Brooklyn Breaks the Bank for Housing
Homeowners in Brooklyn are paying plenty for their housing—more than just about anyone else in New York City or State, in fact. According to 2006 Census data, 31 percent of Brooklyn homeowners with a mortgage are spending half or more of their earnings on housing, the highest percentage of any large county in the state….
Homeowners in Brooklyn are paying plenty for their housing—more than just about anyone else in New York City or State, in fact. According to 2006 Census data, 31 percent of Brooklyn homeowners with a mortgage are spending half or more of their earnings on housing, the highest percentage of any large county in the state. And 55 percent of Brooklyn homeowners paid 30 percent or more of their income for housing while shouldering the second-highest (after Manhattan) monthly costs in the city, at $2,194. A recipe for disaster or just the way it’s always been?
Housing Takes Bigger Bite of New Yorkers’ Incomes, Census Data Shows [NY Times]
What about white collar workers (doctors, lawyers, engineers), 4:16? They’ve been locked out too. It would be naive to think that this could last. When the economy gets bad, we’re all at risk of losing our jobs AND our houses. It’s those who have saved and are fortunate enough to hold onto their jobs, whether blue collar or white collar, that will benefit from cheaper prices. Even in prime nabes for some.
Even if prices come down, NYC’s prime neighborhoods, even the not so prime ones, will never be cheap or even affordable to blue collar workers looking to buy. To think otherwise is naive. If the economy gets that bad, do you really think that the blue collar workers are going to somehow retain their jobs and have excess capital to put into housing. Come on. It’s called a property ladder for a reason, you have to start at the bottom if you don’t have a large amount to pony up on first place.
Actually it’s great. I can grow my gold/cash stash by day and sleep at night. And in five years I’ll save you from foreclosure.
Its so refreshing to see all these predictions of gloom and doom in the real estate markets. Reminds me of all of the negative “hype” on the message boards for stocks from people shorting and trying to create self fulfilling prophecies…
3X income is a pipe dream – maybe in Florida or Iowa, but not here.
The amount of foreign capital flowing into NYC will never allow it to happen, and the falling dollar will only escalate that effect.
Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 3:18 PM
3:41 – Sucks for you to not own something in NY by now. Sounds like your frustration over being priced out of the market will ulitmately lead you being forced to leave NY.
This is a very expensive place to live, just like London, Tokyo, Paris, etc. If you cant afford now, you will be waiting forever for NYC to become a cheap place to live.
Everyone wants to live here *rolls eyes*
Real estate is on life support people.
The What
3:41 – Sucks for you to not own something in NY by now. Sounds like your frustration over being priced out of the market will ulitmately lead you being forced to leave NY.
This is a very expensive place to live, just like London, Tokyo, Paris, etc. If you cant afford now, you will be waiting forever for NYC to become a cheap place to live.
Was it NOT a “self fulfilling prophec[y]” for real estate on the way up? It most definitely WAS. Now it’s a debt-fuelling catastrophy.
“The amount of foreign capital flowing into NYC will never allow it to happen” is a pipe dream. Capital was a flowin’ in the mid 90’s and guess what, most of these apartments and brownstones (per family unit) were asking 3X income. But I guess the economy is very healthy right now, right?
You think the dollar will fall forever? Study the concept of deflation my friend.
Its so refreshing to see all these predictions of gloom and doom in the real estate markets. Reminds me of all of the negative “hype” on the message boards for stocks from people shorting and trying to create self fulfilling prophecies…
3X income is a pipe dream – maybe in Florida or Iowa, but not here.
The amount of foreign capital flowing into NYC will never allow it to happen, and the falling dollar will only escalate that effect.
The whole NYC market will fart down to 3X income within five years and stay that way for at least another five years. Why overpay (even if cheaper) at the top for a less desireable location and face trouble selling at the bottom? Wait and see what’s affordable in your desired areas when the smoke clears. In the mean time, save cash (or gold) to offset higher interest rates. Before prices fall, many of these new developments are going to dump their non-selling inventory on the rental market if they don’t go belly-up. Look for rents to drop first, then prices. You’ll be able to get a deal on a 2-year lease. Good things come to those who wait.