The high price of downtown living: Where urban properties cost the most

Going downtown

Downtown living comes at a premium. In fact, a new analysis shows that in some of the nation’s biggest cities, a downtown home can cost as much as $675,000 more — and that’s not even in pricey markets like New York or Los Angeles.

The price of a prime location

According to a new analysis from Property Shark, downtown living comes at a significantly higher cost in most of the nation’s largest cities.

In Chicago, for instance, downtown residents need to put down an extra $675K to live in the urban core rather than other parts of the city. Downtown homes in the Windy City run a costly $900,000. The median price on homes in the rest of Chicago is just $225,000.

Other cities where downtown living comes at a particularly high cost include Philadelphia, Boston and Manhattan. All three markets require at least $300,000 more to live in the heart of the city.

According to Property Shark’s Eliza Theiss: “It’s no surprise that Manhattan, the epicenter of pricey real estate, is one of the locations where downtown home prices are significantly higher. Not only that, but the premium for downtown living has increased significantly since 2008 — downtown Manhattan’s median sale price was $100,000 higher than the rest of the borough then.”

Even in Detroit, the contrast is stark. Living outside of downtown, residents will pay just $37,000 for a property. For a downtown home? It’s nearly $230K.

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Affordable downtown living

Not every city boasts sky-high downtown prices, though. In cities like San Francisco, there’s not much difference in price at all. Downtown properties run around $1.5 million, while non-downtown ones clock in just slightly lower at $1.275.

In other California cities, including Los Angeles, San Jose, Bakersfield, Long Beach, Fresno and San Diego, downtown living is actually cheaper than the rest of the city.

Las Vegas and Seattle also boast lower downtown home prices than surrounding areas. In 2018, Seattle downtown living cost more than $120,000 less than other parts of the city.

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