Buying With Help From The Rental Units
The Times dishes on the New York City real estate market’s dirty little secret — that it’s being fueled in great part by the retirement-age parents of twenty- and thrity-somethings who wouldn’t otherwise have a shot in hell of owning even a studio apartment. When we bought our first apartment — a 950-square-foot prewar one-bedroom…
The Times dishes on the New York City real estate market’s dirty little secret — that it’s being fueled in great part by the retirement-age parents of twenty- and thrity-somethings who wouldn’t otherwise have a shot in hell of owning even a studio apartment. When we bought our first apartment — a 950-square-foot prewar one-bedroom in Manhattan — for $160,000 in 1996, it was still possible for a 27-year-old and his fiancee to buy something on their own. Now, though, the idea of having socked away a downpayment of $150,000 or $200,000 (instead of $30,000 or $40,000) by the age of 30 is realistic only for those in a small handful of professions. Enter Mom and Dad. In Williamsburg (where Natasha Agrawal, bottom right, got hooked up with a $900,000 penthouse by her parents), one Douglas Elliman broker estimates that one quarter of the condos are being bought by parents or the trust funds they have set up. The twist, The Times notes, is that these hand-outs often come with some (creepy) strings attached, such as extorted promises not to let a boyfriend or girlfriend move in.
Buying With Help From Mom and Dad [NY Times]
tim you nailed it alright you really are a pig in shit. Good riddance to you and your kind. NY is a much better place with out you and my property value soared after you left. Good luck in the back woods where you belong.
Now if we can only get you to stop reading and commenting on this blog.
8:54: Actually, I’m happier than a pig in shit since I left the city and I was pretty specific about exactly what I didn’t miss. I know it’s considered the epitome of uncool to to talk about what’s wrong with what’s happened to the city but you could do better than “if you hated it so much why did it take so long to leave”…or maybe not. I witnessed the decline over a period of time and left when I had enough. If the city is what makes you happy have at it. Hope Mommy and Daddy have pockets deep enough to keep you smiling.
Does everyone think Brownstoner really did it all on his own? Isn’t Mrs. Brownstoner from money?
NY is a giant tourist trap and most contemporary culture is geared toward them. I’ve had the good fortune to be able to visit cities most NYers would never even consider worth mentioning but I’m happy to have found that places that were slow to evolve now have alot to offer with original culture and a really decent quality of life. After 20 years I am actually considering cashing in my chips and leaving the city because NY is no longer “the be all and end all that some make it out to be”. My money will go further elsewhere and my sanity probably won’t run out as soon either.
Refreshing to hear other’s offer a realistic, if somewhat depressing take on the state of housing in NY. Life’s not fair no matter where you are but people used to gravitate to NY because it accommodated people with different interests and it was the alternative to middle America and mainstream values. If it is now the norm to have to pay a million dollars to live off the island of Manhattan and if you are considered a sucker if you have to rent and aren’t lucky enough to have the “assistance” of wealthy parents I think that says something about how the city has digressed. There’s no argument that NY is now a city for the rich or the more fortunate and it ultimately makes for a boring environment. If I have to move to Jersey City soley because of its proximity to Manhattan I may as well move to Ohio. I can watch NY on cable and live in a real house.
NYC rates high for job market, but it’s never considered a good place to live whenever studies look at quality-of-life. Other U.S. cities are climbing the ladder and are able to compete, in terms of arts and culture, good restaurants, hipness, and job market. Yes no other U.S. city will offer all that NYC offers culturally but exactly how many times a month DO you go to see a play? Not often, I know. And some other U.S. cities are often considered superior for those who truly love true theatre. Not the outrageously priced tourist-trap theatre like we have in NYC.
Tim – you hate NY so much you still read Brooklyn Blogs???
The Bronx is affordable and many neighborhoods are less than 30min from midtown
As a 27 year old who makes what would be considered a decent living in many other parts of the country the real estate situation in NY is absolutely depressing.
I’ve come to the realization that with the 5 years I expect it will take me to come up with the downpayment needed for a one bedroom in (most likely) Queens, I’ll be better off getting the NY out of my system, getting valuable work experience, and then taking my money to Philly where it is still possible to live like a human being without making six figures.
Depressing indeed that the only people my age who can get into the real estate game have to do so on their parent’s shoulders.
try the journal square area of Jersey City. I know most would not consider it because it is not in NY. But is affordable and with the PATH and the Lightrail in the middle of it, there is transportation to NYC and other areas of NJ.