WILLIAMSBURG & GREENPOINT

THE BASICS: A more spacious, cheaper cousin to the East Village, Williamsburg can feel at times like a particularly glamorous college campus—or a particularly hip district of Seattle. M.F.A. grads and young professionals priced out of the Lower East Side have carved out space amid the Polish population of Greenpoint and the Italian population near the Graham subway stop. Roughly half the available spaces near the first stop of the L train are lofts, but railroad apartments (450 to 1,500 square feet) are more common in general.

WHAT'S NEW: Williamsburg Gardens, at 250 South 2nd Street, and Bedford Court, at 150 South 1st Street (both in the $300,000-to-$700,000 range), are brand-new condo buildings catering to first-time buyers. This fall, add 158 Broadway to the list; tellingly, for a young neighborhood that’s starting to mature, the building’s apartments all have two bedrooms.

BARGAIN HUNTING: The farther from the Bedford and North 7th Street epicenter you get, the better the deal—specifically, the farther you go east toward Bushwick or north into Greenpoint. If you go about two stops past Williamsburg proper into Bushwick, a new 42-unit building in a former tea factory has lofts renting for $1,100 to $1,800.

HOT SPOTS: The recently opened Sea on North 6th Street (pad Thai, litchi martinis) is packed with diners ogling the fountain-and-platinum décor. The Gray Parrot on Bedford serves cheap and delicious pseudo-French food. The electroclash scene was born here, and thrives at clubs like Luxx on Grand Street. Burlesque and other performance arts are popular at bars like Galapagos on North 6th Street.

PREDICTION: How the waterfront is developed—park or garbage-processing plant?—will determine the area’s long-term fortunes. Expect prices and rents to keep climbing, as young singles and artists are joined by traditional first-time buyers. “Services are within walking distance, so especially the area north of the Williamsburg Bridge has become attractive,” says Insignia Douglas Elliman’s Helene Luchnick. That means larger apartments are more in demand. Wild card: If the 2012 Olympics come to town, Williamsburg will be home to archery, beach volleyball, and all sorts of new construction.