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Melissa Dehncke-McGill has a great article in the August issue of The Real Deal on the Harlem real estate market from the perspectives of Harlem real estate professionals. Taking a variation on the theme of searching for truth by asking a person the same question multiple times to see if you get the same answer, Dehncke-McGill asks the same question to nine Harlem real estate professionals. Their answers are provided for the reader to compare.

Here are some of the themes I found:

End of the bootstrapper era
Harlem being the place for the DYI crowd is much less the case now than it used to be. The entrepreneurial market for small-scale developers from southern Manhattan managing a townhouse's gut renovation around a flexible career has has matured to one where young professional couples are looking for a finished product. Prices and inventory play a big role in this change.

Also, renters are as much of the new population as buyers. Many of the interviewees say people would like to get a feel for the nabe before they buy. Although the industry could be well trained at staying on message, I am inclined to believe this is really the case. I am also guessing that with rental vacancy at .5 percent, renting an apartment anywhere in Manhattan is fairly easy.

Price per square foot
So what can one expect to pay in Harlem? Those interviewed gave answers ranging from $550 to $800 per square foot. Units on Central Park North with park views, however, can reach above $1,000 per square foot. Location and amenities play a big role in price difference.

The place to be
Answers to where the hottest spot in Harlem is found put a smile on my face. Central Harlem, from 110th to 125th Streets west of 5th, comes up frequently. Also mentioned are Hamilton Heights and the area immediately around Jackie Robinson Park and the Langston at 145th Street.

Favorite developments listed often included The Dwyer, the Lenox, and 111 Central Park North. They are all located in or very close to the Harlem hot spot. No mention of the Kalahari.

Ay, the rub: amenities
Amenities play a commanding role in apartment prices, with Central Park being the amenity par excellence. One amenity that popped up was Tribal Spears cafe, where the brokers sometimes hang out. For the rest, Harlem Fur and UPTOWNflavor provide great resources.

Interviewees
The people interviewed for Dehncke-McGill's article are Gary Cannata, head of the Harlem office at Prudential Douglass Elliman; Klara Madlin, president of Klara Madlin Real Estate; Bill Rohlfing, founder of Uptown Townhouse; Shimon Shkury, partner at Massey Knakal; Sandy Wilson, managing director of the Harlem office at the Corcoran Group; Michael Goldenberg, executive director of sales for West Side at Halstead Property; Christopher Halliburton, executive vice president at Warburg Realty Harlem; and Joseph Holland, president of Uptown Partners.