Second homes: Added condos sweeten the Big Apple

— -- The Big Apple attracts second-home owners the same way it lures more than 45 million tourists annually: with the nation's best array of restaurants, museums, shops, performing arts and culture.

But recent developments have made New York even more tempting. Once-marginal neighborhoods such as the Meatpacking District and Times Square are not just gentrified but leading hot spots. The 10-year-old Hudson River Park has transformed the entire West Side shoreline, once full of rail yards and crumbling piers, into a sports, recreation and relaxation zone. Another park, the High Line, 1½ miles of greenway through downtown, opened its first phase just last week.

But perhaps the biggest driver for pied-à-terre ownership has been recent condo construction after a long period of inactivity. The shift to condos has greatly increased the inventory of second homes, says Emma Kerins, executive vice president of the city's Halstead Property, as would-be buyers are able to bypass the approval of a co-op board that may frown upon absentee owners.

"There's a huge pied-à-terre market here now," says Kerins, noting that many of second-home owners are European or from the West Coast and Florida. "A lot of people come for the weekends and to shop."

While condos command about a 20% premium over co-ops, Kerins says most second-home buyers want just one bedroom, keeping them in the lower end of the price spectrum. While parts of Queens and Brooklyn have recently become trendy for full-timers, second-home buyers remain focused on Manhattan, she says. "They are here for a short time, so they like to be close to everything."

One outlying area that has attracted pied-à-terre owners is coastal New Jersey, opposite Manhattan's West Side. Reachable by numerous direct ferries that cross the Hudson River, the area offers substantial price reductions, larger buildings with more amenities and access to Newark Airport.

A look at three New York neighborhoods