With a growing influx of families complementing the area s gay population, Chelsea has become among the tightest markets in the city, according to a recent study by Halstead.
The neighborhood has undergone a 73 percent drop in inventory of condos, coops and townhouses for sale since last March, according the report.
Apartments in the $401,000 to $650,000 range experienced the most drastic decline in inventory – 83 percent, the report said. More expensive properties – condos and coops above $2.5 million – saw a milder decline of 46 percent, and townhouse inventory has shrunk by 21 percent.
“Across all prices and sizes, there has been an enormous drop in apartments on the market,” said Halstead vice president Rich Hamilton, who prepared the study. “It s an absolute desert of availability.”
The study tracked the actual number of units available for sale between 14th and 34th Streets, from Fifth Avenue to the Hudson River on a biweekly basis from March 15, 2003 until this May 1.
An earlier report by Corcoran found a 50 percent decline in citywide listings from a year ago.
Christopher Mathieson, partner and co-owner at JC DeNiro, which has an office in Chelsea, couldn t confirm the inventory figures, but called the neighborhood “the most dynamic in the city.”
“The environment is changing rapidly,” he said. “It s become a lot more middle class. It s a lot dressier, with a lot more shopping opportunities.”
A recent story in The New York Times noted the growing number of families in the area, and Mathieson agreed that the neighborhood is becoming an increasing mix of gays, young people and families.
While Chelsea’s current incarnation is now about 20 years old, since pioneers began to migrate there from the West Village, Mathison said what is happening now is “the beginning of its gentrification,” rather than the end.
Of particular note going forward, he said, is the rezoning of West Chelsea from 14th to 30th Streets between 10th and 11th Avenues, with the rezone expected to be adopted at the beginning of next year.
“The city predicts there will be 4,200 new residential units there in the next 10 years,” said Mathieson. “I think it will probably happen in the next five years.”
There are also the plans for the High Line, the abandoned elevated railway which will be likely be turned into a residential park promenade. Fifty designs will be narrowed down to four at a benefit on July 14 hosted by Diane Von Furstenberg, Mathieson said.
At least three new residential developments center on and around 23rd Street between 10th and 11th Avenues. Also the headquarters of Barry Diller’s Interactive Corp., to be designed by Frank Gehry, is being built in the neighborhood.
Mathieson said the fact that only commercial development is now permitted in the central Meat Packing District area – the developers of the Hotel Gansevoort had initially sought to build a residential development there – means Chelsea will become an even more likely destination for those wanting to live downtown.
“This will push more residential into Chelsea,” he said.