryan Serhant and the Serhant Team with their new launch of 173 Bayard.

The boutique condominium is just a few blocks from the hip streets of Williamsburg to one side, the grassy fields at McCarren Park on the other, and with the river views only a few blocks West. The building is offering six duplex loft residences for just under $700,000 each.

The building has all the makings of a great Brooklyn loft: high end fixtures and parts, with the classic laid back Brooklyn vibe of rustic, lived-in looking finishes. While each of the units in the building have a different layout from each other, the features that make the building great for any buyer are congruent with features like a stainless steel kitchen with Bertazzoni oven, Blomberg refrigerators an dishwashers, central air, virtual doorman that syncs to a smartphone, and an in-unit washer and dryer. As for the aesthetic features, the building has beautiful exposed beam ceilings at double-height, exposed brick walls, and a private outdoor space in most units.

The homes are beautiful; they look like your favorite coffee shop, in the best way possible. The real reason to swipe these up though is to be a part of Greenpoint. The neighborhood is in a unique place now in the culture of the city. In the past, Greenpoint was left out of the hipster movement for being too far north and somewhat inaccessible to the rest of the city—most New Yorkers needed to take the A to the G in a too-long process, and it was easier to just take the L to Williamsburg. That’s all different now. With the L shutdown looming over Brooklynites work commutes starting in December, Greenpoint is now weirdly one of the most connected regions in Brooklyn. Those commuting into midtown can now take the G north to Court Square in Queens, and then the 7, E, or M into Manhattan. Yes, it still requires transferring trains, but it’s a hell of a lot better than hiking through the winter snow all the way through Williamsburg to the Marcy stop.

Greenpoint has spent the last few years seeing a lot of new traffic and openings from boutique shops to restaurants though. The area still has amazing restaurants that have transcended time, particularly the Polish restaurants, many of which are still family-run, or the destination eatery in the area, Peter Pan Donuts. The neighborhood also has an influx of great restaurants worth checking out (after you’ve seen Serhant’s listing, of course) like Pretty Southern, which has the best fried chicken in the city, or Frankel’s deli, a classic Jewish eatery with piled-high sandwiches.

For the neighborhood that’s already hit full stride, and is anticipating an even bigger boom with the city’s developments, 173 Bayard is a great locale both for the midtown commuter, and weekend lounger.

The post Ryan Serhant and The Serhant Team Goes Greenpoint appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.