But some neighborhoods stood out as bastions of wealth and opulence, with median home prices fetching over $3 million — and in the case of the city’s most expensive neighborhood, Hudson Yards, over $6.5 million.

The top three spots on PropertyShark’s analysis of the 50 Most Expensive NYC Neighborhoods remained strong with Tribeca and SoHo holding onto spots two and three, respectively.

Still, Eliza Theiss, senior writer for PropertyShark, cautioned against taking data points at face value without the necessary context.

“ You have the big picture, but then it’s always about the details, as with most things,” Theiss said. “But especially when it comes to extremes.”

So when looking at data and reporting on real estate market trends, Theiss said that it’s natural to look at large price increases of between 30% and 50% and worry that the market is going crazy.

“ It’s not necessarily that the market’s gone crazy, it’s just that you maybe have more development going on in a specific area, and that’s going to lift prices,” Theiss said. “Obviously, that’s also gonna affect existing stock, right? If you’re going to have a lot of more expensive real estate coming online in your neighborhood, that’s also gonna positively impact the value of your home.”

This was the case in Central Midtown, which set a new record median residential real estate price of $2.6 million, a sharp 86% jump from the same time period in 2025. But PropertyShark noted that a surge in sales and prices can be attributed to a new luxury condo high-rise at 520 5th Ave.

In the second quarter of 2026, the high-rise sold 32 units, all priced at over $3 million, buoyed by 4 penthouses sold at $11 million each.

Similarly, the affluent, highly manicured neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights saw its median sale price drop 24% from the same period last year. But the change doesn’t necessarily reflect a change in the neighborhood’s desirability or a fundamental shift in property values.

In fact, Cadman Towers Co-op sold 14 units through the housing connect lottery, priced from $169,000 to $300,000, well below the neighborhood’s median price.

Details aside, Brooklyn and Manhattan neighborhoods dominated the top 10 priciest neighborhoods in NYC, with Manhattan taking all but three spots. Carroll Gardens came in at number 4 on the list, with a median sale price of almost $2.7 million. Columbia Street Waterfront District and DUMBO trailed at nine and 10 on the list both having median sale prices of more than $1.8 million.

In Queens, three neighborhoods had median selling prices between $1 million and $2 million: Hunters Point, Auburndale and Queensboro Hill. Both Hunters Point and Jamaica Estates experienced some of the sharpest increases in sale prices, which according to PropertyShark’s analysis was driven by fewer, but pricier and slightly larger homes being sold. 

While NYC residential real estate prices are no doubt steep, prospective home buyers who dream of living just outside the city with more space and a lower price point, may find it increasingly difficult to find. PropertyShark compared median sale prices for NYC properties to suburban homes and found that in the last decade the prices of suburban homes are rising around twice as fast as those in the city. 

Theiss told amNewYork prices really took off during the COVID pandemic.

“ With COVID and how that went out: the lockdowns and how people reevaluated what it means to live in a city, especially in smaller apartments,” Theiss said.