Early next year, Whole Foods will open their much anticipated store at 125th street and Lenox avenue. The store will carry local vendors products including from Sylvia’s Restaurant. According to real estate brokers in the area, landlords are already gearing up to raise residential rents in the area as a result. The new store may also attract more retail tenants as well. Prices have appreciated substantially in Central Harlem in the last several years since the store was announced. 4 years ago, $2 million would have bought a nice townhouse in the West 130’s and now you are probably looking at a fixer upper in that range now and need to spend close to $3 million to get something move in ready.  Below 125 street, you will spend another $500k to $1 million to find that dream brownstone.

So which came first? Is there really a Whole Foods effect on real estate values or is it that Whole Foods chooses areas where values are on the rise and it continues to be that way. I think it’s a mixture of both. What do you think?