Coruscation

Norman Horowitz, an executive vice president of Halstead Property who has sold several hundred properties over the last decade in Harlem, said, "Harlem was gentrifying before the recession, then there was a pause, and now the trend is picking up again."

Some experts caution, however, that a Harlem recovery could be destabilized if a backlog of foreclosed or distressed properties went on the market. While figures are hard to come by, "there is a lot of hidden inventory, where banks are just holding on to these units, but have yet to put them up for sale," said Willie Suggs, a well-known Harlem broker.

Some builders contend that prices are still too low to justify new development. "At $500 to $600 a square foot," said Michael K. Shah, the chief executive of DelShah Capital, a developer, "condo projects just don't pencil out yet." Prerecession condominium prices in Harlem were around $850 a square foot, he said, and until prices climb further, "there is just too slim a profit margin after factoring in the cost of construction and land -- I don't think you will see a lot of new development for at least another two to three years."

Still, some brokers and residents insist that this market rebound is meaningful.

The Downeses had been living in a three-bedroom condominium on West 119th Street for six years before their growing family created a need for more space.

"We looked all over the city," said Ms. Downes, an executive vice president of Pacific Investment Management Company, "but it was really hard to find any four-bedrooms for under $3 million." When they found the five-bedroom house around the corner on West 120th Street, they began a slow negotiation with the developer over the $2 million price tag.

"Then one weekend morning I was out walking my dog, and saw two couples looking at the house, talking about making offers come Monday," she said. "I went up to them and said, 'Oh, we are already in contract, that is my house.' " She and her husband, who works on Wall Street, quickly closed the deal and moved in earlier this year.