BROOKLYN HEIGHTS & COBBLE HILL

THE BASICS: The Heights is Brooklyn’s answer to the Village, but grander: fabulous nineteenth-century brownstones with high ceilings and fireplaces, and great apartment buildings to match. Not all that much cheaper than Manhattan anymore, but you will get more grace and space for your money, plus a unique small-town feeling. “I love the mix,” says Evan Harrison, who moved from the Upper West Side last year. “Old people, families, Wall Street yuppies, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

WHAT’S NEW: Development is scarce in these landmarked areas, and demand is high—so anything new is top-notch. The new four-story condos on State Street between Willow Place and Hicks Street are meant to blend into the historic block, and run from $590,000 to $1.89 million. Slightly more affordable are new units in five brick buildings on Warren Street, between Court and Smith ($525,000 to $995,000). Opening this summer: 58 rental apartments, priced from $1,600 to $4,500, behind a brick-and-glass façade on Atlantic Avenue between Henry Street and the river.

BARGAIN HUNTING: “Brooklyn Heights bargain” is all but an oxymoron, but check out Concord Village, a group of five co-ops on the fringe of downtown Brooklyn. Cobble Hill’s cheaper; scout the area delineated by Smith Street, Court Street, Atlantic Avenue, and Degraw Street. Also, look for loft-style apartments in up-and-coming “West Cobble Hill” (around Tiffany Place and Columbia Street).

HOT SPOTS: Though the Heights isn’t much for nightlife, good restaurants line Montague Street (try Amin for Indian and Nanatori for Japanese), and there’s an old-school-Italian flavor to the area (check out Noodle Pudding on Henry Street). Cobble Hill, on the other hand, boasts Smith Street, which is perhaps the hippest strip in Brooklyn. Smith Street Kitchen serves some of the best seafood in the outer boroughs; Fa’an cooks up delicious Pan-Asian.

PREDICTION: The best neighborhood in Brooklyn will never be cheap again, especially given the whopping increases of the past decade. But don’t look for more big gains. “I guess we are going to plateau for a while,” says broker Christopher Thomas. Two-bedrooms are the greatest draw (for people who’d otherwise buy a one-bedroom in Manhattan). The weakest market? Townhouses at the top of the range, around $3 million.